Title: A Long, Hard Week
Characters: Yui, Mio, Ritsu, Mugi, Sawako, Nodoka
During the days after the cultural festival ended, nobody ever seemed to be in the mood to practice, so they would always drift over to sit and drink tea and eat cake. As Mugi Kotobuki poured the tea, the other three went over the cultural festival for the millionth time. Mio Akiyama was still in total shock from her little accident onstage, and Ritsu Tainaka was teasing her about it so many times that the other two were actually able to predict what she was going to say.
"Don't worry about it, Mio, I'm sure they'll forget about it," Mugi soothed, pouring the tea into cups.
"They'll get over the initial shock, I think. Or maybe they'll get under it, y'know, because it was your underwear they saw," joked Ritsu.
"Ricchan, I don't think that was very funny." Yui Hirasawa took a sip of her tea and then started giggling just remembering it, but abruptly stopped when Mio shot her a despairing look.
As Mugi brought out the box with the cake in it, Yui's attention shot right to the blonde. She cringed as the box was opened and started making various faces of shock and anxiety. Mugi started serving the cake, reaching Yui last, and just as the plate was set down in front of her, Yui shot bolt upright and out of her seat.
"Yui, what's going on with you?" Ritsu asked.
"I'm sorry, Mugi-chan, but I can't eat cake anymore!"
"What?!" all three of the others exclaimed.
Ritsu clapped a hand to Yui's forehead. "You sure you're not sick or something?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine. But I just can't anymore." Yui shoved the plate of cake over to Ritsu, who gratefully accepted it and shoved the whole piece in her mouth.
"Glad to see you're trying to cut back on the sweets, but why are you doing it in the first place?" asked Mio.
"'Cause sweets are bad for you!" Yui cried.
"You know, that didn't seem to stop you all the other times we had them," Mio mumbled. Ritsu snickered in agreement.
"So you're not going to eat any ever again?" Mugi asked. "But isn't your birthday coming up soon?" The shocked expression on Yui's face told everyone that she hadn't actually thought about that before, and didn't say anything until Mugi asked Yui why she was doing it in the first place.
"Well, the other day, Ui told me some stuff about how it was bad to eat sweets. Like, she told me that if you eat too much, you can get cancer and heart problems and your teeth will all rot and fall out!" The other three wondered whether or not Ui had been exaggerating about teeth falling out. "And I don't want that to happen to me ever!"
Next to Yui, Ritsu mouthed to Mio, "Ten bucks if she changes her mind tomorrow."
However, the next day, Yui was as adamant as ever about her sugar ban, which didn't seem to extend to tea. Watching the others digging in happily, she gulped down cup after cup of tea in an almost aggressive way. Everyone eyed her a bit nervously and didn't stop watching her until all of the cake was gone.
"Sure you're okay, Yui?" Mio asked.
"I'm totally fine, don't worry about it. Yesterday I ate a super-big salad instead of ice cream for dessert! It was delicious and Ui was really proud!" Yui did not sound convinced, especially at the part about the salad.
"That's great, Yui-chan!" Apparently Mugi had decided to act like everything was okay, and beamed across at Yui. Ritsu and Mio managed forced smiles, half wanting to laugh and half wanting to cry at the same time.
"Yui-chan, on a diet? Please," scoffed Sawako Yamanaka. As soon as everyone finished their tea-in Yui's case, only tea-Ritsu and Mio headed to the staffroom to complain to their advisor and ask for advice. Sawako continued. "I've seen her scarf down those sweets like the world's ending. No way has she stopped."
"It's true!" Ritsu and Mio chorused. "Just see her!"
"Apparently her sister told her about the dangers of eating too much sugar, and she took it so far as to quit eating sweets altogether," Mio explained.
"Yui-chan has a sister?" asked Sawako curiously.
"Yep, a younger one in middle school," Ritsu answered.
"Ohh, I see," Sawako said dreamily, a faraway look in her eyes. Ritsu and Mio instantly knew what she was doing. She was imagining how to dress up poor Ui, just like she had with the rest of the Light Music Club.
"Anyway, what should we do?" asked Mio. "Should we let her continue this whole diet?"
"Why are you asking me? How should I know how to diet? I can barely keep away from the snacks and tea you girls have!" Sawako gasped loudly, though no one had said anything. "You're not calling me fat, are you?!"
"No, we're not," Mio and Ritsu said. "Thanks for the help." They left a confused and slightly outraged Sawako behind them.
"What a reliable advisor we have," Mio muttered.
More days passed, with Yui still refusing every plate of cake pushed over at her. It seemed to be taking its toll on her, because she was quieter and always a bit angry whenever she saw the others snacking, but since none of the three other first-year girls were in the same class as her, they couldn't tell how much of a strain it really was. However, almost a week after the failed visit to get advice from Sawako, someone approached Mugi, Mio, and Ritsu in the halls before school started one fall day.
Nodoka Manabe pushed up her red glasses and asked, "You're in the Light Music Club with Yui, right? I think I've seen you all around before."
"Yeah, we are. Hey, is Yui all right? She's been so quiet and moody lately, and all because she's on that diet of hers," said Ritsu concernedly.
"You have no idea," Nodoka sighed. "I don't know what she's like around you four, but your definition of 'moody' probably isn't the same as mine. She's been so different lately, it's like the candy is some sort of switch in her that's been turned off." Then she bowed her head right in the middle of the hallway. "I know you guys are close, so could you please try to help her out? She doesn't have to go back to the sweets, but I wish she'd be a bit happier. Could you please try to get her back to normal?"
That afternoon, the others saw exactly what Nodoka meant. Yui was completely silent and stirred at her tea like it was the only thing that mattered in the world anymore. Mio could practically see dark clouds gathered over her head.
"Say, Yui," Ritsu said casually, scooting a little closer toward the other girl. "Are you really that worried about getting too much sugar in your blood? I mean, you've already got a decade and a half's worth in there already." Mio tried not to smack her for that comment.
Yui said nothing but took a careful sip of her tea. She barely even looked over at the golden-eyed drummer.
"How about we practice?" offered Mio to break the tension.
"Sure," Yui said quietly, staring in her tea, at the same time as Ritsu groaned in protest.
"Um, um, Yui-chan!" blurted out Mugi, holding the cake knife upside down. "Maybe you don't have to stay on this diet the whole time! It's already been quite a while, right? How about you just have some cake right now…?"
"Are you threatening me, Mugi-chan?" Yui asked, her eyes on the cake knife. Mugi's eyes went huge and she stammered that she wasn't and that she hadn't meant to do that. She was too embarrassed to speak for the rest of the day.
Yui went home early, now keeping her head low and her eyes fixed on the crumbs remaining on the cake platter. It was definitely a little off-putting, and Yui's gaze fixed on the still-flustered Mugi. When she left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Confronting her didn't work, so what other approach do we have?" Ritsu asked, rubbing her chin like she was thinking up the solution to a nationwide crisis.
Mio smacked her lightly. "Ritsu, stop trying to sound like a detective."
This would have been Mugi's cue to giggle, but she was so concerned for Yui-and still a little embarrassed-that she didn't. Instead she said something that shocked the other two: "I may have an idea…"
The next day, Nodoka reported to the other three that Yui had cleaning duty that afternoon, which was perfect for their plan. Mugi and Mio were in charge of organizing the club room and thinking of things to say to Yui, while Ritsu kept a lookout in the stairwell-mainly to keep Sawako away from the room.
"She's here!" Ritsu called, dashing into the room. "Everyone, hide!"
They all crouched down, and as Yui opened the door and stepped inside, they leapt out, shouting, "Surprise!" Mugi ran for the colossal white-iced cake sitting on the table while Mio and Ritsu escorted her to the table. "We thought we'd celebrate your birthday a bit early today." Ritsu explained to her, handing her a party hat.
Yui dropped her bag on the ground right there and then, took the party hat, and hurled it across the room. It barely missed the cake and a shocked Mugi, hit the wall, and slid to the ground. Her lower lip quivered and tears formed in her brown eyes for a moment. "You guys…that's so mean of you. Why did you do this?"
Mugi, Ritsu, and Mio had been expecting kind words for the first second, and weren't that surprised by Yui calling them mean. They all approached Yui like one might approach a cornered animal, which was what the brunette resembled.
"Yui, we're all so worried about you." Mugi said, her blue eyes wide with concern. "When you gave up sweets, it's like you turned into a different person."
Ritsu added, "Sure, maybe eating all of those snacks isn't the greatest, but you're depriving yourself of something you love. Those sweets are a part of you."
"And, Yui, we're just afraid that if you keep depriving yourself of the good things in life, then maybe you'll start leaving us alone too. We want our friend here with us, through all the good and bad things that may happen. Even if you need those sweets to get by in life, we won't mind," finished Mio.
"Unless you're hogging them all for yourself!" interrupted Ritsu. Mio smacked her lightly on the wrist.
Now real tears were in Yui's eyes. "I…I've missed you so much!" she cried, jumping into the air. The other three were prepared for the hugging and crying, but what they weren't prepared for was Yui lunging at the cake. She was about to stuff possibly the entire thing in her mouth, but Ritsu grabbed her and started tickling her a bit, causing Yui to laugh.
"Ah-hah! So she finally laughs, does she?" Ritsu announced, like a sports commentator.
"You guys are too great. I was going to be firm about sticking to that diet, but what you said was so great that I decided to give up on it. I'd rather have fun with you and eat yummy things. I was such a downer, wasn't I?" giggled Yui.
"Kind of," Ritsu snickered. "I don't even know what we were thinking with the birthday thing, 'cause your real one's not until November. We were literally that desperate to get you back to normal."
"Don't forget to brush your teeth afterwards," Mugi said sweetly, handing Yui a plate of cake. The brunette took it, and her hair clips seemed to glow brighter than the sun, though that was impossible. She took a piece with her fork and bit into it, sighing with pleasure. The others sat down and got their own pieces. They had to agree that it was one of the most excellent things they had ever tasted. Yui was in a blissful state that made her look like she'd slightly passed out.
"Ooh, cake. Someone's birthday?" Sawako asked, coming into the room and looking around at the balloons and streamers Mugi had attached to the walls. "I bet you thought it was mine, right? Too bad, girl's, because mine isn't until January."
Mio turned around and looked up from her own cake. "That's when my birthday is, too! It's the fifteenth, actually!"
"Cake," Yui sighed happily. "My one and only love."
"Well, that was easy," Ritsu muttered, looking slightly bored now. "I thought this mission would take longer than this-" She cut off as Mio clonked her on the head once more for trying to play detective.
Mugi turned to Mio, asking "Your birthday's in January, Mio-chan? How exciting! I'm sure we'll celebrate extra specially."
"With cake!" added Yui, frosting smeared all over her face from her possibly trying to kiss the cake.
"I'll look forward to it…" Mio said, trying to fake a smile.