When it came to Nono, Mirei generally knew what to expect. They had known each other for a while, after all—enough to know each other's faults and failures.

So an invitation to eat lunch on the roof came as a complete shock. Mirei had every right to suspect they had laid some sort of trap for her there. Nono was absurdly competitive. Underneath her stoicism lay an extreme drive to push herself past her limits. She was willing to do anything to be the best, and seemed to hold the belief that her mind could surpass even her body.

Mirei came anyway. Not that she was expecting any recompense.

What she saw when she came to the school rooftop, however, was an even bigger surprise. All her expectations had been blown out of the water.

"N...Nono?" she asked blankly. "What are you doing there on the roof with your lunch?"

"Did you not hear me clearly?" she deadpanned. "I invited you to eat here. Were you expecting something else?"

"Well...yes," Mirei said.

"I'm not surprised." Nono unwrapped her lunch.

Dumbstruck, Mirei took a seat beside her. "Why did you make me come up here?"

"I'm thinking of ending the Drama Research Society."

Nono's straightforwardness silenced Mirei. This was not what she had been expecting at all.

"W...why?"

"It was a stupid thing to do," she replied, poking at a bed of rice with her chopsticks. "It only made everyone upset. It's all my fault that you can't stop worrying about me, isn't it?"

Mirei opened her mouth, but no words came out. "Nono..."

"I'm sorry."

"W...what are you going to do then?"

"I'm going to apologize to everyone. Then I'm going to ask if the club could be disbanded at the end of the year. I'm not going to force everyone to bend to my will. They've been doing that for so long already; it's been taking their toll on them."

Mirei had no idea how to feel. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I just wanted to know it wasn't your fault. It's mine." Nono looked up at her. "Isn't it?"

"Sh-show some emotion already!" Mirei squawked.

"I don't really see why I should. I've been thinking about it for a while, after all."

"You're always in your own little world," Mirei sighed. "You should think about opening up once in a while; let someone in. It'd make it a lot easier to deal with you..."

"I just...I don't know. It seems that after I formed the Drama Research Society I forgot all about how to act. All I cared about was proving myself. It was a stupid thing to do. I don't even know why I bothered."

"You need to stop blaming yourself," Mirei said, but Nono silenced her with a glance.

"Mirei, do you think I'm an intelligent person?"

"Well," she muttered, "you can be really dense sometimes, but academically you're better than most of the school. And you're driven. Even if you weren't naturally smart, you'd probably still be able to study and get good grades."

"I always wondered about that..."

"Sometimes that drive fuels the wrong ideas, though," Mirei continued. "I have to wonder, though—how did you figure that out all by yourself?"

"I..." Nono frowned. "You think I'm that dense?"

"Eh...? Well..."

Nono stared at the far-off bridge before them. "I wonder, though, how my voice will fare from now on. I wonder if I'll have to learn sign language..."

Mirei bit her lip. "Don't remind me."

"Ah, but it's true." Nono touched her neck. "I guess I could always get surgery. I can't guarantee it'll always be the same. But...even so, I don't think it'll be too much of a problem." She turned to Mirei. "Huh?"

"I...I guess."

"You worry too much."

"Yeah, but that's what friends are for, right?"

Nono smiled. "Yeah... Asai, though. I worry about her. I forced her into doing something she didn't want to do. She's trying her best but it seems she really doesn't want to do this. I don't want to make her act if she doesn't find it enjoyable."

"Asai Mugi?" said Mirei. "Yeah, that girl! What did you do to her?"

Nono frowned. "Mm..."

"With that personality of yours I'm surprised you haven't turned everyone around you into a train wreck."

"Do you think you're a train wreck?"

"Eh!" said Mirei. "No. Well... No."

"Case in point." Nono took a swig from her bottle of water. "But I think she'll be fine. I just don't want her to push herself too hard, that's all."

"You seem to be taking all of this rather well," Mirei observed. "Are you sure you're not hiding anything from me?" She cocked her head at Nono suspiciously.

Nono replied with a blank stare. Mirei stuck her face into Nono's, furrowing her brow. Nono put her hands up and pressed Mirei's cheeks inward.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nono asked.

Mirei flushed and rigidly sat back up. "It's so hard to get a reaction out of you," she whined. "It's like you're an entirely different person. What happened?"

Nono looked off to the side. "I don't know. I wonder if this is a turn for the worse."

"Well, of course it's a turn for the worse! You lost all your drive in what, a day?" Mirei frowned. "You're nasty when you're arguing, but you're totally lifeless like this. Do you need caffeine?"

"No... I guess you could say...I'm worried about Asai."

"Again with this Asai person! It's your fault if you've ruined her life!"

"I just wanted her to change..."

"You can't force her to be like you, Nono," Mirei said worriedly. "Not everyone can be like you, you know."

"I know," Nono replied. "It's just that...she's so fragile. I want to see her a better, stronger person before the school year ends. That's all. I don't mind if the Drama Research Society disbands. As long as she's happy..."

"You could start by smiling a little more often."

"Huh?" Nono turned to her.

"Or did you lose that faculty too?" Mirei murmured. "First your voice, now your expressions... Have I ever told you you have a demonic aura?"

"Again with that..." Nono looked down at the floor and smiled. "It's difficult for me to get people's attention if I'm not like that."

"Well, maybe it's not just Asai who needs changing, then." Sulking, Mirei folded her arms. "You used to be such a nice girl, you know. Forming that club brought you down the wrong path..."

"That's why I'm stopping it."

Mirei glanced at her and furrowed her brow. "Ugh!"

"But...you know...you're the first person I'm telling this to."

Mirei looked at her. "Ah...Nono..."

"I said I would apologize, didn't I? I'm starting with you. You're the first person whom I rejected, after all. But you still consider me a friend, so..." Nono was staring at the floor. "I don't mind telling you. I can tell what's going through your head."

Mirei flushed. "You say that with so much confidence..."

Nono smiled crookedly at her. "It's true."

"Even if you say that, though," said Mirei, "you still have a lot of apologizing to do. That won't be easy, you know."

"I know."

Mirei stole a worried glance at her. "And you're OK with that?"

"I will be."

"But...you'll upset a lot of people by deciding this all by yourself..."

"The club will have to disband by the end of the year, anyway. Unless Nishida and Asai decide it's worth reviving. I'm getting a bit tired of bossing everyone around, anyhow... I don't think it's worth trying to prove myself to people who already know what I'm capable of."

Mirei grumbled. "It's not them I'm worried about; it's you!" She stood up and pointed. "You decide all sorts of crap behind everyone else's backs! Do you even consider how other people think?"

Nono cocked her head curiously at Mirei. "I try. Though sometimes I'm not so sure what to do with the conclusion..."

Mirei dropped her arm and blushed. "Eh... We-well!" She crossed her arms and looked away in indignation. "Try!"

"I do try."

"Try harder!"

"I give out that same advice to other people. I've seen the results."

"Gah! I don't know what to say to you anymore then! Just don't do anything stupid!"

"I can't guarantee now that I already have."

"Stop rebutting me!"

"Sorry..." Nono took a second glance at her. Mirei's face was beet-red, and Nono smiled impishly. "Why is your face so red, anyway?"

"I don't understand you at all!" Mirei squawked, still accusatory. "You're so weird when you're calm! It's the complete opposite of what I expected!"

"It's not the first time I've been like this," Nono replied quietly. Then, her smile grew back. "Don't tell me..."

"Tell you what!"

"Are you really that relieved?"

"Re-relieved! How?"

Nono poked the tips of her fingers coyly. "You were so worried about losing your best friend forever that now that she's made up with you you don't know what to do anymore. How cute."

Mirei's face grew hot. "Sh-shut up!"

Nono chuckled. "You're so easy to read, Mirei... I wonder why you're such a good actress."

Mirei sighed and smiled. "Idiot." She took her seat beside Nono again and stared out at the cityscape. "I wonder what everyone else's reactions will be..."

"Now, that's one thing I can't tell."

"But you don't regret this one bit, huh?"

"Not at all. I guess that's why I'm so calm."

"You need to stop being so calm, that's what..."

Nono stuck her hand out to Mirei.

"Eh...?"

"Take it."

Reluctantly, Mirei put out her hand to Nono's. Nono shook it.

"I dare you to change me, then."

"W-what? We barely have half the year left!"

"It's longer than you need, isn't it?"

"Don't ask me to change you!"

"Why not?"

"You think I can do that by myself?"

"You can't?"

"No!"

"Well, then you're not my friend anymore."

"What?"

Nono giggled. Mirei blushed.

It wouldn't be the first time.

A/N: I was so pissed off at the ending of the anime I wrote this. Anyone know if the manga is any better? Ehe...

Also, tsundere!Mirei is so much win, and kuudere!Nono is almost as awesome. I dunno if they seem out of character or something, but I felt like writing a piece of fluff after seeing that train wreck of an anime.