Yume no Tobira: A Love Live School Idol Project Fanfic

Chapter 23

“Should we report this?” Kotori asked.

“I think that should be Maki’s decision.” Eli replied, “Afterall, she was the one who suffered.”

“I hope she gets better quick.” Hanayo said.

Everyone tried to keep a conversation going to try and lessen the tension in the air. Nico wouldn't join in. She was focused solely on Maki. Eli was doing her best to apply any creams or bandages as gently and painlessly as possible. She knew Nico would force her to stop if she hurt Maki too much.

“I've done all I can. Let's just hope nothing could be fatal if left untreated.” Eli declared after almost half-an-hour of nonstop work.

“I don't think anything will be. They wouldn't want to do that.” Nico whispered as she grasped Maki's hand again, running her thumb over the younger's palm.

“I agree. They'd never want her to die. Then they'd be the first ones to be investigated.” Umi nodded.

“We should get some sleep. It's late. Do you want to move Maki or leave her here for the night?” Nozomi pointed over to the small clock on the wall. It read 1:54 AM.

“Leave her here. I'll stay with her.” Nico stated, glancing up for a second to look at everyone else.

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Everyone slowly bid them goodnight. It had been decided earlier than Eli, Umi, and Nozomi would remain with Nico and Maki. The rest of μ's was sent back to their own houses. Except for Honoka, who instead decided to go stay with Kotori for the night, stating that her family wouldn't be very pleased to be woken up by her return.

“You guys can stay upstairs in the rooms if you want.” Nico mumbled as she kept switching gaze between the three girls standing above her and Maki.

“I'll stay down here as well. Just in case you need help with anything. You two can go up.” Eli offered.

“I don't care. Do as you want for sleeping arrangements.” Nico said casually as she stood up.

That was what they ended up agreeing with. Nico and Eli remained in the living room with Maki. Nozomi and Umi, much to her dismay, stayed together in the guest room. Eli took one of the couches as her bed, while Nico snuggled up next to Maki, being careful not to move the girl too much.

“Nico?” Eli asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah?” Nico responded after a few seconds of silence.

“Can we have the TV on?” Eli asked quietly after a moment of hesitation.

Nico sat up, giving her a confused look for a minute, before it clicked, “Oh, yeah. I'll turn it on. Do you want sound?”

“Not really…”

Nico got up and grabbed the remote. She turned on the TV and quickly muted it, not remembering how loud it would be. She didn't want to wake the two sleeping girls upstairs. Sound traveled easily through the house.

“That better?” Nico asked as she set the remote back down and crawled in next to Maki again.

“Yeah. Thanks…” Eli replied, before she turned to face the back of the couch.

Nico silently shook her head and rolled her eyes at the older girl. She found her fear somewhat entertaining. It was definitely a sight to see a normally calm and collected person so scared over something like that.

Nico snuggled closer to Maki, giving her some more warmth. Maki was cold, unlike Nico. Nico got up again and grabbed a spare blanket to drape over Maki. After that, she finally was able to snuggle and fall asleep peacefully.

…

The next morning, Nozomi was the first one up as always. She carefully got out of the bed, not wanting to disturb Umi, who had spent a good hour last night arguing about why they shouldn't be sleeping in the same bed (It’s shameless). She had only given up when exhaustion finally got to her and she couldn't stop yawning enough to finish any sentence. She deserves a bit more rest, were Nozomi’s thoughts as she left the girl sleeping peacefully.

As she entered the living room she did a quick check to make sure everything was okay. Everyone was still asleep, or so Nozomi had assumed. As she got closer to them, she noticed a certain red-head was actually laying there with her eyes open and glancing around.

“Ah, Maki-chan. How are you feeling?” Nozomi asked softly, hoping not to startle the girl too much.

Maki tilted her head to the side where Nozomi now stood, “Uh… I'm fine, I guess. But, what happened? How did I get here?”

“Oh, right. You wouldn't know.” Nozomi giggled slightly as she settled down beside her, “Last night we somewhat broke in and got you out. I can give you more details later. But first, do you want or need anything?”

“Something to drink.” Maki replied as she worked her way out of Nico’s grasp and sat up.

“Anything in particular you want?” Nozomi asked as she stood up.

“Water is fine.” Maki told her.

Nozomi nodded and left to go get her a glass. When she returned about two minutes later, Nico had woken up and was currently refusing to let go of Maki.

“Nicochi, let her go so she can drink.” Nozomi asked her calmly.

Nico frowned, but released Maki from the hug and let her drink the water Nozomi had brung. A few minutes later, Eli woke up and joined them in sitting on the floor by Maki. Maki asked them questions about what had occurred the night before. They all did their best to answer, but it wasn't much they could do.

“Umi is the one who can answer most of those questions. But, she's still resting.” Nozomi told Maki.

“Alright.” Maki nodded.

“Anyway, I'm hungry. Let's make something to eat!” Nico got up and held out her hand for Maki.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

…

By the time they had finished, Umi had finally joined them in the land of the living. As they ate, Maki would occasionally ask Umi a question about what had happened. Umi explained what she knew, which was quite a lot more than the other three had known.

“So, Maki, the big question now is what do you want to happen to them? Do you want to report them, or just leave it?” Eli asked after the questioning had concluded.

“I want to report him. I don't really care if she gets in trouble. I just want him to be punished for his actions.” Maki replied.

“That's fine. Once you're ready, we can do that.”

“This afternoon?”

“Sure.”

…

That afternoon, Maki and Nico went down to the police station and filed the report. Maki told them about all the abuse and hatred she had endured. Of course, she didn't mention the breaking in and escaping. She lied and said she got lucky and fled the house when they left for work.

The police believed everything she said, much to their relief. They had both heard stories of corrupt cops many times and were worried it might become a reality for them. But, thankfully everything went smoothly.

Afterwards, Nico decided to treat Maki to a small date to help her relax after the ordeal. Now all they had to do was wait and see what would become of her family.

...

Well, I think the next chapter will be the end of the book. If you've enjoyed reading this so far, I have 3 more LL books as well:

Angelic Angel - Trans Honk going through life

Unfixable - One-shot about Umi (Very sad and depressing)

Sinking - One-shot about Kanan (Also very sad)

I have more one-shot ideas I haven't written yet and 2 full book ideas. I haven't started writing a new book yet, so no estimate for when it might come out.