A/N: Notes are at the end.

Disclaimer: As usual, I still don't own Love Live! School Idol Project. This story has been written for the purposes of entertainment only.

Chapter 1 – Light the Fuse

"Maki-chan, Maki-chan, Maki-chan! I need to ask you something. It's really reallllllly important!"

Maki sat with her back against the wall by herself, drinking deeply from a bottle of water, and looked at Honoka with a somewhat exhausted expression. She was clearly tired, but then they all were. Yet despite her own exhaustion, Honoka couldn't stop smiling any more than she could contain her excitement. Muse had grown and now she had three new friends in her life; how could she not be happy? But she still didn't know the first years very well yet, a fact which she intended to change as soon as possible.

Maki however didn't appear to be in a particularly talkative mood. "Yes?" she replied, her tone clipped.

Most people might have got the hint and left her alone. Honoka however wasn't among that number. With an unperturbed smile, she breezily proceeded on. "I was just wondering if you're busy now. Since it's our first practice together, we're going to go get some celebratory ice cream and I thought you might like to come with us."

"I thought you said you had something important to tell me."

"I just did. Ice cream is an important part of every girl's life. So will you come? Please!"

The look Maki gave her was hard enough to cut diamonds. Even Honoka, incurable optimist as she was, didn't think that could mean anything good. The younger girl soon averted her eyes and busied herself closing her bag. "I... Yes, I'm really very busy. I'm sorry. Please excuse me."

With a curt nod to Honoka, she dismissed herself, sidestepping the leader and making for the exit without making eye contact with anyone. Surprised as she was by Maki's refusal, Honoka stood frozen on the spot; she wondered if she'd somehow done something to offend her junior. Maybe Maki had some sort of traumatic memory triggered by ice cream which Honoka had unwittingly caused her to remember. But if so, it was beyond Honoka's ability to imagine what could be so bad as to make anyone go off ice cream. She recovered in time only to bid Maki a quick "see you tomorrow," before she was gone and the door swung shut behind her.

For a moment, no-one spoke. The others were all looking at her and Honoka didn't know what to say. It was Hanayo who broke the silence.

"Don't take it personally Honoka-senpai," she offered with a shy little smile. "Maki-san is like that with everyone."

"Oh ok," Honoka responded quietly. That made more sense then some sort of ice cream related traumatic incident. And she supposed she shouldn't really be all that surprised; Maki had been a difficult nut to crack from the very beginning. Initially, she'd been unwilling to write music for Start:Dash and she hadn't been particularly interested in becoming an idol to start off with either. Apparently, she wasn't very interested in ice cream either.

"Well, that was rather rude if you ask me," Umi interjected, evidently displeased. It was rare for Honoka to see that expression on Umi's face and not be the cause of it. For a split second, she'd geared herself up to do what she normally did when Umi entered scolding mode: run away as fast as possible and hide for a bit.

"I'm sure she didn't mean to be rude," Kotori added, trying to appease the bluenette by playing with some of her tresses. The gentleness of the gesture did seem to calm Umi; her frown lightened a fraction though it didn't go away entirely. "Maybe she's just shy."

"Maki-san never really spoke to anyone in middle school," Rin said by way of confirmation. "Me and Kayochin never saw hang around with anyone anyway."

Hanayo nodded in agreement. "She always seemed to be content with her own company. I was really surprised actually when she offered to help me with projecting my voice. It was really unlike her."

"Yeah," Honoka replied, feeling unusually thoughtful. "I wonder…"

They hadn't been acquainted for very long but Maki had thus far been an incredibly difficult person to deal with. She was stand-offish, serious to a fault and probably the most defensive person Honoka had ever encountered (with the possible exception of the uptight student council president who seemed determined to undermine them). Maki was Honoka's polar opposite; cold to her warm, distant to her emotional. And yet…

Honoka had managed to persuade Maki to write the music for Start:Dash in the end and she'd had a hand in encouraging her to join Muse. On some level, Honoka had known that Maki really wanted to do these things despite her frequent refusals and protestations. Perhaps what she really needed was someone to push her, someone to draw her out of her shell. It then clicked with Honoka that what Maki lacked and perhaps wanted more than anything (maybe she didn't even know it yet) was a friend. She would never ask for friendship though; it had to be thrust upon her until she ran out of polite refusals.

Who better to do that than her polar opposite?

Persistence was the key and Honoka felt a sudden surge of determination: she would become friends with Maki-chan if it was the last thing she did!

Except she had no idea how she was going to do it. But then, she hadn't exactly known how to be an idol either. She'd figure it out as she went and she was confident that she would succeed.

With a smile and a pumped fist, Honoka spoke again, not letting what had just happened dampen her spirits. "I guess Maki-chan can join us next time. C'mon guys, let's go get that ice cream!"

It wasn't like Honoka wanted to spy on Maki. But since the red haired girl gave next to nothing away about herself which Honoka could use as an opening to establishing some form of connection, she didn't see how she'd been left with much of a choice. So she took to following Maki sometimes; she never followed her home or anything (even Honoka knew that could be seriously misconstrued and would do more harm than good). Instead, she just followed her sometimes around the school when she spotted Maki in a corridor. She didn't know exactly what she hoped to achieve. Maybe she was looking for some sort of sign.

A few days had passed since their initial practice; it was a stunning Friday afternoon and Honoka had somehow managed to convince Umi to let them all go early from practice. As usual, Maki was the first to leave, although she did at least do the courtesy of saying goodbye to everyone this time. As Honoka watched her go, she sensed that this could be the opportunity she'd been waiting for. She had to take it now or it could be too late.

"Umm sorry guys, I've got to go. Call you later." And she dashed off the roof, leaving four very bewildered girls behind her.

When she got to the stairwell, she could still just about hear Maki's footsteps echoing against the hard concrete somewhere below. Taking a moment to slip off her shoes and socks, Honoka took off in pursuit. The concrete was cold against the soles of her feet but as she took the stairs two at a time she barely made a sound.

At the bottom of the stairs, she peeked her head around the door leading to the corridor. From here, you could turn left towards the main entrance or right to go deeper into the school. Just as she was about to head left, Honoka caught a glimpse of red off to her right, just in time to spot Maki turn into a side corridor. The younger girl hadn't noticed her yet. Wondering why Maki was going further into the school rather than leaving it, Honoka followed, keeping at a safe distance.

It didn't take her long to figure out where Maki was going. After stealthily following her fellow idol down a hallway or two, Honoka put her back to the wall and listened. A door opened and closed somewhere down the corridor. If she guessed right, Maki had just entered the music room. The sound of the piano playing a few moments later was all the confirmation she needed. With deliberately careful steps, Honoka closed the distance, stopping outside the door. She cautiously peeped through the window.

The piano was brought to life by the girl sitting at it, playing with all the skill of a virtuoso. As she glanced from the piano to the girl, Honoka realized the piano was facing the door and Maki could see her watching. Honoka ducked back from the window, but fortunately for her, the pianist hadn't seemed to notice anything. When Honoka found the courage to peek again, she found the pianist had her eyes closed as her head bobbed side to side slightly, as if she were her own metronome. She seemed to pay no attention to her surroundings at all as she played her way though a song unfamiliar to Honoka with precision and grace. The song, Honoka noted, was a bubbly, happy song – not at all the sort of thing she expected to form part of Maki's repertoire.

Free from the threat of discovery (for the moment at least), Honoka settled in position in the shadow of the door frame and continued to quietly watch the younger member of Muse with a mounting sense of admiration. She only just held herself back from clapping when the song was over. On the previous two occasions Honoka had stumbled upon Maki playing, she'd instantly stopped playing once she realized she had an audience. As much as Honoka wanted to enter the room and talk to the first year, she hid and watched and listened. Perhaps that sign she'd been waiting for would show itself if she was patient enough.

It was easy to forget what she'd come here for though; Honoka seemed to lose sense of all else as she watched Maki play. She was so different when she played the piano; she seemed so happy: she wore a little smile which spoke volumes. It was nice to see Maki smile. She hardly ever did around other people, except very occasionally when Honoka would catch glimpses of it during their practices when Maki thought no-one was looking. Honoka wondered what it was about the piano that made Maki so happy. Maybe if she knew, she would be able to understand her a little bit better.

As much as she admired Maki's playing, a touch of envy stirred in Honoka the longer she watched. Unlike any other member of Muse, Maki possessed a wealth of musical skill. At best, Honoka could play a little nursery rhyme on a recorder and, on a good day, she might get half the notes right. Such a tiny achievement paled in comparison to what the younger girl could do. If Honoka had even just a thimble of the talent Maki had, she could do so much more for Muse and everyone else.

The last high notes faded away and for a time everything was quiet. Stepping away from the door and listening closely, Honoka tensed, ready to run off full pelt down the corridor at a moment's notice. A few familiar notes kept her in place.

"Aishiteru banzai! Koko de yokkata..." Maki's voice was soft and quiet, the tone of the music gentle. Honoka smiled to herself. This was the song Maki had sung on the day they had first met. She suspected that Maki would never sing these kinds of mushy songs unless she was absolutely certain she was alone. So Honoka sat on the floor, leaning against the door and listened. She wondered if maybe Maki would let them use this song for a single one day.

Aishiteru Banzai finished and was swiftly succeeded by another song that Honoka did not know. She supposed this must have been one of the redhead's own compositions. Maki sang about a world of fairies and goblins and she, the narrator of the song, was a princess in need of rescue. At first, Honoka assumed it was a song she had written with a boy in mind: she was the damsel in distress who needed saving. It was so out of keeping with what Honoka knew about Maki that she was genuinely surprised.

But as she continued to listen, she realized her assumption was wrong. The song became sadder and it became clearer that what the princess needed rescuing from was herself. She sat in a tower and constructed stories to distract herself from her own crippling loneliness. The fairies would tell her of princes coming to her rescue. But in the end, no-one came for her and the fairies were all in her mind anyway. She spent the rest of her days alone with only her imaginary friends for company.

It became harder and harder for Honoka to hold herself back from entering the room the longer she listened. Maki sang in a very low voice, as though she didn't want to be heard, but occasionally her breath might hitch or a high note might go off key. The song clearly meant a lot to her. Honoka wanted nothing more than to run into the music room and give Maki a giant hug. But if she did that, then she would have to admit that she'd heard every word. And then maybe Maki would stop playing in the school music room forever. Maybe she'd only play at home instead. Then how would Honoka be able to listen? Perhaps she would have to end up following the younger girl home and sit and listen beneath the window of her living room. But then she might get arrested for trespassing or loitering or burglary or something.

She was still chasing thoughts in circles in her head when the door opened. Leaning as she was with her back to the door, Honoka lost balance and instantly fell backwards. Yelling in alarm, she tried stumbling to her feet and in the process only succeeding in almost knocking Maki over.

"Honoka!" she yelled, just as alarmed as the trespasser. For some reason, she was upside-down. "What… what are you doing here? Why haven't you gone home?"

Honoka fumbled for excuses even as she kept trying to stand up. She failed at both. "I-uh… well… I was going home after practice… and then I… fell asleep?" She hadn't meant to make it sound like a question, but whichever way you looked at it, she knew it was a weak excuse. Maki's gaze was sceptical and Honoka could tell she wasn't buying a word of it.

"You fell asleep? In the corridor?"

Rubbing the back of her head and trying not to be intimidated by the upside down girl staring at her, Honoka gave her what she hoped to be her best winning smile. "Practice was pretty tiring today."

Maki clicked her tongue and folded her arms tightly across her chest. Closing her eyes, Honoka fully expected a scolding the like of which she'd never known before. But it never seemed to come. And then…

"You were listening?" Maki asked, her voice so quiet that Honoka wasn't sure if she'd simply imagined it.

Opening her eyes again, Honoka was surprised to see that Maki's stern expression was gone. Her eyes were downcast, she was frowning and Honoka realised that Maki's posture had gone even more defensive than usual.

"Uh, sorry Maki-chan, I couldn't help it. You play really beautifully and I knew you wouldn't play if you thought I was around. So I hid and listened. Please forgive me! And please don't stop playing. You're really, really good!"

If anything, Maki looked even more awkward than she had before. No doubt she was thinking about the song that she'd just finished. Honoka used this as an opportunity to get back on her feet. Maki muttered something about getting a glass of water, but the sentence was replaced by a strangled yell when Honoka suddenly stood and tried to hug her. Honoka's arms closed around empty air; Maki had somehow taken two steps back.

"Was that song about you, Maki-chan?" she asked. As Maki tried to scramble for an answer, Honoka lunged forward again and this time drew Maki into a hug. The younger girl instantly stiffened in her arms.

It was Maki's turn to stutter and make excuses. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about. I heard it on the radio. I didn't write that st-stupid song!"

Honoka didn't believe her, not for a minute, but she decided not to say so. There was still so much about Maki that Honoka did not know and she sensed that she was already pushing Maki to the limit.

"Ca-can you let me go now?" Maki asked. Her face was aglow.

"Oh, sorry Maki-chan." Honoka let go, much to the visible relief of the younger girl. Not for the first time, Honoka wondered how she could breach Maki's walls. There had to be a way. She had to think of a way they could bond that would help them to communicate a bit more.

"I'm going to get that water now," Maki said softly, side stepping Honoka and making her way down the corridor.

And like that, a flash of inspiration came to Honoka. It was brilliant. She'd been so busy looking for some sort of sign that she hadn't realized it had been in front of her for the last twenty minutes. "Wait, Maki-chan, could you teach me how to play the piano?"

The younger girl stopped and turned. Her expression was one of bemusement. "Teach you? Why?"

"Because you're amazing, Maki-chan!" Honoka exclaimed, clasping her hands in front of her in excitement. "You have this amazing gift and I don't know anyone who can play like you do. It'd be great to learn from you. And you're the only one in Muse who can really play any musical instruments anyway. Maybe if you teach me, I'll be able to help out with music sometime." She didn't mention that she also wanted to use the lessons to get closer to Maki, to encourage the younger girl to open up a bit more. No doubt Maki would refuse if she knew that. "So what do you say?"

The other girl clasped her hands behind her back and kept her gaze on the floor. "I'm not… I've never taught anyone before. I don't think I'd be very good at it. You could always ask Hitomi-sensei…"

Honoka shook her head. "She's nowhere near as good as you!" She didn't even need to make that up. Occasionally, the music teacher would have to play the piano in the auditorium, for graduations or prize-givings. While she definitely knew how to play, she'd never tugged at Honoka's emotions the way Maki could do with anything she turned her hands to. Enveloping one of said hands in both her own, Honoka tried her winning smile again. "Please, Maki-chan! Please, please, please, please, please! I'll bring you candy!"

Maki's eyes seemed to light up at the mention of candy. She perked up considerably, something which Honoka took careful note of. "I guess… well, maybe I could try."

"Yay," Honoka yelled, moving in to give Maki yet another hug.

"But you're going to have to obey a few ground rules," Maki continued, holding up her free hand. "Like no hugging or physical contact." Getting the hint, Honoka backed off. "And if we're going to do this, I expect you to commit to it. I want you to practise for at least one hour every school day."

"An hour?" Honoka parroted, suddenly wondering if this was the best idea. Idol practice already normally took up at least two hours a day. If she had to do an extra hour of piano practice on top of that…

"I won't teach you otherwise." Maki said, digging her heels in. Honoka knew it was Maki's terms or nothing and to try and negotiate could lose her this opportunity. The younger girl was one of the most stubborn people she'd ever known.

"Okay, one hour a day. Will you be teaching me every day?"

Maki shook her head. "No, I'll only teach you one day a week. You'll practise what I show you. And I'll know if you don't practice."

Honoka let out an awkward laugh. "Maki-chan is strict. Umm is there anything else?"

"Just one more rule," she said, her tone authoritative. "I don't want you to tell the others that I'm teaching you. It's going to be difficult enough just teaching one person, let alone others." Honoka wondered if that was a subtle dig at her. "So do we have a deal?"

Maki held out her hand. For a moment, Honoka was tempted to joke that she'd already forgotten one of her own ground rules, but decided against it. She took Maki's hand and gave it what she decided was a professional handshake.

"Deal! So are we starting now?"

Maki shook her head again. "I need to think about how I can show you the basics. We can't just jump straight into it. We could… try a lesson on Monday after practice... if you want."

"That sounds great, Maki-chan! I won't let you down!"

With a nod, Maki walked away down the corridor, presumably in search of the water she'd mentioned before. Deciding not to push her luck, Honoka picked up her bag and her shoes and decided to go home. She sensed she'd finally made some progress although only time would tell how successful she would be

She couldn't wait to get started.

A/N: So this is the first multi-chapter story I've attempted in about six or seven years. This is also the first I fully intend to finish. I've already completed the first and second drafts, so it's simply a matter of editing the subsequent chapters before uploading. Editing takes time though so I'm going to aim to upload a new chapter once every three weeks. Some chapters need more work than others though so this may change if required.

And that's basically it. Thanks for reading. See you in a few weeks (hopefully).