With a "Good job everyone." and wishing everyone a good evening, Taki-sensei had concluded their practice for the day before he left the room to go to the staff room and wait for the last person to lock up the room in which they had practice in.

As soon as he left, the room became bustling with sound. With many people either talking to each other to discuss about their day, their thoughts on how practice went, their plans on what they were doing afterwards, or just people preparing to clean and pack up.

"Kaori-senpai, can I walk home with you today?" Yuuko asked very cheerfully as she turned her head towards Kaori. Asking Kaori-senpai to hang out with her after band was over had often been her first priority to do.

"I'm sorry Yuuko-chan, I'd love to but I promised Haruka that I would walk with her today." Kaori said with an apologetic smile as she clapped her hands together.

"Oh, that's alright then." Yuuko said disappointed as her composure deflated.

Kaori apologized again before bowing and heading over to Haruka in the room.

"You never stop trying do you?"

Yuuko jumped up at the sudden voice.

She turned around to the source of the voice and much to her displeasure found Natsuki standing there with her usual smug grin whenever she was messing with her.

"Shut it you." Yuuko retorted.

"I would join you to make you feel less lonely but I actually do have plans to hang out with Oumae-chan after school." Natsuki said before walking past her and putting her hand on Yuuko's shoulder. "So I hope you don't get too lonely without me."

"As if I needed or even wanted you to join me!" Yuuko exclaimed at Natsuki's retreating back as she only laughed it off.

Yuuko sighed. Since she was alone, she decided she might as well just pack up her trumpet and head straight for home.

Then something caught her eye. After some people in the row in front of her had moved. She spotted a familiar tuff of blue hair still sitting down.

Her gaze settled on Mizore, where it lingered for a couple of moments. She noticed that the girl hadn't moved yet either and was still packing up as well. An idea popped up in Yuuko's head but it was not long before her mind had shot it down.

Yuuko had debated whether or not she wanted to go up and maybe ask Mizore to walk home with her. She had done so before plenty of times. Very often did they used to walk home together or hang around at restaurants after school together. The key words in that were 'used to' though.

Ever since the whole debacle concerning Nozomi, Yuuko felt something had changed concerning Mizore.

On one hand, Yuuko had been glad that Mizore managed to reconnect with Nozomi. It looked like Mizore was a hundred times more happier now and it was evident in both her personality and her playing. Hashimoto-sensei had been correct when he said something good had happened to her.

But on the other hand, ever since they had reconnected, Yuuko felt that she hadn't had as much time to hang around Mizore anymore. Ever since Nozomi came back into her life, that was all she was ever attached to.

That in there lied the problem for Yuuko. Their relationship had changed. Because all Mizore wanted to do was be with Mizore, Yuuko hadn't gotten the chance to hang out with Mizore anymore like she used to.

Feeling a little downtrot, Yuuko decided that she would just go home by herself.

She stood up from her chair.

But it wasn't until she walked a few steps towards the door that she suddenly almost ran into someone.

Yuuko jumped back a little before she saw that it was Mizore.

Both of the girls stopped in their paths. It had seemed that both of them had made their way towards the door at the same time.

"Oh, sorry Yuuko." Mizore said. "You can go ahead."

Yuuko shook her head. "No it's fine. It doesn't matter, you can go first."

"No, it's alright..." Mizore said meekly.

Figuring that she might as well listen to Mizore, Yuuko nodded and walked first out of the door. Shortly after, Mizore followed behind her.

Mizore walked behind Yuuko for a while. Yuuko expected for Mizore to diverge her path towards the classroom where the Monaka girls were usually at for practice to go see Nozomi. But to her surprise, it got to the point where she was walking out of the school grounds with Mizore right behind her.

Eventually, Yuuko slowed her pace until she was right beside Mizore. Mizore seemed to have noticed and acknowledged Yuuko beside her as they continued to walk together.

After some moments of silence of walking together, Yuuko spoke up, curious to know why she wasn't with Nozomi.

"Don't you usually walk home together with Nozomi?" Yuuko curiously asked as she turned towards Mizore.

"Oh, Nozomi is going off together with Monaka to do something for another one of their arts and crafts project." Mizore said. "So she told me to go on ahead without her after band was over."

"Oh." Yuuko said.

And just like that, there was silence between them again after Yuuko got her answer as to why Mizore was here.

They continued walking with no more words spoken between them. Yuuko felt awkward with this air around them. She needed to say something.

"Hey." Yuuko turned to Mizore.

"Ano." Mizore turned to Yuuko.

Both girls were surprised when they started to say something at the same time.

"Go ahead." Yuuko said.

"Ah, no it's alright. You can say what you wanted to say." Mizore lowered her head.

"You let me go first through the door back in the classroom. You can go first this time." Yuuko said.

"Oh, alright." Mizore kind of perked her head up a little. "Yuuko...did you want to..." She started off.

"Hmm?"

Mizore kind of shifted her legs a little bit. And it looked like she was squirming a little. She looked as if she was nervous about something.

"Did you want to maybe...go to a restaurant together?"

"Eh?"

"This is a surprise." Yuuko said as she set down her tray

"What is?" Mizore said as she was already chewing down a french fry at the table they were sitting in.

"You asking someone to hang out." Yuuko said. "You're someone that's usually too...shy to ask someone to hang out with them."

Mizore's expression changed to a sheepish expression after Yuuko said that.

"Well, Nozomi did tell me to be more confident when talking to other people." Mizore said.

"Oh. Well that's good." Yuuko said.

"Another reason why Nozomi is a positive influence on Mizore." Yuuko thought. "Even I couldn't get her to be more sociable no matter how many times I tried."

Yuuko let out an internal sigh.

"But I wouldn't say it's easy for me to go up to any person and do this." Mizore said.

"Hmm?" Yuuko turned her head up.

"We used to do this all the time together right?" Mizore said.

Yuuko gave a thoughtful look. "Yeah, you're right, we did."

But most of the time, it was usually Yuuko that asked Mizore out to these places. Her original statement still stood though.

"But you are right though. I kind of did ask you here for a reason."

Yuuko perked up. Looks like she was going to get her answer after all why Mizore asked her here.

"Yuuko. I just wanted to say that...I never got to say thank you." Mizore said in a meek voice.

"Thank me?" Yuuko asked confused. "For what?"

"For everything..."

Yuuko tilted her head and was still confused. Mizore noticed the confusion.

"How should I put this..." Mizore said as she shuffled in her seat a little. "Before Nozomi came back, you were there for me this whole time, and I never got to thank you for it." Mizore said.

Yuuko's face scrunched up a little. She hadn't expected this at all. "What brought this on?""

"I've noticed how things are kind of different lately. I've been having fun with Nozomi again but it felt like something was missing. It took a while before that's I realized that we haven't been hanging out together anymore."

Yuuko was surprised. So Mizore had also been thinking the same thoughts she had about their relationship. She thought that Mizore had just forgotten about her and moved on with Nozomi.

"I kind of missed being with you again. It made me realize something about our friendship." She looked down and started fiddling her thumbs. "I remember your words that you said to me that day me and Nozomi made up and I did some reflection about it. And I realized was stupid to think that you had just been pitying me. I realized that you were the one that had been by my side in the time me and Nozomi were separated."

Mizore looked back up to Yuuko. From what Yuuko could tell, Mizore's eyes were kind of watery. "I had been so wrapped up in how I felt that I never took the chance to think about how you felt. That's why I want to apologize. And to thank you for everything you've done for me..." Mizore said.

"Mizore you idiot."

"Huh?"

Suddenly Mizore's cheeks were pinched. After that it was being stretched. Reminiscent of the time that Yuuko did the same thing to Mizore in the classroom.

"You don't need to thank me or apologize for anything."

"Eh?" Mizore looked confused as Yuuko continued playing with her cheeks.

"Friendship doesn't need any of that." Yuuko said as her own eyes started to get watery a little bit too.

"Yuuko..."

"I was just happy that you were happy again as well after everything that had happened." Yuuko said. "I was glad to have been your friend and I still am your friend."

Mizore's expression brightened up after Yuuko said that.

Yuuko let go of Mizore's face and sat back. "I won't lie when I say that I missed being with you as well. Truth be told, I was kind of jealous on how much time you were spending with Nozomi. I know that she was your first friend and everything but..." Yuuko's voice fell of a little as she looked to the side.

Mizore reached over and placed her hands on Yuuko's hand. Yuuko turned back to look at Mizore who had a happy expression on her face.

"Thanks for everything Yuuko."

"What did I just say about that."

Mizore giggled as she let go of Mizore's hand.

"So it's alright if we can still hang out like this?"

"Of course! What kind of question is that?" Yuuko exclaimed. "Just promise that if you have any free time when you're not hanging out with Nozomi, that you'll come to me too."

Mizore smiled. "I will."

AN: I wrote this because it certainly felt like Yuuko got left out in the cold after the Mizore arc where Yuuko poured her heart out for Mizore. So I wrote this because I can certainly imagine that they could still be friends after all of that.