RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGGGGG! Stirring, Azusa reached out and shut her alarm clock off. Gathering herself, she forced herself up. Another day. Climbing out of bed, she grabbed some hair ties and headed for the bathroom. When she returned, her eyes fell on the letter on her desk. Standing still, her gaze lingered on that envelope.

Let me explain briefly. For weeks now, Azusa had been trying to screw up her courage to confess to Yui. Yes, the twin-tailed catgirl was in love. The seniors were in their final year of high school, and Azusa knew that her time was slowly dwindling away. She had practiced and practiced what she would say when she was alone, but every time she was with them, either the opportunity wouldn't arise, or her courage would fail her.

Now they were a third of the way through the year, and Yui was still unaware of anything. Each time Azusa failed to say anything, she would silently curse her cowardice. This repeated over and over. She had considered trying the age old trick of leaving the letter in Yui's shoe locker, but felt that it would be best to deliver it in person. Ui could sense that something was on her friend's mind, but was hesitant to intrude.

One day after school, Azusa was on her way to the clubroom as usual, letter in bag. I am such a coward. Why can't I just give it to her? What is wrong with me? Deep in thought, she failed to see the person in front of her. *bump* "Oh, I'm so sorry." she said hurriedly, bowing.

"Oh, it's okay, Azusa." Recognizing the voice, Azusa looked up. It was Nodoka. "Is everything okay? You seem a bit out of it."

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Are you sure? Yui's a little worried about you."

"Worried?" Azusa asked, surprised.

"Yes. She says you've seemed distant lately, and you don't seem to react much when she hugs you." Azusa averted her gaze. "If you don't want to say anything, you don't have to. But if there's something on your mind, you should really talk to someone about it. It's not healthy to keep it to yourself."

So Yui-sempai's worried about me Azusa thought. Clenching her fists, she opened her mouth. "The truth is... the truth is, I love someone. One of the students here." Nodoka was surprised by this sudden confession. "I can't say who it is, but I really love her. I want to tell her, but I can't bring myself to do it. And it's killing me. She graduates this year, and I know that if I don't tell her, I'll lose her forever."

"Azusa..."

The junior squeezed her bag's strap. "What should I do, Nodoka-sempai? I'm slowly running out of time."

"Well, this is a little outside my area of expertise to be honest. I don't really know what I can do or say to help." The girls stood there in silence for a moment. After a minute, Nodoka spoke up again. "Sorry. I don't think I can really help you. Ultimately, you will need to tell her, but I can't really give you any advice as to how."

Azusa looked up at her and smiled. "It's okay. I think I feel slightly better now that I've told someone."

The Student Council President smiled back. "Well, that's something I guess." she said.

"Yeah. Thanks for listening."

"Anytime. You'd better get going then. They're probably wondering where you are."

"They probably are. Well, bye." Spirit slightly lighter, Azusa headed off. She's right. I have to quit being a coward and just tell Yui-sempai how I feel. Reaching the clubroom, she opened the door. "Hi. Sorry I'm late."

The seniors all turned to her. "Azusa, it's unusual for you to be late." Mio said.

The catgirl forced a smile. "I was held up a bit." She dumped her bag and joined her sempais.