The Warm Melody

Chapter One - "Fine..."

*Eli's POV*

Everyone seems to be in the clubroom except Nico. She's usually the first to be here but she said she had something to do and would skip practice. I was still deep into my thoughts that I did not realise everyone was staring at me.

"Elicchi? Are you okay?" Nozomi asked.

"I'm fine. Just wondering what Nico could be doing right now. It's quite unusual for her to suddenly skip practice," I responded.

"She probably has to take care of her siblings again," Maki said, sounding a bit irritated. I wonder what's up with her.

"Still.. if that were the case, wouldn't she just tell us that she had to do so? The only sentence she said was, 'I have something to do so I'll be skipping practice', isn't it weird?" I asked.

Everybody was silent.

"Then, why don't we spy on her?" Honoka suggested, suprisingly excited.

"Honoka, you can't just spy on someone. Remember the last time we spied on her? She didn't want us to know about her siblings, she probably doesn't want us to know about something. If we force her, it'll only be invading her privacy," Umi added before responding to me,

"You're probably just overthinking it Eli,"

Umi was right. I was probably overthinking it. We concluded that we should just wait and ask her about it tomorrow.

---

*Nozomi's POV*

The bell indicating that school was over rang.

"I'm on the verge of deathhhhh, Math is so boringgggg" Nico said, suprisingly normal.

"Nicocchi, what were you doing yesterday after school?" I questioned, saving Elicchi from doing the job.

Nico didn't respond. Instead, she turned away, as if she was thinking of what to say. Turning back to face me, she responded.

"Well, I was just taking care of my sibl-"

"Nicocchi~ Something tells me you're not being honest~" I grinned as I did my signature pose, giving her shivers down her spine.

She gulped as she tried to think of a way out. She tried to do her award-winning phrase but I cut her off halfway,

"Niiicoooocchiiii~" I dragged the words, continuing to move my hands towards her flat chest, making her flinch.

"Yameteeeeeeee--"

---

*Nico's POV*

Before I knew it, I was in the clubroom, sitting in the middle as everyone surrounded me. I had no escape, since Rin was blocking the entrance.

"Now, tell us what happened," Umi said, very intimidatingly.

What is this?! An interrogation?!

"Hold on! Maki knows what's going on! I thought she already told you!" I pointed at her.

"I figured it would be better for you to say it. I wanted to see you suffer," Maki replied.

"Maki?! Are you a sadist or something?!" I asked, shocked.

"That's not really the question here. Though I do want to hear the answer to that later," Kotori said.

"So tell us what you did after school yesterday nyah," Rin said.

"Yeah, tell us!" Honoka said.

"I'd like to know too.." Hanayo said, suprisingly.

"Uehhhh?!"

I looked around, it seemed like nobody was going to budge. I looked down on the ground, trying to hold back some of the tears.

"Fine..."