Notes: Sorry it took an entire week to write an interlude. Let's chalk that one up to personal and health issues. Nothing serious.

There is a bit of romance; not so much. Pairings are not really what this story is about.

The next chapter might take a while. I'm doing some restructuring work on the story. No BIG reshuffles planned, but it's still quite an undertaking.

Thank you all!


Chapter 4: Akihabara Sunday Interlude

Akihabara Haze

Sunday afternoon, August the 11th.

Sunlight pierced the curtains of the bedroom and crept in through the gaps, casting a faint halo in the area around the window and highlighting a thin, faint veil of swirling dust around the curtains. Hanayo reached for the bedside desk and put on her glasses, setting the duvet off herself and sitting up. She picked up the phone from the bedside desk and checked the time.

12:41pm.

Had she really been asleep for that long? (And more importantly, were her new Hello Kitty pyjamas really that comfortable?)

She exited her room, and walked down the corridor towards the way she hoped the living room was, rubbing her eyes. A minute's walk later, she heard two voices coming from ahead: Honoka and Nozomi. The TV was on, though Hanayo couldn't hear what the TV or either of the two ahead were saying. She headed forward into the living room to see two figures bathed in sunlight from the windows on the wall: Honoka in frilly yellow pyjamas, and Nozomi with her hair down in a lavender robe sitting on the sofa closest to the TV, facing each other and talking about something. Hanayo couldn't tell, because they both turned to face her the moment they heard her coming in.

"Good morning, Hanayo. Or should that be, good afternoon." Nozomi said, quickest on the draw.

"Morning, Hanayo!" Honoka said. "Wow, those Hello Kitty pyjamas are really cute..."

"Aww, thank, you, Honoka. They're really comfortable too."

Hanayo sat down on the sofa closest to her, which happened to be the unoccupied one furthest from the TV.

"Aw, come on, Hanayo, don't be a stranger." Nozomi said, tucking her legs back underneath her and she laid back on the corner of the sofa. "Come sit over here."

Nozomi lay her hand on space on the sofa between her and Honoka, looking at Hanayo expectantly like a cat wanting attention.

Hanayo complied, and moved to the other sofa, crossing her legs comfortably.

"Where are the others?" She asked.

"Ah...I think they all went out already. Maki left this note on the table." Honoka said, handing Hanayo a piece of paper. On the paper was instructions as to where all the important rooms in the house were, and that all the fridges, freezers and cupboards were full of food and drink for anybody to have.

"Didn't either of you feel like going out?"

"Nah, I was exhausted from the flight from Sapporo, and it felt nice to get to lie in without being crushed by Eli. She might look delicate, and she's usually nice, but when she gets cuddly, she gets cuddly..." Nozomi replied, her arm resting on the back of the sofa.

Hanayo looked at Honoka.

"I just like sleeping in." Honoka conceded with an unapologetic smile on her face.

"I won't judge, Honoka", Hanayo said as she searched for the remote, "I slept in far later than you did. Maki's beds are so comfortable..."
Hanayo found the remote, and took a moment to survey the buttons. She brought up the channel list; they were currently on one of the JSports channels, showing tennis highlights. Nothing interesting.

"Hanayo, give me the remote. Let me look." Nozomi said. She moved to Hanayo to take the remote from her, but was stopped in her tracks by a single disapproving glance from Hanayo, Nozomi's facial expression turning soft in surprise. Hanayo ruffled Nozomi's hair and lay back in her space in the sofa, scrolling down the channel list.

"Ah, Titanic's on in 15 minutes! I think that would be a nice Sunday afternoon movie." Hanayo mused, looking at Honoka and Nozomi for approval. "What do you both think about that?"

Honoka and Nozomi nodded their heads to the side, as if to say "sure, why not".

"But first, I'm hungry. I'm going to make some fried rice for lunch. Do either of you want any?"

"Oh boy, do I! Let me help!" Honoka said, shooting up before Hanayo had even finished getting up herself. Hanayo saw Nozomi stand up to her right. "I'll help too, Hanayo."

Hanayo smiled in excitement out of reflex, unable and unwilling to make any other facial expression. "This is going to be good!"

"Ohh...Maki's fridge is fancy." Honoka said, observing it; it was the type of fridge that had a small alcove in it for dispensing drinks and ice. After spending a minute finding the glasses cupboard, she poured herself a drink of water from the fridge for the sheer novelty of it.

"Okay, Honoka, you get the carrots, peas, eggs and butter." Hanayo said, moving back towards the doorway of the kitchen. "Nozomi, you get the oil, sesame oil, soy sauce and all the utensils and cutlery we need. I'll go fetch some rice from my bag. I've been waiting for this."

Hanayo marched out the door, leaving Honoka and Nozomi to carry out their instructions. Honoka found the carrots and peas in the fridge eventually, but was distracted by various other items inside.

"Hey, Nozomi! Maki's got some berry flavoured Fanta in here!"

Nozomi turned around, her hand left absentmindedly in the cupboard. "Really? I've never seen that in this country before. Maybe we can have some of that later, when you're done finding everything."

"Ah, sure! Sorry, Nozomi!"

Honoka took another 10 seconds to close the fridge door and refill her glass of water, marvelling again at the high-end appliances Maki's kitchen had.

Hanayo returned, and after some more direction on Honoka's end, their assigned tasks were completed (with some help from Hanayo.)

"What now, Hanayo?" Nozomi asked.

"First, let's chop the carrots. Honoka, you separate the rice."

Nozomi washed up some carrots and set them onto the board. She peeled it slowly, cut the top off, and cut the carrot into rectangular sticks just as slowly as she'd peeled them.

"Here, let me show you." Hanayo took hold of Nozomi's hand, and moved it towards almost the edge of the carrot. "You're going to want to slice it thinly. Move your other hand..."

She moved Nozomi's other hand down onto the carrot sticks. "Here, so you can cut steadily. Bring the knife down quickly over and over to cut it into pieces." Hanayo moved one hand to the tip of the knife and with her other hand, moved the hand Nozomi was holding the knife with down swiftly in succession on the carrot sticks, chopping them into small squares.

"That's how you do it!"

"Thanks, Hanayo." Nozomi said, slowly but confidently dicing the carrots.

"Okay, Honoka. You turn on..."

Hanayo was interrupted mid-sentence by the sight of Honoka proudly waiting for further instructions by the stovetop, having already heated up the wok and put in the oil and separated rice. In her right hand she held an oily wooden spatula.

"I work fast too, Hanayo! I do work in a bakery, after all."

"Wow...I think if we were making anything else, you'd be better than I am at this." Hanayo walked over and inspected the rice. "That's good!"

Hanayo turned back round to see Nozomi happily awaiting instructions. "What next, Chef?"

"Mix the egg, sesame oil and soy sauce! We'll add the peas and carrots to the rice when the rice is golden."

Honoka stepped over to the fridge and took out a can of berry Fanta. "Do you want any, Hanayo, Nozomi?"

"No thanks, Honoka."

"I'm fine, thank you, Honoka."

Honoka sat herself down on the chairs on the counter next to the stovetop, kicking her legs in the air while watching the rice, comfortably sipping away at her Fanta while Hanayo made sure everything was in order and Nozomi cleaned the items they weren't using. Before Honoka knew it, the rice was cooked, and so she added in the peas, carrots and the egg mixture, waited for the egg to set and stirred briskly, drizzling the rice in sesame oil.

Hanayo and Nozomi looked on over Honoka's shoulders, enthralled by her technique. Several minutes of stirring and tossing later, and it was done; one large serving of egg fried vegetable rice, split into three servings. Hanayo practically ran back to the living room to sit back down in her seat, eagerly awaiting Honoka and Nozomi, who sat down calmly. Honoka changed the channel, and set the remote down.

"Let's go!" Hanayo said.

In eager unison, the three of them prepared for their meal.

"Itadakimasu!"

Hanayo's frenzy saw the rice disappear in less than a minute. She put down her bowl on the coffee table and lay back in her seat on the sofa, sighing contentedly. Honoka and Nozomi ate at a steady pace, their eyes split between the rice and the film.

Eventually, Hanayo's eyes started to grow heavy from such a full meal, and for the next 5 minutes she sunk into her chair, deeper into sleep...

Hanayo fell asleep. Switching positions to make herself more comfortable, Honoka propped herself up against Hanayo's stationary shoulder, finishing her rice and reaching out to put her bowl on the table. Nozomi watched Honoka and did the same, tucking her legs under herself the opposite way, leaning against Hanayo's other shoulder, her hand lightly resting on Hanayo. She closed her eyes and let the background noise of the movie lull her to sleep.

Nozomi fell asleep.

Honoka continued watching comfortably, though she struggled to stay awake. Only a few minutes after Nozomi, Honoka fell asleep, and the three of them slept together on the same sofa, their heads rested together peacefully in the afternoon light.


Hanito

Sunday morning, August the 11th.

"So, what are you getting when we order, Eli?"

"Oh, you know what I'm getting, Umi."

"You don't mean..."

"Come on, Umi. You know I want some Honey Toast. Maki, are you feeling adventurous?"

"I might try some if you order."

"Oh, really, Maki?"

"You know you're not going to finish all of it."

The Honey Toast Café emanated elegance; chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a subtle yellow glow on the tables underneath, and the laminated wooden floor was pristine; clean enough to see your reflection, and floor-to-ceiling glass windows surrounded the place, and the smell of various freshly baked goods wafted throughout the place. Eli, Maki and Umi sat at one of the tables in the middle of the seating area; surprisingly, despite the Obon period, there were few other people seated, and so the cafe took on a slow Sunday morning atmosphere.

"Okay, I'm going to order now. What do you two want?" Eli said, menu in her hands.

"I'll just get a coffee. Get me an espresso, could you, please?" Maki said.

"Just a cappuccino for me, please." Umi replied.

"I'll be back shortly. The coffee's on me!" And with that, Eli left the table to order, leaving only Umi and Maki. An uncomfortable silence lasting a few seconds, followed. Umi and Maki held their poker faces, and Maki broke the silence.

"I'm surprised this place is so quiet, especially on Obon..."

"It could be because it's very early right now." Umi took out her phone and turned on the screen. "It isn't even half past eight right now. Maybe everyone's still in bed because it's a Sunday morning."

"Hah, yeah."

Maki and Umi both looked down at the table silently for a few seconds.

Umi sighed heavily.

"Maki."

Maki immediately raised her head to Umi, looking alert; she knew what was coming.

"I think we should talk."

Maki could have sworn she felt her core temperature lower.

"T-talk? What are you talking about?"

Umi looked back down at the table nervously, her face red from fear and embarrassment. "You know what I'm talking about, Maki. I'm sorry, but this is the only time we'll have to talk about this."

"Umi..."

Umi's hands started to tremble, and it took everything she had to prevent it from getting worse. She started to regret bringing it out into the open.

"Kyoto, 2019...you remember, don't you, Maki?"

Looking away, Maki nodded; it was her last clear memory of Umi, and she'd been thinking about it ever since, unsure if Umi really felt that way, or whether it was a mistake she'd made. Right now, she second-guessed her initial feelings, then third-guessed and guessed to infinity about Umi's true feelings. She'd waited for Umi to speak first, but Umi did the same, and so they just...lost contact.

Umi steeled herself and tried again; "Did it mean anything?"

Even though it had been five years, but Maki knew it did, but couldn't bring herself to say yes.

"Well...I don't know."

Umi said nothing.

"But...maybe it's too early to find out. We only met for the first time in five years yesterday. I won't say yes...and I won't say no."

Maki took a moment to breathe, her pulse steadying.

"But how about this? Let's talk again, at the end of the week and see how we feel. If it's there, then maybe we'll go out together. Does that sound good to you?"

Umi sighed again, reacting with a multitude of emotions towards Maki: disappointment, relief, irritation, and happiness; for a moment, she felt these emotions spike, then wash away as she felt calm wash over her. Maki cared about her, at least. She didn't have the information she needed, but it was a start.

"Very well."

Maki put her hand on Umi's resting hand and held it, smiling warmly. "Come on, Umi, cheer up. Eli should be almost ready to order by now, and we'll have coffee soon."

Colour returned to Umi's face, blushing slightly, and her posture returned.

"Thank you, Maki."

"While we're waiting, why don't I show you some photos of the Daimonji Festival from last year? Here, come over this side."

Umi moved around the table and sat next to Maki, leaning in to see the screen of Maki's phone. "Oh...are those bonfires?"

"Yep, giant ones on the mountains!"

"Oh, I see! It's much clearer in this photo."

A few minutes later, Eli returned with a spring in her careful step, delicately carrying three cups of coffee. She handed Umi and Maki their cappuccino and espresso, and set down her latte on the table, sitting down.

"The honey toast will be ready in ten minutes." Eli shot them a devilish look. "Prepare yourselves."

Maki shot Eli the exact same look; "Are you ready, Eli?"

The two of the continued their mock staredown for 5 seconds before Eli broke composure in light laughter, sitting straight in her seat again, sighing contentedly. "Akihabara really is nice in the morning, isn't it?"

"It's wonderful", Umi said, taking a large sip of her coffee, "This could be the only time in the week that we can experience such tranquillity."

"Ah, I'm not so sure about tranquillity, Umi", Maki replied, drinking her coffee in kind, "I'm feeling like I might want to go to the arcade later if I can handle the hanito."

"TAITO Station, Tokyo Leisure Land or Club SEGA?" Eli said. "Or is there better out there, Umi?"

"Sorry, Eli, I wouldn't know. I don't go to the arcade."

"Let's go to Tokyo Leisure Land. Maybe we could have a dance-off if we can..." Maki purred, issuing a challenge to both Eli and Umi; inspired by Eli's spirit and her coffee, she felt yet another burst of adventurous spirit.

"Ah, you're on, Maki...I'm just glad we can have the arcades at this time of day."

Umi spoke up, sipping her coffee with fervour; "Kanda Myojin Shrine's wonderful this time of year too. I'm a miko there too sometimes, and this year's Kanda Festival was beautiful..."

Ten minutes of reminiscing about Akihabara's many landmarks and attractions later, the honey toast arrived; a loaf of bread with the inside scooped out and filled with vanilla ice cream, diced bread pieces, bananas, cream and chocolate syrup. The lid of the makeshift box was on the plate next to the it, and the ice cream almost doubled the height of the entire dessert, and the bread had the Honey Toast Café logo on its side. On the plate "Honey" was written in elegant writing in chocolate syrup, and the bread's "lid", and Eli was even provided with some honey to pour on the dessert.

Eli initially reacted with shock to her dessert; for 1200 yen, she wasn't expecting this much. Umi looked even more mortified than Eli did; this was too much even for Eli and Maki.

Umi picked up the fondue fork, and Maki and Eli audibly reacted. Spurred on by their surprise, she drizzled the honey over the top of the ice cream and carefully scooped out a medium sized piece of ice cream, making the first mark in the dessert.

"Aww, look at you, taking little bites all prim and proper like an elegant woman." Teased Eli.

Umi glared, shooting Eli a deadpan look before driving her fork into the ice cream and taking out a large chunk of banana ice cream and eating it whole, getting ice cream around her mouth, and Eli and Maki squeaked in laughter.

Nowhere near as elegant as the last mouthful, Umi continued looking Eli in the eyes as she ate the ice cream.

"Well, it looks like we might finish this after all." Eli said, picking up a fondue fork and digging in. Maki did the same, fascinated by the complexity of the dessert.

"Wow, Eli, this dessert's really nice...I'm glad you brought us here."

"I did say I wanted to come here after all. How about we hit the arcades after this?"

"That sounds great, Eli."


Versus the World

Sunday evening, August the 11th.

Dusk had come for Akihabara; the lighting in Maki's living room had shifted from daylight to the lamplight flooding the room from the walls, and the evening cicadas' buzz could be heard faintly from outside. The TV was switched to an unknown drama, and Eli and Hanayo sat facing each other on the sofa nearest to it, conversing; Hanayo still in her Hello Kitty pyjamas, and Eli in a thin light blue shirt and comfortable tracksuits, holding a glass of wine in her hand and her glasses in the other, arm resting on the back of the sofa against the wall.

Eli punctuated herself every so often with a miniscule sip of wine; "I would say it's more for tourists, but hasn't Akihabara always been that way?"

"That's why I prefer Chiba-ken. When the holidays arrive, it's easier to move around town."

"Isn't Chiba-ken still a little busy? It's right next to Tokyo, so it's very urbanised..."

"I don't mind Chiba-ken. Rin seems to like it too, so there has to be something about it."

Nozomi entered the room, holding two empty wine glasses and a half-full bottle of the red wine Eli was drinking.

"I've got wine~! Elicchi, Hanayo, want some?"

Hanayo raised her hand in polite declination, and Eli did the same, sipping her not yet empty glass of wine. Nozomi poured herself a glass and set down the bottle on the table, sitting behind Eli on the sofa and resting on her, putting the arm holding the wine glass against the back of the sofa and the wall, and the other around Eli. "Sapporo's slower and more relaxed, and that's why I love it. It's so much more...spiritual. The girls there are cute too, even if they're not as beautiful as Elicchi. And plus, I get to play in the snow at the Sapporo Snow Festival every winter."

"We went on a school trip to the Sapporo Snow Festival once. The kids loved it, but it was such a hassle keeping them away from the sculptures...Actually, on second thoughts, Nozomi, could I trouble you for a drink, please?"

"Sure."

Nozomi leaned to the table, reaching for the bottle of wine and empty glass, almost bringing Eli to the side with her; Eli righted herself to prevent herself spilling her wine all over Maki's sofa.

"Ah! Careful, Nozomi!"

"Sorry, Elicchi."

Nozomi had just handed Hanayo her glass of wine when the doorbell rang.

"Ah...looks like they're back." Eli said.

"I'll get it. You two look comfortable."

And with that, Hanayo set down her glass and headed towards the front door, and opened the front gates at the property's walls. After 10 seconds, there was a knock at the door, and Hanayo was greeted by Rin, Nico and Kotori, all holding shopping bags from various outlets, looking exhausted but happy. Hanayo opened the door all the way and stood back, allowing them in before she shut the door again.

"Hello! It looks like you had fun."

Rin set down her bags and sat down on the floor, eventually laying down breathless and sighing; "We did so much shopping..."

"She danced nonstop at the arcades." Nico said.

"It was amazing, though!" Kotori exclaimed. "We went to Electric Town, we went to Club SEGA, we went to Tokyo Leisure Land, we ate at a nice ramen place...we even met Eli, Umi and Maki for a few minutes."

"Nico almost beat me at the dance machines..." Rin said from the floor. Hanayo successfully hid her shock that Nico could push Rin to her limits without burning herself out, but took a moment to examine Nico up and down.

"She's not as exhausted as this very often...Come on, Rin. Let's get you some water." Hanayo extended her arm to Rin and pulled her up from the ground, picking up her shopping bags afterwards. "Come on, Rin. Come sit down in the living room with us. Kotori, Nico, join us! We'll be there."

And with that, Hanayo headed back to the living room with Rin on her arm, holding on dramatically. Kotori went to say something to Nico, but stopped herself to focus on the sound of faint yelling coming from somewhere down the corridor where the bedrooms were. Kotori and Nico looked at each other and without a word, walked in the direction of the noise. Moving closer, they made out the voice to be Honoka. They could hear her now, becoming more insistent. Nico and Kotori listened in stunned silence, slowly becoming concerned silence:

"Fantasy? What do you mean?"

"I wanted to see everyone again. What's wrong with that?"

"What's your problem? Is what I'm doing so wrong?"

"It's Obon, Yukiho! You know that!"

"No! No, no! You used to be so supportive, Yukiho! If you think it's wrong to catch up with friends, then that's your problem.

"Why do you care what I do, anyway? We don't even talk much anymore."

"If you're my sister, you wouldn't be so mean to me over something like this."

"What do you know about what's best for me? Just because you don't have any ambitions, that doesn't mean you have to drag me down!"

Honoka was shouting into her phone now, and worry bloomed on Kotori and Nico's faces.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this? Our mother hasn't said anything about this! This is only you!"

A restrained yet frustrated scream could be heard as well as what was likely Honoka throwing her phone down on the bed, and from the other side of the door came the sound of Honoka slumping down onto the floor. No more words came from the room. Nico and Kotori awkwardly glanced at each other, standing motionless in front of the door.

Nico remembered her meeting with Honoka two months ago. She remembered she was the first of µ's to face a truly angry Honoka, and also the first to calm down a truly angry Honoka.

Nico set down her shopping bags, and Kotori did the same. Nico gently opened the door; Honoka was sitting on the floor against the side of the bed with her arms around her knees, and she was brooding, looking straight ahead.

Nico sat down next to Honoka on the floor against the end of the bed and leaned against Honoka's side without a word, her head resting on Honoka's shoulder. Honoka rested her head against Nico's, but gave no further response. Kotori stood nervously at the threshold of the room, though Nico beckoned her over with a single look. Kotori slowly stepped over to Honoka as if she were approaching a nervous cat, and sat down by Honoka's side, though didn't lean against her like Nico did. Honoka continued looking forward, silent, but took her right arm off her knee and brought Kotori in against her. She did the same with her left arm to bring Nico in even closer. The look on her face was no longer as harsh, and anger had given way to sadness at the shock of her own sister going against her. She sat there in thought with Kotori and Nico at her side, her eyes moving around her field of vision. Kotori and Nico relaxed their muscles; they would sit here in the moonlight streaming in through the window for as long as it took.