Author's Note: Just a quick note of apology: when I originally uploaded this, I couldn't get it to put the entire story as one chapter, so I had to break it up into two. I've got it figured out now though, so I'm lopping off chapter two and putting it in chapter one. This wasn't supposed to be a chaptered story, anyway: it was just done out of necessity. So I apologize if there's any confusion due to this.

A journalist was not supposed to become too involved emotionally with a subject: it led to biases, which compromised integrity. Toujou Nozomi, however, had never been the most saintly of women. So it was with relative ease that she fell, and fell hard, for one of her subjects. As a multi-faceted journalist for a large newspaper company in Japan - one who was adept at writing, reporting, and photography - she was usually tasked with covering some of the biggest entertainment events in the region, which led her to one of the largest theaters in Tokyo one night to cover some big, expensive play that was debuting. On her notepad she had already written some preliminary notes based on what information she'd been able to find on the play beforehand, allowing her a base to write off of. Settling down within her seat - a damn good seat, she thought - she tapped the tip of her pen to the paper and waited for it to begin.

The play had good production, there was no denying that. They clearly put that large budget to good use. That wasn't quite what captured Nozomi's attention, however. No, it was the appearance of a dancer that had her nearly on the edge of her seat. Maybe actress would have been the best term, considering she was acting in a play, but it was her dancing, the way she moved so gracefully across the stage, that captivated her so. The way her long, blonde locks flowed across her shoulders as she danced to the accompaniment of harmonious melodies made Nozomi feel that this play was quite a bit better than she had originally anticipated. Her hand was flying across her notepad as she wrote unconsciously, eyes still glued to the beautiful blonde who seemed to work magic with each step she took. She looked like she had some non-Japanese blood within her, which screamed exotic, prim, proper. Every move was carefully calculated and flowed like the wind, outshining every other actor on stage. There was no doubt about it: Nozomi had to know who this person was. Tearing her eyes from the screen with great reluctance, she fished out the piece of paper that had all of the actors and people who worked on the play written upon it, but there was only one name she wanted to know. Her eyes scanned over the names with a hungry look, desperate to find the character, the person, the Goddess upon Earth. Soon enough, her turquoise gaze settled upon the one name she desired to know more than any other.

Ayase Eli. What a perfect name. So elegant, just like the woman herself. Nozomi let out a deep, heartfelt sigh as she exited the theater, her mind swimming with thoughts of the beautiful dancer who had captivated her so. A crazy thought had entered her mind the moment the play - standing ovations all around - ended, and that was to go right up and ask her for an interview. It wasn't as if she hadn't done such a thing before; after all, Nozomi was known as a rather outgoing person, so speaking to people she'd never met before wasn't out of place for her. However, something in her mind, some kind of wall that she had never known to exist, prevented her from carrying out the idea. While walking to her car, she finally was able to identify this mystery feeling: nervousness. It was a weird sensation, one she hadn't felt since she was a kid, but now it had come up in full force and kept her away from the plan she desired to follow through with. She was nervous about talking to Ayase Eli. How could this be, though? She'd never even met the woman; how could she be deterred by sheer nerves? With another, quieter sigh, she entered her car and decided to go over her notes for the play instead. As she flipped through the pages of notebook paper, she realized with growing dread that every single page was dedicated solely to Eli. Every superlative descriptor, every lovestruck compliment that came to her mind was there, written with so much conviction and, somewhat embarrassingly, with a few hearts sprinkled in for good measure. There was next to nothing on the play itself, nor of the other actors: just her. She embodied every page just like she'd embodied Nozomi's thoughts the moment she had gracefully stepped onto the stage. There was only one problem: she was supposed to be writing about the play. "Oh dear..."

"How the hell did you write an article with all that nonsense you wrote?" Nozomi was sitting on her couch, sipping on a cup of coffee while her best friend sat across from her, guzzling down her own cup and giving the purple-haired journalist a narrowed but curious stare. It was a good question: after all, Nozomi's mind had been so... well, occupied, that she could barely remember what the play she'd been sent specifically to cover was even about. It was a little bit embarrassing, even for someone who prided themselves on being just about shameless, but she couldn't stop herself from telling her twin-tailed friend every detail of that night, gushing and fawning over just how amazing Ayase Eli was on stage.

"Oh Niccochi, you know I'd never let something as simple as that stop me from writing a killer article." Nico just rolled her eyes, equal parts amused and exasperated at the whole thing. She legitimately didn't know how even Nozomi, as good as she was at writing, had came up with an acceptable article with an entire notepad full of 'Eli Eli Eli'. Then again, considering all of the crazy things she'd gotten the two of them into since they'd met in high school, maybe she should no longer be surprised when these kind of things happened.

"Oh yes, something so simple, like not paying attention to the play you were covering." Nozomi responded by sticking her tongue out at Nico, who laughed despite herself. Their friendship had always been a bit weird, but now with their current professions, it was like something out of a sitcom. Herself, a world-famous superstar idol, hiding out from the paparazzi in the house of a journalist. It was like hiding from a pack of lions in a tiger's den, but there honestly was no one Nico trusted more than Nozomi, weird quirks aside. "Why don't you just go talk to her? Say you want to interview her or something and then ask her out. How hard can that be?"

"Ask her out? Oh Niccochi, I barely know the woman!" The blush that formed on Nozomi's face, however faint it might have been, was enough for Nico to break out into a grin. She'd never seen her friend embarrassed, of all things. She would have to remember this for future teasings. Still, it was clear that even someone like Nozomi needed help in the ways of romance, and who better to dole out advice than Super Idol Nico-Nico-Nii?

"Oh come off it, Nozomi. A blind man could tell you're head over heels for this chick. Just ask her out! You're a journalist; surely you've got connections." If Nozomi wasn't capable of doing something, she would have to do it for her. After all, being a top-selling idol did get you certain perks. It would be easy enough to find this 'Ayase Eli' and just get her to give Nozomi the time of day or something.

"Hum..." There was hesitation in her eyes - another new development - and she ended up giving Nico an evasive answer. "I'll think about it, and don't you dare try to use your 'connections' to set anything up. The cards told me that no good would come from an outsider's interference."

"An outsider's... Oh come on, Nozomi. You don't still listen to those stupid cards, do you?" Back in high school, Nozomi's famous tarot card readings had been really cool to Nico, and plenty of people had enjoyed seeking out the purple-haired girl concerning them. By now though, Nico figured they were more of a crutch Nozomi still clung onto more than anything, and the act was slightly tiresome, at least to her. There were still people who were intrigued though, and it still somewhat impressed her that Nozomi could use them to so seamlessly ingratiate herself into others' lives.

"They've never failed me before," she replied simply.

"I can give you much better advice than some dumb old cards can, you know."

"Says the woman who's only kissed one person in her whole life. What a kiss though, huh?" Now it was Nico's turn to blush, her face quickly burning as she waved her hands in front of her as if trying to fan away the startling accusations.

"H-hey, that was an accident, alright? I've told you that a million times before! And you don't know how many people I've kissed!" Nozomi just grinned and blew Nico a kiss, which she was mature enough to ignore with heat burning off her cheeks. Even now, it could still feel like the mystical woman had mind-reading powers. It was unnerving. "You weren't even a good kisser."

"How mean, Niccochi!"

This didn't feel like a good idea. It felt deceitful and wrong, yet she had already thrown herself into it before the rational part of her brain could stop her. At least she had taken part of Nico's advice, using her connections to her advantage. Of course, what she was doing with that information wasn't quite what she knew Nico had in mind. She'd learned where Eli practiced and had presently found herself near the dance studio, hands shaking somewhat around a pair of binoculars. This was not the image she wanted to present herself as, but there she was: stalking. 'It's not stalking,' she'd tried to reason with herself. 'It's... Okay, it's stalking.' It would have been so much easier to do that interview thing Nico had suggested, but the thought of being face to face with the beautiful dancer made her stomach churn, and so she decided to resort to more... sneaky measures. Taking a deep breath, she began to make her way towards the studio.

She quickly opened the door and snuck inside, keeping her footsteps quiet as she tiptoed down the hall. Her binoculars had been left behind outdoors, but she still felt as if this was somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. Maybe it was because she had entered just beyond the vision of the woman at the front desk. That might be why. The hot tip she'd gotten from another journalist friend - one of those 'shameful paparazzi' that she'd never wanted to become, yet here she was - told her the room within the dance studio that Eli practiced, so that was where she was heading. Upon reaching it, she peered through the small glass window and looked inside: empty. The door opened as Nozomi creeped inside and looked around for somewhere to hide. A small set of bleachers seemed to be the only option, so she crawled under them and tried to make herself as small as possible, eyes peering through the slits of the seats in order to get a good look at the room. Now all she had to do was wait, and pray that she wouldn't get caught.

Soon enough, the doors opened once more and in walked Eli, making Nozomi feel as if time had decided to stand still for just the two of them, and it was just the two of them, as no one else followed her in. She was surprised the dancer didn't have some kind of friend or bodyguard with her, but maybe they were just outside. Either way, no one would get in the way of the show... which sounded a lot worse than she wished it did. Her attentions followed the beautiful blonde as she hefted a small stereo and sat it on a bench on the other side of the room. With the press of a button, classical music started to fill the room, and with a satisfied smile, Eli made her way to the center. The music was rather enchanting, and did seem to fit how Nozomi imagined the woman was like. Her practicing was not as choreographed as it was on stage, but she still exuded every bit of grace and elegance that made Nozomi's eyes refuse to look away. It felt wrong to be intruding on what was clearly supposed to be private, but the sane part of her mind that told her to leave - an impossible task, regardless, considering where she was in relation to the exit - was drowned out by a low hum, a constant white noise that just focused on one thing and one thing only: her. The way she moved, the way she smiled, the way she looked: just everything about her was so... perfect.

She didn't know how much time had passed before practice was done, since she found herself unable to break her gaze for even the second it would take to figure out what time it was. All she knew was that there was a slight feeling of disappointment in her mind when things came to an end, though she finally allowed herself to look somewhere else once Eli had hoisted up her stereo and walked out of her eyesight. Letting out a soft sigh tinged with relief and disappointment, she shifted slightly so she could stretch out her stiff legs and moved to crawl out from the bleachers and sneak out. Two icy blue eyes were staring directly at her.

"Ah!" With a quiet and surprised exclamation, Nozomi jerked upwards, which turned out to be a sub-optimal - and rather painful - idea. Presently, she found herself face-down on the floor, cheeks burning with red-hot shame as she was unable to look back up into those inquisitive eyes. This woman definitely brought out reactions in her that she never thought possible. It was not a good look.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" Even her voice exuded class. It was heavenly. Attempting to compose herself, Nozomi lifted her head up and gave Eli an embarrassed grin.

"A-ah yes, I just didn't notice you there."

"Neither did I." Oh, right, private practicing. Nozomi gave her blonde counterpart a sheepish grin, while the latter was wearing a somewhat stern expression. This probably did not bode well. "Care to explain what you're doing here?" If only there was an acceptable answer for that. There was a perfectly bad answer for that, though Nozomi wasn't exactly eager to divulge it. There had to be something else she could say, but for some reason nothing reasonable would come to mind, leaving her laying there silent.

"I... wanted to practice my dancing! I must have stepped into the wrong studio, and well, I didn't want to intrude on your practicing."

"And that's why you were hiding under the bleachers?" 'Rats.'

"I thought maybe I'd get in trouble for accidentally going into the wrong studio, so I was just going to wait until you left." Eli still looked unsure, her lips curved down slightly in a clear showcase of disbelief.

"Alright... Well, I'm going to get going. Just... be more careful next time, alright?" With that, Eli turned and walked away, the only sound being her footsteps and Nozomi's heart racing. That was way too close a call, but luckily there was no further pressing. She'd dodged quite the bullet.

"Yes ma'am!" God, she was beautiful.

"You did what?!" Nico's harsh whisper came as her and Nozomi walked through the halls of the latter's workplace, the two of them only there together because Nozomi had just found the time to tell Nico what had happened the previous day, in hushed and excited whispers to not attract too much attention. To Nico, Nozomi's activities as of late were incredulous, and just proved to her that her mystical friend was finally in love. Finally, after all these years, something to tease her about! Meanwhile, Nozomi found it hard to suppress a grin when looking at her friend going undercover, or 'incognico' as it were. She knew that nobody at the office was fooled by the sunglasses and face mask, but they all just chose to ignore her instead. She would never let Nico know that, though: she'd be shocked that people knew she was there and didn't ask for an autograph.

"I know, I know, it wasn't a great idea, but at least I got to talk to her."

"That hardly counts! And it sounds like you only made an ass of yourself in front of her."

"Do you like my ass, Niccochi?"

"You're impossible sometimes, you know that?" Nozomi just winked as they stopped in front of her boss's door, where Nico would wait outside while her purple-haired friend would head in and find out what he wanted to talk to her about.

"Ahh, Ms. Toujou, thank you for coming in. I won't take up too much of your time."

"Got something good for me, boss?" He chuckled, very used to his best writer's casual demeanor.

"Oh yes. That play you wrote about was a big hit, and we loved your article on it, so I set up an interview for you with one of the actresses." Uh oh. Nozomi faked a smile as she tried to wrack her brain for who exactly was the main female lead in that play. She should've remembered: after all, she did write the article on it.

"Really?"

"Yes; she was very well-received by critics, and I think an interview would go great with our readers. We've already set you up to interview her over dinner tomorrow. I hope you can stomach all that fancy food; Ayase Eli is apparently one with refined tastes." Her boss appeared to be making some kind of joke, but Nozomi had been frozen to the spot upon hearing that name. Ayase Eli. Oh no oh no oh no. She wanted to say something, anything, but she knew that her voice would fail her in this critical moment, so she decided to remain silent and give a simple nod as a response. This was not good: she knew Eli would recognize her from the studio, and she'd know then that Nozomi was just some snooping journalist. That would put a damper on the interview.

"I've emailed you the details, so just don't show up late, alright?" Another nod, and Nozomi was dismissed, walking out of his office as if in a trance. She completely forgot about Nico waiting for her, and only stopped moving on without her when she received a hard tug on her hair.

"Ow! Niccochi, what was that for?"

"You were walking off without me!" It was then that Nico noticed her friend's odd expression. "Are you alright? You look horrified."

"I have to interview her..."

"What? Interview who?"

"Her! Eli!"

"Ooh... Yeah, you probably should have waited to stalk her until after the interview, huh?" Nozomi just groaned and kept walking, leaving Nico to catch up. "Won't that be a great conversation starter, though?"

Nozomi had never felt this anxious in her life. It wasn't an emotion she was used to, but then again she had been forced to get used to a lot of new emotions since casting her eyes upon the angel known as Ayase Eli. Never one to dress fancy, she had at least tried tonight, picking out what she felt was her prettiest dress to wear. She knew she had to make a good impression, more so than ever now. Now she waited in front of the restaurant, eyes glancing left and right for a sign of blonde hair heading her way. She waited outside for awhile due to getting their earlier than necessary, but at the same time it felt all too soon when she saw her heading towards the restaurant, making her heart skip a beat or two. As Eli approached, her face registered recognition of the woman standing there as if waiting for someone, and quickly a small frown formed on her face as she stopped in front of Nozomi. "You're the one who was hiding under the bleachers."

"Ahaha, you remember me, then?"

"You wouldn't happen to be the person interviewing me...?" The look on her face was only increasing in levels of suspicions, making Nozomi gulp nervously as she put on her best smile.

"Yup, that's me. Toujou Nozomi." She stuck out her hand to shake, but was not greeted in kind. The frowning suspicion on Eli's face made her feel ill-at-ease.

"So it would appear you were there to practice something other than dancing." Before Nozomi could respond, Eli turned and walked into the restaurant, leaving the purple-haired woman standing there with a dumb look on her face. She hurried after her into the restaurant, knowing her boss would not understand why she had blown the interview before it'd even started. She saw Eli taking her seat at their table, and walked over as fast as she could without disturbing the other patrons, taking her own seat and being greeted with a withering glare, though she had to admit it was rather cute for being so full of malice.

"I do not back out of commitments I make, so I will do your interview, but I don't want to see you stalking me again, got it?" Yup, it was not going well. Nozomi just nodded slightly, fumbling for her notepad and pen. The next twenty minutes felt like they dragged on twice as long, and the entire conversation had an air of tension around it. She asked Eli about her heritage - turned out she had Russian ancestry, which explained her earlier thoughts - and how she got into dancing, though she balked at asking about anything concerning practice. After their drinks had been brought, and they had just ordered their food, Nozomi excused herself from the table, setting down her notepad before making her way to the bathroom. Without the irritated eye of her interviewee on her, Nozomi allowed herself to breathe unevenly, wiping a few beads of sweat from her forehead. This felt like a total disaster, and she didn't know how much longer she could keep up doing this.

"Snap out of it, Nozomi. You are a journalist! It's your job to get the story, personal issues aside. Now go finish that interview!" She tried to use her self-pep talk to steel herself for the task at hand, taking one last deep breath before heading back for the table. It was time for the second round, and this time she would salvage this interview. When she sat back down, however, Eli was giving her a funny look. It was different than before, but it was no less unnerving.

"Ah, Miss Toujou... Pardon me for asking, but..." Nozomi was surprised to see that the blonde's cheeks were slightly flushed. What in the world had happened while she was gone? "... do you have a... crush on me?" Oh, that's what happened. Nozomi's cheeks quickly matched Eli's in hue, letting out a nervous giggle at the question.

"A... A crush? Ahaha, what makes you... say that?"

"I, uh, I read your notepad while you were away." 'Shit.' That would explain it. She should have ripped out those notes from the play the night she wrote them, but she hadn't thought too much on it, and lately had been too nervous to do so, but that probably would have been a good idea.

"O-oh... I, uh, I-I can explain-"

"Y-you don't have to. I'm flattered, really..." Wait, she was what? "I've never had someone write something about me so... passionately, you could say." A wild thought ran through Nozomi's brain to ask the waiter for a mirror so she could figure out which one of them was blushing harder. "I do want to ask one thing before we continue with the interview, though."

"What is it?"

"Will you tell me why you were at the studio while I was practicing? Please be honest." Oh boy, here it was. Well, at this point there was nothing to gain from lying - it would probably be obvious anyway - so Nozomi took another deep breath and admitted to her sin.

"I was told to cover your play, and when I saw you, I had never seen anyone so beautiful in my life. I wanted to see you again, but I was too nervous to talk to you, so I, uh... I found out from someone where you practiced and I went there early to hide and watch you."

"You don't seem like the stalker type."

"Ahaha, I thought so too..." At least the conversation appeared more relaxed. The tension that had hovered over them like a dark cloud earlier had mostly dissipated, leaving just a lot of jumbled but laughing nerves.

"Maybe I was too harsh to judge you so quickly." Nozomi looked at Eli in surprise, who gave the journalist a heart-melting smile. "You seem like a really nice person, just a bit obsessed. I'm very flattered of course." Eli then leaned forward, cerulean eyes staring intently at Nozomi. "Now, I've been talking so much about myself tonight. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Nozomi was in a daze again, but a very different one from the previous day. She was laying down on her couch, staring up at the ceiling with a big, dumb grin on her face. Nico was sitting across from her, tapping her fingers impatiently on the armrest as she waited for Nozomi to say exactly what had happened. It seemed like it would take some prodding. "Are you going to tell me what happened or what?"

"We're going out again next week."

"You're what?!"

"The interview started off terribly, but I ended up getting a chance to apologize, and we really hit it off from there." That goofy grin wouldn't leave Nozomi's face, and even Nico had to start smiling at her infectious happiness.

"No kidding, huh? Looks like you turned tragedy to triumph. I knew you had it in you." Nico watched as Nozomi finally sat back up, smile still plastered on her face, before being surprised by her friend jumping up and tackling her in a big hug. "Ah! Hey-"

"This is great, Niccochi! This is the best feeling in the world!" Nico chuckled softly and patted Nozomi on the back, continuing to smile despite herself. It had been weird to see her friend all nervous and stuff over the last few days, so it was nice to see her back to normal. And finding someone too? Even better. "But Niccochi, if we hit it off, I don't think it would be a good idea to let her know just how much you ache for my sweet lips upon yours."

"I told you it was an accident!"