Flashback
After that final, hurried embrace, Maki felt their tears, the combined sorrow of the μ's members, still damp on her cheek. She pressed her hand to the inside of the plane window, managing a faint, aching smile as the massive engine roared to life. With a lurch that felt like a painful tear, the plane accelerated, leaving the runway and then the whole of Japan behind, soaring into the pale morning sky.
Below, in the empty, silent school clubroom, the remaining eight members of μ's were finally letting the tears fall freely. However, Nico couldn't bear the stifling grief. She walked out, her small frame rigid, and stopped abruptly at the school gate. She looked up, past the school building, past the cityscape, into the vast, indifferent sky.
A faint, silver glimmer, the first plane's fleeting reflection, vanished into a bank of high-altitude clouds.
Nico aggressively wiped the tracks of tears from her face, her expression twisting into a mask of denial. "Maki-chan..." she whispered, the name a raw, broken plea. She bit down hard on her lower lip, tasting metal, determined to halt the fresh surge of emotion.
The wind suddenly whipped around her, sharp and cool, rustling the autumn leaves. It carried a whisper that brushed past her ear, so light, so achingly familiar 'Nico-chan.'
Nico's head snapped around. "Maki-chan?" she called out, her voice cracking with desperate hope. But the gate was empty. The yard was deserted. There was nothing but the echo of the wind and the silence where her genius composer should have been.
A few days later
Maki Nishikino arrived in the city she had only spoken of in hushed, dramatic tones, Paris. The scene was breathtaking, a majestic blend of historic architecture and vibrant, bustling life. She checked into the luxurious hotel owned by her family's friend. The lobby was vast, dominated by a magnificent, sparkling crystal chandelier that reflected a thousand pinpricks of light.
"Excuse me, miss? Could you direct me to Room 4?" Maki asked a concierge.
"Right through there, mademoiselle," the helper indicated with a professional sweep of her hand.
Once inside the spacious, opulent suite, Maki felt a wave of loneliness wash over her. It was beautiful, but it was empty. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone, needing a distraction. When the screen lit up, she saw the group chat flooded with messages.
Nozomi: Maki, are you there?
Maki muttered, a hint of a smile touching her lips, "She's always the first, isn't she?"
Maki: Yeah, I'm still here.
The response was instantaneous, an avalanche of relief and affection.
Honoka: Maki-chan! How is it there? The letter you gave me, I'm keeping it safe!
Rin: I miss your tsunderation, nya! Who's going to tell me my clothes are weird now?
Hanayo: I hope you can come back quickly. We all need to have fun together again!
Umi: They are right, Maki. I am keeping your letter. But you just told me earlier, at the hospital, that I could teach you archery or practice our choreography even if you were gone. Now there's no one here to compose the music for the lyrics I write.
Kotori: I don't care about anything else. We are not μ's if one of us is missing.
Eli: You promised us, Maki, back in that sterile, terrible hospital room, that your situation wasn't going to be permanent. Honestly, your whole situation is more troublesome than Honoka's and Rin's usual chaos combined.
YOU ARE READING
You Lie That Time | NicoMaki
FanfictionNishikino Maki is the 1st year student at Otonokizaka and she comes from a wealthy family of doctors and is somewhat pressured to become a doctor like her parents, which would lead her into giving up music. Maki has the qualities of a tsundere and h...
