<Maki's pov>

It's about time I try to stop him by myself...

That thought circled in my head as we headed towards the cafe where Umi and Honoka would be waiting for us. Except that instead of two, there's three people greeting us with a warm smile.

The third guest has short creamy hair complimented by its incredibly short bangs. Her emerald eyes sparkled in the light as she greeted us with an equally bright smile. "Oh. Hey, Nico."

"Ts-Tsubasa!?" Nico yelped when she saw the ex member of A-Rise. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"It's just a coincidence. Just a coincidence." Tsubasa shrugged.

"We bumped into her when we were ordering our drinks." Umi explained.

"More importantly, where have you been, Nico? Our manager was looking for you for months."

"Uhh.... 'Our manager'?" I repeated.

"That's right. We're from the same idol company afterall." Tsubasa then fished out her cellphone and dialled in a number. "Hello, Ma'am. I've found the long lost 'Super Idol In The Universe, Nico-nii'.... Yes...? Oh. Sure thing."

Tsubasa handed the cellphone to Nico. "Here. Tell her that you're okay. She's worried sick when you suddenly disappeared."

"Eh... Umm... Okay." Nico grabbed the cellphone and placed it next to her ear.
________________________________

<Nico's pov>

With a soft sigh, I hesitantly took the cellphone from her and placed it next to my ears. How could she just rat me out like that? "Uhh... Hello?"

"OH MY GOD! NICO, ARE YOU OKAY? ARE YOU HURT? DID SOMETHING BAD HAPPEN TO YOU!?" A voice rang into my ears the second I answered the phone.

I swear I might have lost my ability to hear through my right ear. "Ehh... Uhh... Everything is fine. I'm just hiding from a stalker for a bit. Looks like he's gone for now."

"Is that it?" A tone of disbelief is clear in her voice.

"Yeah. Why?"

A sigh of relief could be heard from the other end of the line. "Geez. I was really worried, you know? In that case, I suppose you could come back for practice soon?"

"Ueh? Uhh... Mmm yeah. S-Sure. Soon enough, you'll see the great Nico-nii in action!" I lied, imitating my usual cheery voice. There's something really important going on right now and I don't want to waste any more time. No. Not even for a split second.

"That's great. See you soon." *beep*

Oh great. What have I gotten myself into....

I returned Tsubasa's phone and announced, "Let's get back home."

"Oh. Okay. I'll have to pick something up for a bit." Umi stood up from her seat, getting ready to head towards the counter. "Honoka, aren't you coming?"

"Nah. It's okay. Tsubasa-chan is here." Honoka replied with a smile on her face, wrapping an arm around the body next to her.

"Oh well. Suit yourself." Umi then went straight towards the counter to purchase something.

If my eyes are fooling me, it looks like Tsubasa is blushing hard right now.

"Eh? Tsubasa-chan? Are you blushing?" Kotori spoke up.

"Eh? Wh-what? I-I am?" Tsubasa stuttered.

Wow. Kotori is observant as always.... Wait... Why is she blushing? Is it because.... Could it be?

"Pfft. Tsubasa, do you have a thing towards Honoka?" I chuckled which turned her face to a deep shade of red.

"What are you talking about? We have been going out for som- mmph!" Honoka's voice was muffled by Tsubasa's hand covering up her mouth.

"Now now, Honoka. We promised not to tell anyone that." The end of her lips twitched a little as she forced up a smile.

"Oh right." Honoka giggled as she leaned on her lover's shoulders, making the idol tense up.

"Hold on a sec. Aren't we not allowed to be in a relationship?" I asked, recalling one of the basic rule of being an idol.

"....About that.... Could you keep a little secret?" Tsubasa begged with her delicate finger resting on her lips.

I let out a small chuckle. Looks like I've found out my unit-mate's secret. "Sure. Anything for the person going out with Honoka."

"Shush!!"

"Isn't it about time that we head back home?" Umi appeared from behind us with a little pastry box in hand.

"Oh. Right. Let's go."
________________________________

The ride back home was pretty quiet. I mean... sure, Honoka isn't here to cause a ruckus but something feels a bit off. Maki wasn't talking since we had left her mother's house. Not even a single word slip out of her lips. Is something bothering her? Is it because our plan had failed horribly? I was tempted to ask but it might be rubbing salt on an open wound.

"Guys, we're here." Umi announced, snapping me out from my thoughts.

I looked out the window to find out our location. Sure enough, we had stopped at the arcade where we used to hang out after school. We spilled out of the car slowly to switch drivers.

"I'm sorry on how things had worked out." Kotori apologized as she tilted her head down.

"It's okay, Kotori. It's hardly your fault anyway." Maki finally spoke up after a long time being silent.

"Yeah. Maki's right." Umi approached Kotori and placed an arm over her slender shoulders. "Besides, you had done your part well."

"But I-"

"As a reward, I had bought some cheesecakes for you." Umi interjected which lightened up Kotori's face.

"Yay~ Thanks, Umi-chan!" Kotori held Umi's hand with both of hers.

Maybe I should cook a tomato related dish for tonight...

"I think it's about time we get going." Umi stated as she waved us goodbye. "Bye, guys."

We waved back at them before heading back into the car. However, it didn't stop me from sneaking a peek of them walking off to the distance. From the look on Umi's face, it seems like something is troubling her. But.... what exactly?
________________________________

<Maki's pov>
~Later

"I'm off to buy some groceries." Nico announced before she left the house.

"Take care." I replied back to her, not looking up from my phone.

I had been spending the last few hours coming up with a plan to approach Papa. So far, only threatening him or talking some sense to him had crossed my mind. Nothing else.

I fell back into the couch, trying to wreck my brain for a better plan when I heard a knock on the door.

"That was fast." I thought to myself as I headed towards the door. "Did Nico forget something?"

Without second thoughts, I opened the door. However, the person I expected to be standing by the door is replaced by some tall and built men. I tried to slam the door shut but one of them used their foot to hold it open.

"We have found her, sir." He talked into his phone which, in return, replied with a satisfied 'Yes'.

No way!

In a blink of an eye, I rushed into the bedroom and locked myself in. I unlocked my phone and dialed in Nico's number.

BANG!

The door was being banged on, making my heart beat faster.

"Come on, Nico. Please pick up..."

"Nishikino, we know you're in there! Open up!"

My ears picked up a buzzing sound. I peeked at the bed where Nico's velvet phone could be seen. Of all times, Nico just had to leave her phone behind.

BANG!

"OPEN UP!!"

My eyes widened like a pair of saucer. My heart rate paced up. My whole body stayed frozen on the spot. I panicked and quickly typed in the message to the first number in my contact list. I don't care who get my message, my colleagues, my friends from college, Eriko or anyone from μ's. I just need help right this second.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, NISHIKINO!"

The door was smashed open, allowing the men to enter with ease. The men cornered me and forcefully grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the room. I tried resisting by gripping hard onto the door frame.

"You won't get away with this!" My grip on the door frame became tighter.

"Stop resisting, Nishikino! This is for your own good!" With a strong yank, they managed to release me from the frame and dragged me out of the house.
________________________________

<Nico's pov>

I walked towards our apartment with heavy loads on both my hands. I entered the lift and pushed our floor number. I looked up at the floor number as they increased every second. I glanced at the plastic bags held on my hands. "This dish that I had thought of should bring a smile on Maki's face. I'm sure of it." I thought to myself before a ding interrupted my trail of thoughts. I walked out of the lift and down the corridor.

From afar, it looks like our apartment door was wide open. I rushed past the lines of doors until I reached my destination.

"Maki-chan, why did you leave the door op-" I was greeted with the huge mess spread all over our apartment. My eyes scanned the room in disbelief. My hands subconsciously dropped the groceries which fell onto the floor with a low thud.

What on earth just happened?
________________________________

AN

Ello YFG here with a longer update than usual.

Soo... School was back on a few weeks ago and before I know it, I had loads, I repeat, LOADS of work. But hey, I managed to finish this chapter as well as my schoolwork.

Oh. And this book will be finished in about a chapter or two... depends on how the story goes. Till that time comes, I hope you will continue to support this book. Bai.

YFG signing off.