That Warmth of Yours

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Live!

"Are you sure that you are not joining us, Maki-chan?"
"Maki-chan turned down my ramen invitation. Rin is sad, nya..."
"H-hey... It's not like that, Rin. It's just that I actually promised to have dinner with my parents tonight."
"I see..."
"I am sorry Rin, Hanayo, maybe next time."
"It's fine, really, Maki-chan . See you tomorrow then."
"Y-yeah... See you tomorrow Rin, Hanayo."

'Sorry...' the redhead mumbling softly as she walked toward the opposite direction from her two friends. It was so cold since soon it would be winter already. For a moment her amethyst orbs gazing upon the orange colored sky, still thinking about Rin and Hanayo. She felt bad for turning down her very first two friends' offer. But she knew she must. It was not every day that she had the chance for having dinner with her parents.

Nishikino Maki, first grade in Otonokizaka. She's the only heiress of the Nishikino Hospital. She's beautiful, she's smart. Anyone would think that she's a perfect figure.

'But little knows the truth...'

That seemingly perfect figure was a double-edged sword. It made some people envy her, while some others felt hesitant to approach her.

And to make it worse, the way she interacted with her acquaintances didn't help either.

Some said that she's the type who prefers being alone while some others said that she's a dense person even though the truth she doesn't mean it. Perhaps being the only child and being the only heir that lived up to her parents' expectation had lessen her chance to interact with outside world. Truth to be told that the only one who always accompanied her since she was a child is the melody from her beloved piano.

'It's more than enough...'
'I don't need more than this...'

She never expected fate would prove that she couldn't be more wrong than that... And sooner than what her inner was actually thinking.

Hoshizora Rin and Koizumi Hanayo, they were the person that she could call as her very first friends. It started when both Rin and Hanayo were coincidentally walking past the music room while she was playing the piano there. Curious, they decided to peek, finding a redhead playing a piece they didn't know while melodious voice came out of her mouth following the piece she played.

And started after that, Rin kept asking her to become Hanayo's and her friend. Of course she reflexively refused at first.

"Perhaps... It wasn't a coincidence at all I guess." she said to herself as she noticed that she was near the station already. A small smile appeared on her mien. Remembering how many times Rin nagging and asking her to become their friends before she gave up and agreed surely made her time flew fast.

She actually wanted to come with Rin and Hanayo. But having dinner together with her parents was like one in a lifetime chance for her.

She still felt bad. But she would make sure that she would come with Rin and Hanayo next time.

-oOo-

There's nothing more annoying than waiting. It was true for some people, while some others were fine with it. Maki was probably the second one. She was standing at the side of the rail, behind the line, waiting for the train to arrive. Her amethyst colored eyes looked around her surrounding for a moment while she trying to keep herself warm by tucking her hands into her blazer's pockets. The station was quite full with crowds that time, mostly by students. It was normal since class had ended for most school.

The train arrived some moments later.

'Hmm… A mail?' Just as she wanted to walk into the train, Maki noticed that her phone was vibrating in her pocket for a moment, stopping her right in front of the train's automatic door. Unfortunately, she forgot where she was. Right before she could take out the phone to check the mail, someone collided with her back, causing Maki to fell on the train's floor.

"H-hey!" The redhead turned back as she grunted in pain.

What reflected on the redhead's eyes was a figure of a petite girl in the similar condition with her. The girl was wearing a pink cardigan under the very same blazer that the redhead currently wore. Her raven hair was tied into two pigtails.

"Owwie..." The petite girl screeched as she covering her reddened nose she got from bumping into Maki's back, hoping to subside the pain by doing so.

Maki was ready to throw another rant to the girl. But before she could do it, the raven haired girl suddenly stood.

"Sorry, nico~" were the words that came out of the girl's mouth before she hurriedly ran into the crowd of passengers.

"What?!" Maki retorted as a vein popped on her forehead. She grunted for a moment before letting the problem slide and deciding to look for an available seat in the train.

After the redhead found an empty seat, she took her phone again, checking the mail which came right before the raven haired girl bumped into her. Her eyes widened for a moment after reading it.

'...we'll make it up next time...'
'...sorry, Maki...'

It was from her mother.

She knew something like this might happened...
Still, it was a promise...
And she was really looking forward for it...

"I should have come with Rin and Hanayo instead, shouldn't I" the redhead said to herself, her voice was shaky. For a while, she was considering to mail Rin or Hanayo, asking whether they were still in Rin's favorite Ramen shop. But she quickly dismissed the idea. She didn't want Rin and Hanayo waiting for her too long.

"Well, let's think it's just another normal day." the redhead tried encouraging herself. Even though she knew it was futile as she could feel her amethyst eyes a bit wet.

She closed her eyes, quickly hiding her face using the schoolbag that she currently hugged tightly. She hoped that no one noticed her for now.

-oOo-

"..."

'Hmm... Where am I?' the redhead mumbled to herself. 'Ah right, it seems that I fell asleep.'

"M...i?!"
'What?' she asked in her own thought, realizing that there was someone there. Although she was confused because the voice was unclear

'and why it feels warmer?' she continued wondering until somehow she felt that something was tugging her uniform.

"Makki?!" now the voice were clear for her.

"Ummm..." was the only reply came from the redhead as she slowly opened her eyes and looking right into the very same raven haired girl that bumped into her before entering the train sat beside her.

"Sorry to wake you up, but we're almost reaching the last station." the girl said.

'...' Maki didn't say anything. She was still processing what was happened.

Until she realized that somehow she ended leaning onto the raven haired girl and using the aforementioned girl's shoulder as 'pillow' while the redhead fell asleep. She then also noticed that the pink cardigan that the girl was wearing covered her body like a blanket.

"W-what are you doing here?!" the redhead stuttered as she got up quickly from her position. Her face was almost as red as her hair now.

"Mou! That's rude, Makki... Nico was looking for a seat to sit." the raven haired girl pouted. "And it's by any chance that the only available seat was beside Makki."

"Nico?! What's that?! Beside, how did you know my name?" the redhead questioned her in irritation.

There was no reply from the mysterious girl, the only thing she did was standing up before she finally gave a reply to the redhead.

"Nishikino Maki. First year. Seventeen years old. The heiress of Nishikino Hospital..." the girl said while taking several steps away from where she sat before turning her petite figure one hundred and eighty degree, now facing the flinched redhead.

"You're actually pretty famous in school, Makki." the girl continued, giving the redhead a sheepish smile.

Maki wanted to protest at first because the girl kept calling her by her first name. But before she could say anything, she was cut by the raven haired girl again.

"Nico doesn't know what problem you currently have. But that sad expression doesn't suit Makki, you know." the raven haired girl smiled once again, only to make The redhead turned red like a tomato again while she realized that someone noticed she almost cried back then. Now she remembered that back then she felt someone sat beside her and putting something to cover her body.

"Anyway..." the raven haired girl continued. She noticed that the train began to slow down as it soon entered the station. "I am sorry for bumping into you before..."

"See you tomorrow, Makki!" the raven haired girl said with a small grin before she leave the train.

"Wait!" the redhead realized that she hadn't thanks the raven haired girl. and she hadn't know her name either. Unfortunately, the raven haired girl is already nowhere to be found.

And to make it worse, Maki just realized that the girl forgot to take her cardigan, leaving Maki with no choice, but to try looking for her tomorrow at school.

"Geez... I hope it won't be difficult to find her tomorrow." Maki sighed a moment later as she folded up the pink cardigan so that she can put it in her schoolbag for now. A piece of paper fell from the cardigan's pocket in the process. The redhead noticed that there's a small scribble on it.

'Yazawa Nico, Class 3-2.'

'So, that's why she said that 'see you tomorrow?''

Omake:

Maki just got off the train a moment later. The redhead walked casually, already let her problem slide thanks to the raven haired girl she met on the train before. She almost walked out of the station until she realized that there's something wrong.

She noticed that this is not the station where she supposed to get off. She just remembered that the raven haired girl before did mention that they were almost arrived at the last station, meaning that she passed the station where she supposed to get off when she fell asleep.

"Urgh... That little girl! she should have wake me up earlier!" the redhead grumbled in irritation, forgetting two simple facts. One, How could the raven haired girl knew where the redhead supposed to get of while it was their first meeting. And two, the little girl Maki thought was actually her upperclassman.

Meanwhile, on a street...

"ACHOOOO-" the said little girl sneezed loudly. her small body was shivering, a defense reaction of her body against the cold. She tucked her gloved hands into the pockets of now buttoned uniform blazer she wore as she kept walking towards an apartment where she lived. she hoped that it would make her a bit warm, at least until she reached home.

Perhaps leaving her pink cardigan for the redhead she met before was a mistake...

A/N: It's been years since the last time writing something. I've been here awhile as a reader and somehow being here makes me want to go back writing... and here it is.

First of all, thanks for reading even thought the idea is cliched and random. And for the second one, sorry if Nico feels out of character since somehow after reading the manga, I prefer how they depict her character in the manga rather than in the anime (don't get me wrong, I still love both). She feels better that way since somehow it clicked with her character in those pre-anime PVs and drama cd. So, I am really sorry for that.