“One, two, three, four.” Umi called as she clapped her hands in rhythm with the dance.
Everyone had decided to try and practice elsewhere for a day or so just so that Maki could be involved since she had agreed to come back to practices.
They were currently in an old parking lot that was going to be fixed up in a month. Since it was so broken, no one parked there or even went near it. It was a nice desolate place where they could be alone.
“Alright. That's enough for today.” Umi stated after they finished the routine.
Everyone went over to their bags and grabbed some water. They sat in a circle and talked for a while.
“Well, I'm gonna go and see about Nico-chi.” Nozomi said, smiling mischievously.
“Have fun?”
“Oh, I will.” Nozomi smiled as she left them.
“Should we be concerned?”
“Maybe? But, it's not like we can do anything about it.”
“Yeah. I guess we'll just have to see tomorrow then.”
“We should go home. It's getting late.” Eli stood up.
“Yeah, I guess we should,” Umi agreed, standing as well.
Soon everyone had gotten their things together and started the walk home. They stayed together until they had to turn a different way or made it to their house.
…
Nozomi stood outside Nico’s house. The lights were off, meaning that no one was home or they were asleep. She waited patiently behind a wall. Once Nico came home, she'd hopefully be able to get her without anyone knowing.
After a while of waiting, Nico finally showed up. She was about to open the door when Nozomi stepped out behind her. Nico turned around and started backing away.
“Don't even think about running,” Nozomi stated, doing her washi washi hands.
Nico narrowed her eyes, but stayed still, “What do you want?”
“You're going to tell me everything. Or else I'm going to have some fun with you.” Nozomi replied.
Nico’s eyes went wide, before they dropped and she slumped in defeat, “Fine… come inside.”
The two girls walked inside.
“No one's home right now. Mom took my siblings on a trip.” Nico explained as she sat at her kitchen table.
Nozomi sat on the opposite side of her, “That makes this easier then, doesn't it? No one will interrupt us.”
“Just ask the questions.” Nico sighed.
Nozomi laughed slightly, “You know the question, Nico-chi.”
“I don't. You guys keep asking different ones.” Nico mumbled.
“Why do you hate Maki-chan? That's what I want to know.” Nozomi clarified.
“I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone else.”
“Deal.”
“Alright. Well, the truth is…”
…
The next day, everyone gathered in the club room as always. This time, Nico showed up. Everyone was staring at her in surprise, except for Maki, who simply huffed and looked away.
“You finally decided to come back, huh?” Umi asked Nico.
“Yeah. So what?” Nico challenged.
“Guys, stop fighting.” Honoka grabbed Umi by the arm and tugged her away from Nico.
Tension were high that day. Nothing anyone did could fix that. Nico seemed to be itching to fight with anyone she could.
“Well, should we go practice?” Kotori suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, let's go.”
Everyone stood up and started heading to the roof.
“Are you sure you can make it up?” Eli fell into pace beside Maki.
“Yeah. I can do it at home. It shouldn't be any different, right?” Maki nodded, focusing her attention on not accidentally hitting anyone’s feet with her crutches.
“I don't know. Aren't there more steps here though?”
“Only a few more. It's not that bad.” Maki rolled her eyes.
Eli sighed and didn't argue. The nine girls made it to the steps and started heading up slowly, knowing Maki would be a bit slower.
Thankfully, they all made it to the roof without an issue. The girls set their bags down and started stretching. Maki took a seat against the wall and watched them.
“Do you know how much longer you'll be on them for?” Hanayo asked as she set her bag next to Maki’s.
“Maybe another day or two. I can sort of walk, I guess…” Maki mumbled.
“Come on, get in formation!”
…
The day at school was boring. They had a speaker for every class telling them things about what jobs they should be focused on or about what can get them in a lot of trouble.
μ's was very happy when the bell rang to dismiss all the students from school. They met up in their club room to wait for the students to get to their locations, whether that be a club or home.
“So, do we have everything done?” Honoka asked as she read through a paper of notes they took.
“Yeah. We just need to practice.” Umi nodded.
Honoka smiled with relief, “Shall we go and do that?”
“It's supposed to rain in a few minutes, I'm not sure we should.” Eli pointed out, looking at the dark clouds forming.
“Aw…” A chorus of whines went up.
“What should we do then? It seems too early to go home.” Kotori asked.
“Maybe we can find a spare room to use?” Honoka suggested.
“Don't be ridiculous! All the outdoor clubs will be inside. There's no way we could find a room.” Nico snapped at her.
“Hey, stop fighting with people.” Umi yelled at Nico.
“I can do what I want and you can't stop me!” Nico yelled back.
“Nico. Stop fighting or you're not welcome here anymore.” Eli warned.
Nico huffed and got up, “Fine. I'm leaving.”
Nico quickly walked out of the door and stormed back to her house, muttering under her breath.
“Maybe we should go home.” Hanayo whispered.
“Yeah. Let's go.”
Everyone stood up and headed to the front of the school. Just as they reached the door, the rain started. Everyone groaned and started pulling out their umbrellas.
“Do you wanna walk home together? I don't think you'd want to get soaked on your way home.”
“S-sure… I guess?”
Everyone said their goodbyes and headed off in whatever direction they needed to go in.
“Is there a reason you wanted to walk with me?” Maki asked.
“Yes. There's something we need to talk about.” Nozomi nodded.
“And what is that?” Maki asked, getting suspicious.
Nozomi thought about what she should say, “Tomorrow you should talk to Nico. There's something you guys need to discuss.”
“I'm not doing that! I'm not going near her!” Maki protested.
“I talked to her. We sorted it out. She just wants to tell you something.” Nozomi stated.
Maki sighed, “Fine… you're at fault if something else happens then.”
“I can live with that.” Nozomi laughed slightly.
The two girls fell silent after that. All you could hear was the rain hitting the umbrella and Maki’s crutches hitting the ground. The few people walking around outside seemed to stare at them whenever they could.