Nico and her mother sat in a small office, waiting for the doctor to come. After some tests, she was told to wait.

"You have a terminal illness."

The delivery of her condition shocked her mother and herself.

"We couldn't find any ways to cure it, I'm sorry. It developed quickly, but it seems it was undetected."

Both she and her mother's eyes were tearing up at this information.

"You only had these symptoms today?"

She nodded. When she got home, Nico experienced a sharp pain in her chest. When she coughed, a small amount of blood came out. Nico immediately called her mother and they quickly went to the hospital.

"Again, I'm sorry." The red headed doctor told her. Nico didn't want to accept this fate, but…

"It's okay. But…are you sure it's terminal?" Nico was desperate to know, which was evident in her voice.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, it seems to have affected your heart."

"And there is nothing I can do about it?"

Again, the doctor shook her head. "The only way to delay it is to not exert yourself with physical activity."

"You can't keep her alive?!" Nico's mother bursted out.

"I wouldn't recommend it. If we were to put her on life support, it would delay it by a month and a half, at most."

Nico's mother looked at her devastated daughter.

The doctor was visibly anxious and sad. "I'm sorry, but I wouldn't want to put a burden on you financially."

Nico's mother tried to speak, most likely to argue again. However, Nico stopped her. "Mom, she's right." Nico hated seeing her mother so sad, especially since she promised to always be happy after her father's death. But, the doctor was right. "I know it's sad, but…it's life…right?"

Nico tried to be strong, but she broke down, as did her mother. They hugged each other tightly as they cried. The doctor was staying strong, but she was still shaken by the sight.

"I would like to mention," the doctor said as the two released their hug. "The symptoms happen erratically, as the disease seemed to occur about a month ago. However, I believe that the symptoms will occur often during the middle of next week."

Nico realized one key detail. "You didn't say. How long do I have left?"

"Until the end of this month."

It hit Nico hard, as it did to her mother.

"Could I recommend something?" The doctor felt a bit out of line to ask, but Nico hesitantly nodded her head. "Since it is Thursday, I think it is best to have the weekend as a time to spend with your friends and family. When Monday comes," the doctor turned to Nico's mother. "Drop her out of school. She should stay here for the rest of her time, with occasional times to go outside and do activities."

"I-I can't keep being an idol, can I?" Nico asked. She knew the answer, but she wanted confirmation.

"No, unfortunately. Doing that would cause more harm to your body. The most you can do is walk around."

Nico nodded. The doctor told her everything, despite her hatred towards it.

"That is all of the information I had. I'm very sorry." The doctor apologized again.

Nico shook her head. "It's-It's okay, doctor." She was obviously depressed, however she wanted to keep her tough demeanor. If only just to comfort her mother and siblings.

"Do you have any more questions?" The doctor asked timidly.

Nico's mother didn't say a lot, as she was still in shock that her daughter would be going away soon. Nico stayed strong, despite how hard it was.

Nico did have one question.

"You are Maki's mother, right?"

The doctor sighed. "Yes, it was obvious."

Nico laughed quietly. "It was. Having 'Nishikino Hospital' in bright lights was a bit obvious."

Maki's mother was surprised at how light-hearted Nico was being during this tragic time. However, she smiled.

"Could you…" Nico had trouble saying her words, with how nervous she was being. "Could you not tell her?"

Maki's mother was confused at this request. "Yes, although I never planned to tell her. What is the reason, Nico?"

"I-I kind of like her." Nico blushed. "I wouldn't want to burden her with this. Any of my friends, really. I want to tell them when it is closer to the end."

Maki's mother's heart was warmed by this. She was happy that Maki could have so many friends and a person who likes her so much. "Of course, Nico."

"Thank you, Nishikino-san." Nico was happy that Maki's mother was so nice.

"Anything else?" Maki's mother asked.

"Mom?" Nico asked her mom. However, she didn't look confident enough to say anything. "No, thank you."

"Oh!" Maki's mother remembered. "Nico, could you add my contact information to your phone? I can't assure that I will respond immediately, but I will try to text or call back when I can. I do this for all of my patients. If you do, I just would like if you could do it when it is an emergency. Smaller things are okay, but I would want to know if you are in need."

"O-okay!" Nico quickly got her phone out and took down the information. "Thank you for everything, Nishikino-san. Please take care of me." She bowed, as did her mother.

"I will, Nico." Maki's mother smiled. The two of them left, which left Maki's mother alone. She was thankful that there weren't too many patients that were in dire need.

Yazawa POV:

Nico and her mother got into the car. Nico buckled up, but she saw how distressed her mother was. "Mom, please calm down. We still need to get home for Cocoa, Cocoro, and Cotaro."

"I'm sorry." Nico's mother sniffled. "But…I'm losing you. I'm losing another person that's so close to me!" Nico's mother cried as she embraced Nico.

She couldn't contain her tears. Her strong will was broken by her mother's sadness. "I know! I'm going to miss you! I love you, mom!"

"I'm going to miss you too, Nico! I love you!" Nico's mother cried harder, as did Nico.

It was settling in Nico's mind. She only had a few weeks to live her life. Only the weekend to be with her friends for a long while. To be with her family.

The two stayed like that for a while. As they stopped, Nico's mother kissed Nico on her forehead. "I love you, Nico."

"I love you too, mom."

Nishikino POV:

Maki's mother came home exhausted. She had a few more things to do at the hospital, which tired her out.

"Hello, mother." Maki greeted her as she sat on a sofa.

"Hello, Maki. How was school?" She asked.

"It was fine. How were things at the hospital?" Maki answered and then questioned.

Maki's mother remembered Nico. One of Maki's friends. A girl that likes, and maybe even loves Maki. She wanted to tell Maki about Nico's condition. But, she remembered Nico's request.

"I want to tell them when it is closer to the end."

"Nothing too unexpected at a hospital, dear." Maki's mother answered.

"Okay. I have some more homework to do. Excuse me." Maki bowed.

It was painful to not tell Maki about her friend. But, she stayed true to her word.

A/N: First tragedy fic I will be writing. Expect chapters every 1-2 days. This is going to be a short one, probably. If 10 or less chapters is considered short. I might even have more than 10, we'll see.

Some context: Nico has grown to be one of my best girls of Muse. I also ship Nico and Maki pretty hard, so I wanted it to have a small revolve around these two. However, it will be centered around Nico and the rest of Muse.

Please leave reviews to tell me how I did for this first chapter. If you like this, leave favourites/follows.

Thanks for Reading!