A soft sigh escaped Nozomi's lips. It was a sigh of pure joy, one that held the highest of contentment in its sound. She knew that she was sitting on a park bench, but the rest of the world might as well have been an empty void, for she was lost in the icy blue eyes of the one they called Ayase Eli. If this was how getting truly lost felt like, she swore to never own a map again. The way her eyes sparkled, how she could see her own moony-eyed reflection staring right back at her, it was like drowning in bliss. The two were perfectly happy just sitting there and staring into each other's eyes, trying to read each other with silent acknowledgement, but a deliberate, exasperated cough shattered the peace onto the ground below.

"I don't mean to be a third wheel, here..." Nozomi ever-so reluctantly broke eye contact to turn and look at their rude interrupter, and this action reminded her: Nico was there too. She had completely forgotten.

"Oops, sorry Niccochi." The apology was sincere, but the sentence wasn't even finished before she was turning back to look at Eli, her heart fluttering at the sight of the gentle blush adorning the blonde's cheeks. Even her embarrassment was full of grace. After two months of dating, Nozomi still found herself firmly planted in the 'honeymoon' segment. If it wasn't for a little annoyance called 'work' she would be happy to just spend every waking moment with her dancing goddess. Oh right, and Nico. She should probably stop ignoring Nico.

"Isn't there anything else we can do while we wait for the movie?" That's right: they were all going to a movie together. Somehow the fact had slipped from Nozomi's mind. "The movie, I remind you, that we already missed once because you two won't take your eyes off of each other."

"Oh Niccochi, you'll understand when you grow up and start feeling your heart skip a beat when you see that special someone." That earned her a cute giggle from Eli, though it also brought a rather scary glare from Nico.

"Grow up?! We're the same age!" Nozomi just waved off her friend with a grin, which only served to further aggravate Nico. The comfort in teasing Nico so freely, and around Eli to boot, felt nice. With two months having gone by, Nozomi felt a lot more comfortable around Eli, a stark contrast to the nervous wreck she had been when she'd originally interviewed her. Now things felt a lot more normal, but better; so, so much better. She was perfectly okay with things staying like this forever.

With her appropriate amount of Nico teasing temporarily satisfied, Nozomi leaned back against the bench and looked out across the park. When one was madly in love, it was easy to find beauty in even the simplest places, and so it was that she noticed the multi-colored leaves of fall drifting lazily to the ground without a care in the world. Everything seemed to be in perfect harmony: the falling leaves, the soft calls of a singing bird, the half-obscured face staring at them from behind a tree. Wait, what was that last one?

Nozomi blinked in slight confusion, staring directly at the tree in question. Yes, there was definitely someone staring at them; or at least there was before they apparently noticed her staring and quickly ducked behind the tree. 'Hmm...' This was a mystery that required some investigation. Turning her head to kiss Eli on the cheek, she whispered softly in her ear, "I'll be right back, Elicchi." With only a soft murmur of acknowledgement from her partner, Nozomi stood up and ambled over towards the tree, catching Nico questioning her sudden movement as she walked off.

As she neared her prey, Nozomi stopped just in front of the tree and wondered who exactly had been staring at them. Were they a stalker? Were they stalking Elicchi? A small pang of jealously stung her heart, but she shook that premature feeling aside: she hadn't even given the person a chance to explain themselves. Placing one hand firmly onto the bark, she nearly threw herself into vision on the other side, giving their watcher a big smile. "Hello!"

A loud, surprised squeak was the response she was given, her sudden appearance startling the other person so much they nearly fell over. Nozomi watched with great interest as a hand was slapped over their mouth, and she found herself staring down into two wide and frightened purple eyes. This must have been what it was like to look at her hair for too long. The girl who owned those purple eyes took a step back, then seemed to realize that action would take her out of hiding, so instead she just stood still. Well, except for the incredible portrayal of a shaking leaf she was doing.

"You know it's not nice to stare at people." Nozomi grinned as she did her best impression of a pot calling the kettle black. Hypocrisy could be fun when it was shared with a new friend.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry!" The girl had a soft but high-pitched, squeaky voice, and she looked as if she wanted to jump straight up that tree and take shelter within its canopy of leaves. It was impossibly cute. "I-I w-was... S-staring? M-m-me?" Nozomi chuckled and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, causing her to let out another squeak.

"Yes, you," Nozomi teased, peeking out from behind the tree at Eli and Nico, who seemed to be heatedly conversing about something. She didn't have to wait long for the other girl to follow suit, her breathing becoming noticeably louder. "She sure is beautiful, isn't she?"

"Y-yeah," the girl murmured, dream-like. That pang of jealousy struck again, but Nozomi shoved it back down: that emotion would do her no good. Plus, it was impossible to look at Eli and not be starstruck. "Th-the way sh-she moves on stage i-is amazing."

"Like a goddess on Earth, right?"

"R-right! I-I own all of her CDs..." The girl suddenly clasped a hand over her mouth again, as if she had revealed too much to some stranger. Her embarrassment was only compounded by Nozomi's suddenly confused expression.

"Elicchi has CDs?"

"Wh-who's E-Elicchi?" Nozomi blinked once, twice, then opened her mouth slightly before shutting it again. Wait, if she wasn't talking about Eli, then... She looked back at Eli and Nico, then at the girl, then did another double take. She couldn't mean...

"Wait, you're talking about... Nicocchi?" The increased blush on the girl's face answered that pretty clearly. Nozomi did another double take, then stared wide-eyed at the other girl. "Niccochi... A goddess?" She was going to laugh. It couldn't be helped. Laughing until she couldn't breathe would certainly be rude, but it had been a long time since she'd heard anything more hysterical. Desperately trying to keep herself under control, Nozomi bit down hard on her lip, though she couldn't keep the mirth from sparkling in her eyes. 'Friend' was the only word she could get out without completely losing it.

"F-friend?" Nozomi nodded, gulping in several large breaths of air before she could continue.

"Yes, I'm actually Niccochi's best friend!"

"Y-you're not one of her fans?" It couldn't be helped. Nozomi fell to the ground in unconstrained hysterics while Nico's stalker stared down in utter confusion. "D-did I say something f-funny?"

The two of them were sitting together in a fast food restaurant, Nozomi's biggest grin contrasting splendidly with the other girl's nervous, almost mouse-like expression. Her name Koizumi Hanayo, as Nozomi had learned earlier that day. After having finally composed herself properly, she had reiterated to Hanayo that she was indeed the best friend of the Yazawa Nico, and that maybe the two should chat sometime. That 'sometime' turned out to be mere hours later, as after the movie Nozomi had reluctantly pulled herself away from Eli to tell her that she had some urgent Nico business to attend to. There would be plenty of details later. So there the two of them were, and after enough uncomfortable silence, Nozomi knew she had to break the ice.

"So you're one of those stalker fans, huh?" Hanayo nearly spit out her drink, going red in the face. This was going to be fun.

"I-I w-wasn't stalking her!" She protested, though it wasn't the most convincing thing Nozomi had ever heard. "I-I just... w-was in the area, a-and though I-I recognized her." Assumedly she had hoped for this to be more believable, yet she couldn't even look at Nozomi, nervously tapping her fingers together. To delve deeper into this mystery, Nozomi would have to call upon her years of journalistic skills.

"So how long have you been a fan of Niccochi's?"

"T-ten years! I-I've been listening to her s-since she was just starting out. I-I own everything she's put out a-and she's so good a-and..." Hanayo stopped abruptly, realizing she'd been trapped. No magic eraser in the world could wipe that grin off of Nozomi's face.

"Have you ever gone up and talked to her?"

"O-of c-course not! Sh-she's a h-huge star a-and I'm just... a-a nobody." Oh boy, this was going to take some work. Nozomi was willing to help though! She was just that nice of a friend.

"It's not good to think so lowly of yourself, Hanayo. Tell you what, I think I can help you out." That completely changed the atmosphere, and Hanayo perked up almost immediately.

"Y-you c-can?"

"I've got a bit of an 'in' with Miss Yazawa, and I bet I can pull some strings and set up a meeting for ya." Hanayo's eyes lit up like stars in the night sky, and Nozomi couldn't help but smile at how adorable she was. This would be good for Hanayo, even if the last thing Nico needed was someone to pump up her already-inflated ego.

"O-oh! Th-th-thank y-y-you! Y-you r-really c-c-can?" She was speaking so fast and stuttering so much Nozomi could barely understand her, but she figured she got the gist of it. A nod was all the confirmation that was needed, and Hanayo had to restrain herself from leaping over the table and hugging the best friend of the number one idol in the world. This was going to be lots of fun.

Nico was not in a great mood. Her car had blown a tire, and Nozomi had been way late in picking her up. The great Yazawa Nico was not to be kept waiting on the side of the road like some commoner, not even by her best friend. On top of that, Nozomi had that stupid grin on her face she always had when she was planning something, and when Nico tried to probe her about it, she was suspiciously mum. "Oh Niccochi, it's nothing to be concerned about." Nico was greatly concerned.

Her concern was increased when, instead of heading back to her house, Nozomi took them to her own place instead. "Why are we at your place, Nozomi?"

"I'm kidnapping you, Niccochi. You'll look so good tied up in my basement." That giggle of hers could sound oh-so innocent, but Nico definitely would not put it past her to actually kidnap someone and tie them up in her basement. It seemed like a very Nozomi thing. She laughed as would be expected and stepped out of the car, but she took a few seconds to stretch her legs just in case she needed to run. Even now she would never profess to knowing all of the machinations of Nozomi's twisted mind. "What are you doing, Niccochi?"

"Nothing!" She hurried over and fell into step with Nozomi, looking around while her friend unlocked the door and let them inside. To her surprise, there was already someone in there. Nico stopped in her tracks as Nozomi just wandered off to the kitchen, completely ignoring the shaking honey-brown-haired girl staring directly at her. "Uhh, Nozomi?"

"Mmhmm?"

"There's, uh... there's someone in your house." Was she the only person who noticed how strange this was? It was slightly unnerving to have someone staring so intently at her. Was she a ghost? Maybe Nozomi's house was haunted. Of course it'd be her house.

"Oh, this is Hanayo." Nozomi had wandered back into the room and put an arm around the strange girl, who squeaked in surprise. "She's your biggest fan, you know?" Oh, it was one of those. Nico sighed softly and ran a hand through her hair, eying the girl who looked like she might just combust if addressed. It wasn't like Nozomi to just grab fans off the street and present them to her, so maybe there was something else about this girl, but she didn't know what it was. Just what was Nozomi up to...

"Uh huh... Look, sorry if my friend has been a bother to you. You need an autograph or something?"

"I-I'd d-do anything for you." Ohh, it was one of those ones. Nozomi always picked the weirdest people. The girl - Hanayo, was it? - seemed thoroughly embarrassed by her words, going bright red and covering her mouth with her hands. It was kind of cute in a way.

"Look, uh, let me just autograph something for you, uh... Hanayo, was it?" A small nod confirmed it. "Do you have anything you want me to sign?" That got her attention, and Hanayo almost leapt forward while pulling out a CD and a red pen.

"I-I d-didn't know wh-which to choose! I-it's so hard t-to pick a favorite, b-but I-I love Smile for You, a-and I hope th-that's okay a-and-"

"Woah woah woah, slow down." Nico put her hands out to try and calm down her poor, stuttering fan, and immediately the girl clammed up. Huh, maybe she had some kind of power... Shaking her head to clear that thought out, she put on her best smile and beamed up - this short stature is a curse - at Hanayo. "There's no need to be nervous! Just think of me as a normal, everyday person."

"With three times the ego." Nico's smile faltered, looking over to shoot daggers at a grinning Nozomi. It got Hanayo to laugh though, so maybe Nico could forgive Nozomi... for an hour or so. Taking the pen and the CD, Nico scrawled her name in small print across the middle, handing it back to the starstruck Hanayo, who looked to be about one second away from legitimately squeeing. She didn't even think people actually did that.

"Th-th-thank you!" Hanayo was now clutching the CD in her hands and looking at Nico with enough reverence to blind someone. "Y-you inspire me s-so much, a-and I want t-to be as c-cool as you s-someday!" This brought a genuine smile - and a slight blush - to Nico's face, who decided to prove her coolness by pointedly ignoring Nozomi laughing in the background.

"Remember, Hanayo, it's important to just be yourself. That's the coolest person you can be!" At least one person in the room was appreciative of her sage wisdom. "Nico Nico nii!~" She finished things off with her signature pose, giving off her brightest smile. When she opened her eyes, though... "Huh? Hanayo?" The girl was gone... and then Nico looked down and found that she had fainted on the spot. "A-ah! Hanayo!" Nozomi's laughter rang throughout the apartment as she clutched the kitchen counter for support, watching with great amusement as Nico tried to wake her unconscious fan.

"Ahahah, oh my god, Niccochi! Look what you did, ahaha!"

"Sh-shut up, Nozomi! I didn't mean to! H-Hanayo?!"

Nico slumped over onto Nozomi's couch, groaning into a pillow. Today had been the absolute weirdest, but at least meeting such a dedicated fan had made her forget about that incoming payment for the blown tire. Still, she knew that this day would live with her forever: Nozomi would make sure of it.

"Niccochi."

"No."

"Have I told you how cool you are lately?"

"Shut up, Nozomi." The teaser in question laughed and flopped down next to Nico, patting her on the back. Nico merely groaned in response. Stupid Nozomi and her stupid ego-boosting yet simultaneously ego-reducing plans.

"You two seemed to hit it off really well."

"Why do you do this to me?" With one last groan for posterity, Nico sat up and glared at Nozomi, who just continued grinning before ruffling Nico's hair. She pulled back and growled, covering her head with her hands.

"Well Niccochi, I know you've been feeling like a third wheel with Elicchi and I lately, and I felt that you could use another friend. So I found you one." Nico found herself gaping at Nozomi. Then again, it was probably obvious that she felt at least a little bit like the odd woman out, but that was to be expected when one's best friend happened to fall head over heels for some dancer. It would be weird to always be hanging out with a fan, though. Wasn't that too egotistical, even for her? Hanayo was a very... well, different fan, that was for sure. Rather cute too.

"Mm... Alright, well that's all well and good, but I doubt I'm just going to see her walking down the street- eh?" Nozomi had suddenly pulled out a scrap of paper and thrust it into Nico's face. Carefully taking it from her, Nico was surprised to find a phone number written down on it. "This is hers, isn't it?"

"I got it from her when I was planning on getting you two to meet. You can thank me now." Nico rolled her eyes, but it was a gift from the heart, at least.

"Yeah yeah, thanks a lot." She couldn't help but smile, though. "I guess I should call her sometime."

"Why not now?"

"Eh? Isn't that early?"

"I'm sure your number one fan would be more than happy to not have to wait." Well... With a sigh, Nico acquiesced to her friend and grabbed her phone, calling the number written on the paper.

"Ah, Hanayo. It's Nico. Haha, yeah, listen, did you want to, you know, hang out sometime or something? I can teach you how to perfect my signature pose." There was a concealed snicker from Nozomi, followed by an 'ow!' and a fake pout after Nico slugged her in the arm. "Oh no, it's not a trade secret, I swear. Here, why don't you text me your address and I can come pick you up?"

After hanging up, Nico felt oddly satisfied. Nozomi had been at least somewhat right: she had felt like a third wheel, and there weren't really any other people she knew that she could consider 'friends'. Having the chance to gain another one - even if it was forced upon her - felt pretty good, if she could admit that. She leaned back on the couch and sighed contently, only to stiffen up when she felt Nozomi's hot breath on her ear. "So, when are you going to Nico Nico nii your new friend?"

"D-don't pervert my catchphrase like that!" She would never be allowed to forget this day ever again.