There was something shocking going on in the light music club. Yui was sitting on the couch, tired. Wait... No, that wasn't shocking at all. It was a completely normal and regular scenario. Never mind that. Of course Yui was tired. That was just how she was. She had her head tipped back against the couch, eyes closed in that early state between being awake and dreaming. It was the most frustratingly cute thing she often did... that day, anyway.

"Yui..." Mio shook her head, glancing over at her as she tuned her bass. She couldn't help but smile, though, which was a new experience. Under all previous circumstances, Yui's laziness was a cause for great concern and annoyance. However, it had become different when they started dating. Things that had been exasperating were now... well, still exasperating, but also cuter. There was something about Yui's existence that made Mio smile.

"I'm surprised she hasn't told the whole school that you two are dating," Ritsu remarked, twirling a drumstick in between her fingers. She'd have bet good money that Yui would've immediately started blabbing to everyone in sight that she and Mio were dating, with a capital D. The fact that only those in their group circle - the members of After-School Tea Time, Nodoka, and Ui - knew what was up was honestly a miracle. Good thing she didn't have enough money to bet on those odds. "Your fan club will be crushed when they find out, though."

"I don't find that to be a pressing concern..." Mio knew she was blushing, and she turned away from Ritsu so that she wouldn't see her inflamed cheeks. Her gaze fell right on Mugi, though, who was staring at her with a curious expression. She tried to look away again, but now Azusa was looking at her. There was nowhere to turn to hide her embarrassment. She didn't even want a fan club! If only that incident hadn't happened... She shuddered at the mere memory of it. "I don't even want a fan club anyway."

"It has given us more popularity, though," Mugi remarked, rubbing her chin in thought. "Your fans have become very passionate fans of our band in turn. I think it's wonderful!" She had a starry look in her eyes as she spoke. "Your beauty, grace, and fabulous bass have made us known to the entire school."

"Are you sure it wasn't because of something with blue and white stripes? Ow!" Ritsu whined and rubbed her head, having just been hit by a clearly mortified Mio. She never, ever needed to be reminded of that again. Besides, she hadn't wanted all that admiration in the first place. It was embarrassing. She felt shy under all the attention. Playing the bass was supposed to keep her out of the spotlight, not directly under it.

It was then that Yui woke up from her nap, sitting up and trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She looked over at Mio and Ritsu, smiling sleepily when she saw her girlfriend standing there. It was hard not to smile when that happened. Yui's smile was just so captivating. Mio was glad that she'd noticed it in time to start a relationship with her. There were just so many things about her that made Mio very, very happy.

"Oh my god, I forgot about the fan club!" That wasn't one of those things. Yui jumped to her feet, eyes wide. "I have to go there and fight the leader for my Mio's honor!" This was it. Mio was going to dissolve into a puddle from pure embarrassment. "As your girlfriend, I am the heir to the throne of the Mio fan club!" With that, she ran for the door, leaving her stuff - and the other members - in her wake.

"Wait, Yui! That's not necess-" Yui was already out the door, letting it slam against the frame after her. In a panic, Mio hurried over to the couch and laid her bass down on it, then hurried for the door. "Yuiii!" She was in such a rush, she hadn't even taken the time to put her precious instrument back in its container. All she could think of was catching Yui before she made a huge scene in front of the entire school. She was pretty much done with those.

The door once again slammed as she left, leaving the other three members staring at it. Ritsu's drumstick fell out of her hand and clattered onto the floor. "Well, I guess it's not going to be much of a secret anymore." Azusa sighed, once again wondering what kind of club she had gotten herself into.


Yui didn't know where Mio's fan club met. She didn't even know all that much about it. It had just been a funny curiosity back when she'd first heard about it last year. Now she was Mio's girlfriend, though. There couldn't be a fan club based around her girlfriend... without her being in it. She wouldn't allow it! If she found someone who was in the club, she could be led to it, and then she could make her claim for the role as club president.

It wasn't until she reached the first floor, all ready to rumble, when she remembered that it was after school. Anyone who was still there would be in their clubs, and not likely wanting to be disturbed. She stood at the foot of the stairs, staring at the wall. That was an important detail that she had forgotten. Oh well, she could find some stragglers, and then she'd learn where the club was!

"Yui! Please wait!" Mio had nearly fallen down an entire flight of stairs in her haste to reach Yui, but thankfully she had stayed upright and had found her before it was too late. She got down to the foot of the stairs, panting and placing a hand on Yui's shoulder. "This isn't... necessary..."

"But Mio, I wanna be in the club!" Yui pouted, grabbing Mio's hand so that she could hold it. "I'm your girlfriend, after all. It's only right that I take part in something that's all about you." Though it made Mio blush, she was at least flattered that Yui thought that highly of her. Still, she hadn't even wanted a fan club in the first place. Surely Yui understood that.

"It's... nice of you to say that, but it's just... It's embarrassing to have all that attention on me. I never wanted that. Besides, I... I don't need a fan club when I have you." Saying that was somehow even more embarrassing than everything else previously discussed. It was admitting her feelings aloud again, something she still wasn't fully used to. Dating still seemed like such a foreign concept, even when she was presently in a relationship. It was still taking time to get used to, but she liked it. Having a group of fans just for her didn't give her the same feelings that Yui by herself did.

"Aww, Mio!" Yui got that silly, wonderful grin on her face as she pounced on Mio, hugging her tightly. "But that means I should still join the club! Then, when I become the president, I can bring an end to the club. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, then it shouldn't be in the school."

"Yui... That's really sweet of you to say." Mio smiled and leaned into Yui's hug, allowing it for the moment. Sometimes Yui could say the perfect things out of the blue and catch her completely off guard. It always made her heart beat faster, like Yui was the force that kept it pumping. That was probably too saccharine for someone she'd only recently started dating, but it was how she felt. Maybe she should write a song about it.

"I'll be like a secret spy, infiltrating the group and destroying it from within!" Yui backed away from the hug, making a comical pose with her fingers imitating the look of a gun. "The name's Bond, Yui Bond. I want my music shaken, not stirred. Ehehe, this is fun!" So that may have come out of the blue, but it wasn't quite one of those perfect things.

"Why don't we go back up to the club room now?" Yui nodded and held out her hand, her way of checking how intimate Mio was feeling. Mio just smiled and took it, getting a much bigger smile out of Yui. The two of them held hands as they went back up to the club room.


The next day, Yui found out the information she needed about the club. She had spoken to Nodoka on the phone the previous night, and it was revealed to her that Mio's fan club was an officially registered club within the school, though the president was an unknown individual. Why the student council president had signed off on that, Nodoka didn't know, but she told Yui that she'd find out where the meetings were held the next day.

On that day, Nodoka let her know that the club met once a week on Thursdays after school, and gave her the room number. With that information, she waited anxiously until school was over, then immediately went to find Mio. She had told the group what she was going to do, and Mio had insisted she come along. Mostly because she wanted to make sure Yui didn't say something supremely embarrassing, but the rest of her reasoning was because she'd never seen Yui really stand up for her before. There had never been any reason to, but the thought of it happening made her feel special. Like she really was Yui's partner.

They would be late for practice, but everybody else had agreed that it wasn't a big deal. Mio appreciated all of their understandings, though she wished that Ritsu would stop sending texts full of 'colon threes' at her.

When they reached the club room, Yui boldly opened the door, stepping inside and declaring her intentions... sort of. "I've come for my throne!" All eyes turned to her, and there were quite a few people there to stare. Mio had become unfortunately aware of how many people had joined her fan club, but she wasn't prepared for what looked like three dozen girls all looking in their direction. She felt herself shrink under their stares, shyly trying to hide behind Yui.

Whispers immediately began to move across the room, Mio's presence stoking the flames of confusion and excitement. "Is that really her?" "She's in the club room!" "Incredible!" She was now quickly regretting coming with Yui, or allowing her to go in the first place. It would've been preferable to pretend the club didn't exist, and make a rule to never talk about it ever again. Ever. Yui had the confidence to speak when she didn't, though.

"Fans of Mio Akiyama, I have an announcement to make! I, Yui Hirasawa, am Mio's girlfriend!" Further shock struck the room like lighting, their whispers rising in volume beneath Yui's declarations. Many were staring with wide eyes, and some even looked heartbroken. "I have come here to challenge your leader as the rightful leader of the Mio fan club!"

"Is that so?" A voice rang out from the front of the room, drawing all eyes to it. None other than the student council president herself, Megumi Sokabe, stood there, staring determinedly at Yui. "As the president of this fan club, I have something to say about that."

"This is so embarrassing..." Mio moaned, hiding her face in her hands. Out of all the people who could be leading her fan club, how was it the student council president? Why had life decided to throw all this craziness at her?

"I have something to say about it too!" Yui pointed directly at Megumi, then let her arm go slack. "Oh wait, I already did. Ehehe..." A bunch of girls groaned, Mio included. "Okay, but I have more to say!"

"Do you? Yui Hirasawa, the guitarist and vocalist of After-School Tea Time. I would not have expected this..." Megumi turned around and went over to a file cabinet, opening the middle drawer and flipping through some files. "However, as the president of this fan club, I've not been naive to this possibility, so I've created plans, just in case this came to pass."

"Plans? What plans?" Yui just stared at her in confusion, watching as she pulled out a manila folder with words on it that she couldn't see. Megumi walked back to her podium and put the folder on it, opening it up and perusing through the papers inside.

"You see, I've always expected that someone would sweep our fair Mio off her feet, so I've made these contingency plans depending on who it might be. For a member of the light music club, you fall under Project Band." She picked up a piece of paper inside and held it up. "And this is your document, Yui: the AmaPro Contingency."

"The... My own contingency?" This whole thing was frying poor Yui's brain. She wasn't even sure what to say anymore. Megumi was walking towards them, only stopping when she stood directly in front of them.

"Yui, I say this with the utmost seriousness..." She grabbed Yui's hands and held them between her own. "Please take care of Mio."

"Eh?!" Both Yui and Mio just stared at Megumi, absolutely flabbergasted. That was not how either of them expected this to go. "You're okay with this?"

"Why wouldn't I be? We're all about Mio's happiness here, and if she's in a relationship with someone, we'd hope that she's happy in it." The tension that had built up in the room deflated completely. Yui was still shocked, but then she started to smile, with Megumi following suit. "You're not going to make me have to come to your house and teach you a lesson if you hurt her, will you?"

"No ma'am!" Yui saluted, breathing a sigh of relief. Truth be told, she didn't actually have any secret ninja spy skills. She'd just watched a lot of movies. Hopefully Mio never found out the shameful truth. So it seemed there wouldn't be a battle for the crown after all. But wait... "Ah, but..." She turned to Mio, remembering how she wanted the fan club to disband.

"It's okay, Yui." Mio smiled, still feeling nervous about everyone looking at her, or at least in her general direction. She was okay, though. Maybe she had been too harsh with how she felt about the club. It was supposed to be flattering, not teasing. Even if it would likely always be embarrassing, she could live with it. "But, maybe you could let Yui join too, Megumi?"

"Well of course! We'd be honored to have Mio's girlfriend in the club." Yui cheered, clapping her hands together with delight. "We should also invite Ritsu. She's your best friend, right?"

"No, that's okay... You don't have to do that."

"There's just one thing..." Megumi suddenly looked bashful, looking down at her shoes. "I was hoping that, since you're here... that I could hug you." Mio blushed and looked at Yui, unsure of what to say. Yui just smiled and nodded, showing that she wouldn't be upset if it happened.

"Well, I... guess it's okay." That brought a big smile to Megumi's face. She moved past Yui and gently hugged Mio, who still felt awkward, but returned the hug soon enough. It wasn't a tight hug, but she seemed satisfied with it.

"This is what every club member dreams of," Megumi whispered, laying her head on Mio's shoulder. "Mm, you smell like bass cleaning products." Yui looked suddenly affronted.

"All right, hug time is over!"


Mio calmly flipped to the next page of her textbook, studying for Friday's test. She had gone over to Yui's house to study, though she knew there was a high chance that studying would not be done. Yui, of course, was not as interested in studying. She had laid her head down on Mio's lap and was batting at Mio's hair like a kitten. "So, you're not going to study, are you?"

"I'll study on Friday," Yui stated confidently, now stroking Mio's hair. "So soft..."

"Yui, the test is on Friday." Mio shook her head fondly, not able to get too mad at her. Ever since their adventure at the fan club, she'd felt even more lax towards Yui's laziness. Maybe that was what love was, even if she tried to tell herself they hadn't been dating long enough to feel love for one another. Not in that way, anyway. She looked down at Yui, feeling her heart melt at her adorable expression. Did she even mean to do that? "I meant to ask, by the way... Were you jealous when Megumi was hugging me?"

"Of course!" Yui sat up suddenly, bonking her head against Mio's textbook. "Ow ow ow... Of course! It's totally okay if she hugs you, but huffing your bass cleaner is for me." Mio laughed softly, having not taken Yui to have a jealous bone in her body. Being in a relationship obviously changed things, however subtly.

"Well, you have nothing to worry about. I don't need affection from the fan club, or anyone else. You're the only fan I need." Saying that still made her blush, but it was true nevertheless. Yui stuck her head in between Mio and the book, staring with wide eyes. Then her familiar, goofy smile came back, and she pushed herself against Mio, sending the two of them toppling over. "H-Hey! Yui!"

"You're the best, Mio! I love you!" She started to kiss Mio all over her face, making her blush more. Though the kisses were a part of her embarrassment, the sticking point was Yui saying 'I love you'. They hadn't said it to each other before. Not like that, anyway. Yui had said it so casually, though, but with plenty of confidence. Did she really mean it? She worried that asking would break the spell of love that was covering them.

"I love you too, Yui." Mio smiled as she said it, letting the textbook fall from her hands as she wrapped her arms around Yui. It felt so good to say that. She could live with the embarrassment of having a fan club named after her, as long as Yui was still by her side as her number one fan. As far as she was concerned, she was Yui's number one fan in turn.

"Yui, I brought sna-" Ui paused at the door, seeing her sister laying on top of Mio and kissing her all over. Both Mio and Yui looked up, Mio's arms falling to her sides. Her cheeks brightened up all over again. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." Ui's cheeks had a light blush on them as well.

"Yay, snacks! Thanks Ui!" Yui grinned lazily, waving over at Ui. "Wanna join the Mio lovefest?"

"No, that's okay." Ui smiled and bent down to leave the tray of snacks on the floor. "I'll leave you two alone now." She stood up and backed away from the room, leaving Mio mortified and Yui confused.

"Wait, Ui, don't go! It's not what it looks like!" Mio cried out, but Ui was already gone. "Ugh..." She rested her head back down on the ground in defeat. Yui still looked confused.

"What doesn't it look like?" She then looked over towards the tray of snacks. "Aww, now I have to get up..."