Similar to what I said my latest update in All Alone with You, I'm terribly sorry for taking so long to update. It's been a very busy semester and I didn't have much time during Christmas holiday to write as well. This chapter was written a while ago, but I never really got to look over it and I tend to have an extra chapter ready before I publish anything. Since I just finished writing chapter 4 in my draft, I think it's a good time to get this chapter out.

Chapter title, literally translated as "Colourful", refers to the ED of Saenai Hiroin no Sodatekata, aka How to Train the Ordinary Girl to be a Heroine. I really enjoy the show. Katou is just adorable.

Chapter 3: カラフル

It might purely be her imagination, but Maki felt that everyone at school was looking at her differently these days. Her classmates kept sending her suggestive looks, and even her juniors were staring at her with raised eyebrows. Feeling impatient about the whole scenario, she confronted Rin and Hanayo during lunch one day.

Her best friends looked at each other thoughtfully, which annoyed her even further.

'Hmm…how to put it nyaa?' Rin poked her own cheek and looked at the clouds.

'It seems that you're…unusually happy, Maki-chan, but not in a bad way…' Hanayo replied, sounding unsure of her own words.

'What do you mean?' Maki snorted, sipping her apple juice. 'I'm still the same. It's not like I've changed.'

'Well…how to put it…' Hanayo trailed off and appeared to be deep in thought, 'You have been spacing out a lot recently, either in class or during our practice. You constantly stare at your mobile phone and keep texting. Even your smile these days is different…'

However, Rin did not have the patience to wait for her childhood friend to finish her, as she just looked at Maki innocently.

'These days, Maki-chan looks like those girls in TV shows who are in love.'

Maki spurted out the apple juice in her mouth, nervously coughed, and turned to Rin with a thoroughly flushed face. Hanayo gasped.

'W–wh–what are you saying?' she exclaimed, her face twisting in shock. Hanayo seemed taken aback by her reaction and retreated out of instinct, while Rin's eyes had never widened any further.

'So it's true?' she lunged herself at the crimson-haired girl and shook her shoulders. 'Maki-chan, do you have a crush on someone? Who is it? Is it a fan of yours? Is it someone that we know? Tell us Maki-chan!'

Rin kept shaking her, and Maki was too confused by all the questions and Rin's action that she could not answer right away. It was only after pushing Rin away and regaining her breath and Maki wondered how she should answer her friends' questions. Hanayo's watering eyes did not seem to help the matter.

Should she tell them? It wasn't like she didn't want them to know, since they were her best friends and her most trusted companions, but she wasn't sure if telling them about it now was a good idea. After all, it had only been a short time since she and Keisuke had confirmed their feelings for each other. While the official and simple answer would be yes, Maki found it too embarrassing to say out loud. Wouldn't it make more sense to reveal it to her friends when her relationship had become more stable?

Yet she didn't want to lie to her friends either. The expectant looks on Hanayo's and Rin's faces made her gulp, and she knew that the longer she avoided answering, the more suspicious she looked.

'Stop talking nonsense, Rin,' she hand-chopped her friend's head as Rin pressed the question again, earning a yelp and a pout from the cat-like girl. 'I just have some personal things that I need to deal with right now, but don't worry, I'm fine.' The look on their faces seemed to indicate they wanted more. 'I'll let you two know when things become more stable.'

It wasn't completely a lie, and they still didn't look completely convinced, but that was all Maki could come up with. Later on the day, Honoka and others also asked her if something was wrong, and she wondered if seeing someone really caused that much change to her perceived appearance.

'I'm really sorry that you have to come like this,' Keisuke scratched his head and made room for Maki to enter. 'I really did not mean to cancel our date under this circumstance.'

'It's okay,' Maki stressed, taking off her shoes as she walked inside the apartment. 'How's your sister doing?'

'Not very good,' Keisuke sighed and pointed a finger at a room nearby, where Maki could see a girl sleeping on the bed. 'Her temperature was still high. I've given her some medicine, but it doesn't seem to have any effect yet…'

'Of course it doesn't. It takes time for the medicine to show its worth,' Maki stated plainly, and with Keisuke's company she entered the room.

Today was supposed to be their date – their third to be exact. After getting interrupted by the ramen shop waiter a week ago, the two had gone on dates a couple of times. The first time, they decided to watch a movie after school, and they spent the second time walking around the city and visiting different music stores. They were supposed to visit the aquarium today, but an hour ago Maki received a call from Keisuke saying that he couldn't go, as his sister was sick. Reckoning that she wanted to help and that she knew he couldn't afford to go to the hospital, she decided to pay his apartment a visit.

The girl lying on bed had the same facial feature as Keisuke. Her dark long hair rested on the bed while her chest rose and fell unnaturally. It wasn't a surprise, since she was sweating all over her body and never for a second did her breathing stabilize. Maki touched her forehead and felt her pulse, before asking Keisuke to leave the room so she could change his sister's soaked clothes.

Trying to remember everything that she had learnt from her parents regarding how to handle this kind of situation, she carefully undressed the young girl, whose name was Kihara Shizuka, and wiped her body with a clean towel. Shizuka mumbled incoherently in the process, though she did not seem to notice that a stranger was helping her. When she seemed to have woken up for a moment, Maki instructed her to take the medicine she brought over, and after swallowing the pills she went back to sleep again. Maki was relieved that the young girl looked slightly better now. At least her breathing rate decelerated into a more normal pace.

'It's better to prepare some food for her once she wakes up,' Maki told Keisuke as she glanced at the clock, which indicated it was just past noon.

'Don't worry about that,' Keisuke grinned. 'I've been preparing some congee while you were taking care of Shizuka.'

It sounded reassuring, but that was until Maki entered the kitchen and saw nothing but total blackness in the bowl.

Maki tried her best to buy the necessary ingredients as soon as she could, and once she got back to the apartment she forced the young violinist to stand next to her as she prepared the food.

'Listen here. You have to be careful of how much water you add to the rice,' the school idol instructed and then turned to the place of vegetables. 'Wash them thoroughly. You can't just eat them without rinsing them at all.'

Keisuke kept staring at her, with his lips parted, and Maki wondered if he was listening at all. 'What?' she queried.

'Ah…it just feels surreal that a famous school idol is actually at my apartment teaching me how to cook.'

Maki blushed and snapped out of instinct. 'I'm not doing this just for you, you know! This is for your sister so that she could have something decent to eat when she wakes up, or in the future, at least!'

'I know, I know,' laughed Keisuke, his eyes capturing the scene of Maki in an apron, covering the white top and blue skirt that she was wearing. 'Still, it's hard to believe. Not only can you sing, dance, play the piano, you can also cook.'

Maki pouted and turned away, feeling the heat glowing on her cheeks. 'Don't forget that you didn't really know that part before I told you my full name, so stop saying these nonsense and focus on preparing the food!'

As Keisuke obliged, with a smirk that earned a punch from her, Maki thought back to the night when he confessed. After awkwardly leaving the restaurant to settle the bill, Keisuke offered to walk her home. She accepted it, and the two largely remained silent during their walk. They finally paused in front of Maki's house, when Keisuke looked surprised at the gigantic structure and the name on the front gate's wood.

'Nishikino…' he said to himself, before raising his head in surprise. 'You're Nishikino Maki? The school idol?'

Maki knew that he would find out if they came here. It wasn't that she didn't want to let him know, but beforehand she was weary of the possibility that he liked her because of her status. Now that she knew that wasn't the case, she simply didn't know how to tell him properly.

She nodded timidly, her heart beating fast as she anticipated his response. Would he hate her for that? Would he think that she had been lying to him all along? Would this affect his impression of her? She was so afraid of so many heart-breaking scenarios that she was relieved to see him seemingly taking the news calmly.

'I should have figured…' he moaned, scratching the nape of his neck and looking dumbfounded. 'I mean, my sister is a big fan of your group, but I never really paid much attention because I was so busy with other things…'

Perhaps the fact that knowing Shizuka was a fan of μ's, old or new, played a part in her wanting to help the girl, but at the same time Maki also wanted to visit Keisuke's family nonetheless. With both his parents gone, she knew how much Shizuka meant to the dark-haired teenager. All the money that he earned from his performance or part-time job, he spent much on providing Shizuka the best environment to grow. Fortunately, based on what he had told her, Shizuka was an obedient fourteen-year-old who understood the virtue of frugality.

Although that only sorrowfully explained how the junior high student could have endured Keisuke's horrible cooking, Maki thought, as they finished preparing her food and also made some for themselves as lunch.

Gulping nervously, Maki watched Keisuke pick up the meat with his chopsticks, swallow the substance, and then look at her disbelievingly.

'What?' she raised her voice a bit, anxious in knowing what he thought of her cooking skills. It was the first time she had prepared food for someone other than her family – she had not even cooked for Rin and Hanayo before! – and since the best way to get to a boy's heart was through his stomach, she fidgeted her fingers for the umpteenth time and waited impatiently for his response.

'You never cease to amaze me,' Keisuke commented, taking another bite. 'I've never eaten anything more delicious in my life before! Is there anything that you could not do?'

Maki could feel the temperature of her cheeks rising, and she had to try her very best to suppress a wide grin from surfacing. 'Don't think that flattering me will do you any good,' she snorted, or at least she tried to, as she reached for her utensils in a failed attempt to distract herself from her own thoughts.

'But it's true!' Keisuke beamed. 'You can sing, dance, cook, are incredibly cute, and immensely popular as well! I just feel that I'm the luckiest guy in the world now!'

The sixteen-year-old had to hide her face in her hands, for she could not stop the wide, satisfied smile from appearing on her face. Her heart was beating faster than any pop song she had heard of. Unbeknownst to her, Keisuke only found this side of her even cuter. He moved forward and grabbed Maki's hand, forcing her to look at him.

'…stop bullying me,' Maki pleaded, her eyes staring into his dark orbs that seemed to move closer and closer with each passing second.

'…I meant what I said,' came his soft reply, and Maki took in a deep breath, as his face leaned even closer. His hands cupped her face, and she closed her eyes in anticipation.

There was no one to interrupt them this time. With Keisuke half-kneeling on the ground, their lips met for the first time. A heart-warming feeling spread through her whole body at the contact. It was unlike anything that she had experienced before. She could feel her muscles initially tense, but gradually relax as the kiss prolonged. Unconsciously, she put her arm around his waist for support, closing the distance between the two.

It was a tender moment that she wished would last longer, but the physical need for breath took its course as the two unwillingly broke apart. They were both panting, but their eyes never left each other. She wouldn't admit it, but she liked it, this feeling of weightlessness and intimacy.

Keisuke wordlessly surrounded her with his arms and pulled her into a hug. It was as if he was showing her appreciation for all that she had done, though Maki wasn't sure if she had achieved anything spectacular. Still, she accepted it, for she also enjoyed just feeling the warmth of his body like that. The air was still, and the moment of calmness was appealing to her.

That was until a loud scream came from the room, and the two abruptly broke apart and turned to see what was wrong. The door was harshly swung open, and from the room it emerged a young girl with dark, long hair, wearing a pale blue pyjama, with a look of absolute horror on her face.

'Did you change my clothes when I was sleeping, onii-chan?' she charged, directing her fierce gaze at Keisuke. 'How dare you violate your little sister like that! Even though we live together, that does not give you any right to do it! How can I marry now if my own brother has stripped me of my clothes and seen me in…in…in this state?'

'Wow, wow, calm down, Shizuka,' Keisuke raised his hands in defence. 'I was not the one who changed you.'

'Hmph?' Shizuka raised an eyebrow, and that was when she realized that they had a guest in the house. She eyed Maki suspiciously, causing the crimson-haired girl to shift uncomfortably, and returned to her room.

'I guess if it's Maki-chan who did it then it's fine,' she snorted, closed the door behind her, and quickly reopened it and widened her eyes in astonishment.

'M–M–Ma–Ma–Maki–chan!? I mean, Nishikino-san!?' Shizuka made no attempt to hide her shock, her jaws dropping to the ground. She looked back and forth between her elder brother and Maki, and retreated to her room again. 'Just give me one minute to change into something more proper! I'll be right back!'

The sound of the closing door stunned Maki, and she turned her head to look at Keisuke, not knowing how to react. Keisuke shook his head and sighed, rubbing his temple.

'Sorry about that,' said the violinist. 'She probably didn't expect to see you here, given that she's a big fan of μ's and that I haven't really told her about us…'

Maki felt both flattered and a bit disappointed at the same time. While she didn't mean to impose her thoughts on him, she thought that he would have at least told his sister that he was seeing someone? But then, who was she to criticize him? She had not told Rin and Hanayo either, let along her own parents.

'Ah, it's not like she doesn't know I am dating someone,' Keisuke added upon seeing the troubled expression on Maki's face, 'she just doesn't know that it's one of her favourite idols. It's just…well…I didn't think she'd have believed me even if I told her that.'

In a way it made sense, and Maki felt her discontent dissipate into thin air right away. 'Of course she wouldn't believe it,' she said, twirling her hair unconsciously, and gave her boyfriend a stare. 'You're the only one who didn't know who I was.'

'Are we going to talk about that again?' Keisuke made a face and held Maki's hand. 'But I know who you are now, right? And I only want to know you more.'

Maki turned her face away as she could feel her cheeks burning again. 'I–Idiot! Don't say something like that so shamelessly!'

They were interrupted with the opening of the door to Shizuka's room, and they were greeted with the image of the long-haired girl in more fashionable attire. Amidst Keisuke's helpless remark that she was still a sick person (which she totally ignored), Shizuka looked at her brother and Maki's intertwined fingers and rubbed her chin gravely.

'Onii-chan says that he has a girlfriend…Nishikino Maki-san from μ's is here at my house…She is the one who helped me change…She is holding hands with onii-chan…'

Maki almost let a laugh escape her lips at Shizuka's shell-shocked face of realization. Understanding that, at least for now, things were clear, she proceeded to grab the plate of food she had prepared for the young girl, and motioned for her to come over and sit with them.

'We can talk more later. Now, let's eat first. You need some food for your body to recover soon.'

End of Chapter 3

Originally, I wanted Keisuke's sister to be named Yukiho, since I really like the character of the same name from THE IDOLMASTER, but that was before I remember that Honoka's sister was also called Yukiho.

Also, I thought I should also mention that when I first started writing this story, I set Keisuke as a guitarist in a rock band and hence Maki would enter a world that she didn't have much exposure to before, but then I thought using classical music as a connection will be more fun. I have used classical music in my other story, La Musica Della Notte, in the Hayate no Gotoku fandom, and I wanted to try something different on the same connecting theme.

I can't promise a time for update, though I will hope to be soon. Stay tuned and thanks for the patience!