The sun began rising, signalling the start of another day. As the sky lightened, the sun's rays fell on the Hirasawa household. Inside, one of the family members began stirring. Opening her eyes, she sat up and stretched out the kinks. Humming a familiar song to herself, Ui Hirasawa went about the business of readying herself for the day. After tying her hair back in its signature ponytail, she knocked on her sister's bedroom door before going in. "Onee-chan? It's time for you to get up now."
Yui Hirasawa groaned and sat up. Facing her sister, she gave a sleepy "Okay Ui" before dropping back down again.
Sighing, Ui walked up to Yui's bed. Hmm, oh I know. Stooping down, she whispered, "If you don't wake up now Onee-chan, you won't be able to see Azusa-chan." That single statement was all that was needed. Yui immediately jumped out of bed and raced around the house getting ready. Smiling at her sister's gullibility, Ui proceeded to finish her own preparations. Donning her shoes at the front door, she joined her sister outside, who was hopping frantically. "Ready to go?" the younger sister asked. Yui answered by grabbing Ui's wrist and pulling her along.
"Let's go, let's go!" she said. The two started running to the bus stop where they had planned to meet their friends. At their destination, four other girls waited for them to arrive.
Looking at her watch, Mio Akiyama sighed. "I wonder if she'll show up on time today." she said.
An arm found its way over her shoulders. "Relax Mio. She's got Ui, remember? There's no way she'll be late." Ritsu Tainaka assured her friend with a large grin on her face.
"You're one to talk Ritsu. I had to practically drag you out of bed." Mio replied while karate chopping the drummer's head. A giggle from Tsumugi Kotobuki drew their gaze. The airheaded keyboardist always enjoyed watching the two bicker.
The youngest of the gaggle, Azusa Nakano, paid no heed to them. She merely kept an eye out for her sempai and her sister. She was very good friends with Yui, but Yui had an annoying tendency to smother Azusa with love, much to her distaste. Hearing approaching footsteps, she said "I think they're here."
Sure enough, around the corner came the Hirasawa sisters. "Azu-nyan~!" Yui called as she dove on her kouhai and started showering her with love.
"Ugh. Yui-sempai, please! Cut it out!" Azusa exclaimed, pushing her away.
"Boo, boo Azu-nyan. You're so mean." Yui pouted. Ui smiled at the scene. She knew that Azusa cared very deeply for Yui, but being a typical tsundere, she tried not to let it show.
"So, was Jun-chan not able to come?" Mugi asked.
"No, she's taking supplementary lessons since she's behind the rest of us." Ui replied.
"Well, there's not much we can do about that, so let's just have a good time." Mio piped in. There were nods all around.
"Right! Time to get moving!" Ritsu boomed, marching ahead of the group. Heading on their way, they exchanged chit-chat. At times, laughter would erupt from them.
Yui smiled as she watched her friends mingling. This is wonderful. I really hope we can have more moments like these.
"Yui-sempai?" Her thoughts were interrupted by Azusa's call. The young catgirl looked at her friend, curious.
"Oh, sorry Azu-nyan. Just enjoying the moment." Yui said, continuing to smile.
"Yui-sempai, could you please stop calling me that?" Azusa asked, peeved at the nickname Yui had christened her with since she had started high school.
"Oh come on Azu-nyan. It's cute, just like you."
"I'd prefer it if you just referred to me by my real name instead."
"Come on, don't be like that." Yui pulled out a pair of very familiar cat ears. "Well, if you're going to say that, why don't you just put these on then? Then I'll call you 'Azusa'". Azusa reeled at the sight of what Yui was holding.
"Y-Yui-sempai, why did you bring those along?" Her sempai moved closer.
Azusa then felt someone grab her under her arms. "Come on. You know you want to, Azusa." Ritsu said, grinning. Yui came closer, ready to slip the ears on.
The kouhai got desperate. Stamping on Ritsu's foot, she raced away with her eyes closed, Yui giving chase. "NO!" Azusa yelled, running unknowingly onto the road. "I AM NOT WEARING THEM IN PUBLIC!"
"Come on Azu-nyan. Please~"
"ONEE-CHAN! LOOK OUT!" Ui screamed. Yui stopped and then saw it. A car was barreling towards her, the driver overly drunk. Time seemed to slow down. Yui watched in stunned silence as the vehicle approached. The sound of her heartbeat filled her ears. She thought she could hear Mio yelling something, but she couldn't discern what it was. The guitarist remained frozen, her life flashing before her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a pair of small hands on her side. Before she could fathom what was happening, she was pushed to one side.
Yui fell onto the road, the cat ears dropping near her. Hitting her head on the hard asphalt, she blacked out. Standing where she had been moments before was Azusa. Before she could move herself out of the way, the car collided with her. Azusa fell onto the bonnet of the vehicle, rolled across the windscreen and then flew into the air. Her limbs flailed wildly, like a rag doll. After what seemed like an eternity, she landed on the road, hard. The impact knocked her unconscious. The driver continued driving, too intoxicated to notice anything. As the vehicle passed through an intersection, the other girls ran over, having been unfortunate witnesses to what had just happened.
"Onee-chan. Onee-chan." Ui called, shaking her sister. The brunette was completely out of it. Ritsu then ran over to Azusa, dreading what she would see. The poor girl was a mess. Her leg was bent at an odd angle, obviously broken. Blood flowed from gashes on her head and from her mouth.
"Guys? Azusa's in a bad way." she said in a shaky voice, unsure of what to do.
"Check whether she's got a pulse." Mugi instructed as calmly as possible, calling for an ambulance. Mio simply stood there in shock, trembling. She could not believe what she had just seen.
"Onee-chan? Onee-chan!" Ui called, shaking her sister firmly. There was no response. "Mio-chan, can you help me get her off the road?" she asked Mio.
"Sh-she's not bleeding or anything, is she?"
"MIO, WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Ritsu yelled in her direction. After some hesitation, Mio went to lend a hand. Ritsu then felt Azusa's wrist. She felt a faint beat, which meant Azusa was still alive. She breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing more cars coming, she ran to the intersection and did her best to divert traffic. A few minutes later, an ambulance came. The paramedics quickly pulled out a stretcher and got Azusa on it. After bundling her into the back of the ambulance, joined by Ui (and being assured by the others that they would take care of Yui), they pulled away, siren blaring. Ritsu then ran back to the others. Yui was slowly coming to.
"Yui-chan, can you hear me?" Mugi asked.
The guitarist groaned, then opened her eyes. "Uuh. What happened?" she asked. Sitting up, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her skull. "Ow."
"Easy Yui. You had a hard fall just now." Mio said, supporting her friend. After the pain had subsided, Yui slowly got to her feet. The others stood ready to catch her if she fell. After a minute or two, Yui looked at her friends.
"What happened?" She then looked around. "Where are Azu-nyan and Ui? Weren't they just with us?"
Her friends all looked at each other, then Mio spoke up. "Yui, I don't know how to tell you this, but Azusa was in an accident." she explained slowly.
Yui looked at her friend. "What?"
"She was hit by a car. She's on her way to the hospital. Ui's with her."
Yui looked at her with a puzzled expression. "What do you...?" Suddenly the memories started coming back to her. Her chasing Azusa with the cat ears, running onto the road, a car heading towards her, someone pushing her aside. She looked at the road and saw the blood stain. Looking back at her friends, she struggled to find words. Ritsu then showed her the cat ears, slightly scratched but still intact. Seeing them, Yui spoke up. "No. It's not true. This is a joke, right? Just a big joke?" she asked her friends, her heart tightening. They shook their heads.
"I'm sorry Yui. It's not a joke." Mio said. Again, words failed Yui. She simply dropped onto her hands and knees and stared at the sidewalk.
Azu-nyan... hit by a car... As she repeated those words in her mind, she felt tears forming. As the full weight of what had happened and Mio's words sank in, the tears started falling. "Azu-nyan... Azu-nyan..." As if a dam had broken open, she threw her head back and cried "AZU-NYAAAAAAAAAAAANN!" before breaking down.