Honoka woke up and the first thing she felt was pain, she looked around and saw that she was in Kotori's room. She looked down and saw that there were bandages all over her body. She tried to sit up but she was in too much pain to move. She was surprised that she was still alive after being viciously assaulted by Umi. She felt a hand over her own hand and looked over to see that it was Kotori's hand. She saw that Kotori was asleep with her head lying down on the edge of the bed. Honoka realized that Kotori must have been watching her to make sure that she was okay.
"Kotori must've saved me from Umi, she's really a sweet girl" Honoka said
Kotori moved a little bit and soon opened her eyes. When she woke up, the first thing she saw was a pair of blue eyes staring at her. Kotori realized that Honoka was awake. Kotori soon had tears in her eyes when she saw that Honoka was awake and staring at her.
"Honoka?" Kotori said
"Good morning Kotori" Honoka said
Kotori couldn't hold herself back anymore. She embraced Honoka and started to cry tears of joy. Kotori was afraid that the treatment she gave Honoka wasn't enough to save her. She actually thought that Honoka was going to die because of the injuries she got from Umi.
"HONOKA!" Kotori cried
"Hi Kotori" Honoka said
"I WAS SO WORRIED THAT YOU WERE NEVER GOING TO WAKE UP! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO DIE! I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU'RE AWAKE!" Kotori cried
"How long was I asleep" Honoka asked
Kotori was able to put herself back together and was able to answer Honoka's question.
"You were asleep for 2 days" Kotori said
Honoka's eyes went wide when she heard how long she was unconscious.
"I was asleep for that long?" Honoka asked in shock
"Yes, you were. I was so worried about you. It was even hard for me to sleep. That's how worried I was" Kotori said
"Did I miss any school?" Honoka asked
"You only missed Friday, It's Sunday right now" Kotori said
Both girls spent the rest of the day talking. Kotori spent the day taking care of her injured friend. She would get anything that Honoka needed. Monday came by and Honoka was actually well enough to come back school. Kotori objected to Honoka coming to school in her current condition. Honoka managed to convince Kotori to let her come to school. Honoka had usually uniform on but she still had the bandages on. When she entered the classroom a lot of students, including the teacher, were shocked when they saw the bandages that were on Honoka. The teacher spoke up to her and asked her what happened.
"Kousaka-san, what happened to you?" The teacher asked
"I just got into a little accident, that's all" Honoka said
"A little accident wouldn't cause you to be injured that much" The teacher pointed out
"I'm fine, don't worry" Honoka said
The teacher didn't looked very convinced but she decided to let it go.
Throughout most of the school day Kotori tried to be with Honoka as much as possible. Kotori decided to make herself Honoka's bodyguard. Kotori's injury was already healed, the scar was also gone. Honoka was in the bathroom when Kotori was getting them lunch. Kotori wanted to go with her but Honoka managed to convince her to let her go by herself. The rest of U's, except for Umi, asked Honoka if she was ok and Honoka said that she was going to be fine. She told them that she got into an accident but reassured them that she was ok. Everyone was relieved to hear that she would be ok. The only one who was still worried was Nozomi. She was having a strange feeling that she was hiding something and she was going to find out what it was. During one of her tarot card readings she got a death card. It told her that something bad would happen. As soon as Honoka came in with all those bandages on her, Nozomi figured out that her card was telling her that something bad would happen to someone and that something was Honoka. Nozomi decided to confront Honoka, when she was alone, and ask her what really happened to her. Nozomi had a feeling that the accident that Honoka got in wasn't an accident.
Honoka was in the bathroom alone. Kotori wanted to come with her but Honoka was able to convince her to let her go by herself. When Honoka was about to leave she saw that someone was at the entrance of the bathroom. She got scared and stepped back until her back hit the wall. She was scared because she thought it was Umi. She thought Umi had come to finish her off. Honoka gave a huge sigh of relief when she saw that the person at the door wasn't Umi, it was Nozomi.
"Hi, Nozomi" Honoka said
"How are doing Honoka? Are you feeling better?" Nozomi asked
"I'm feeling better, thanks for your concern" Honoka said
"That's good" Nozomi said with a smile
Nozomi's smile soon turned into a frown and she gave Honoka a serious look. Honoka saw the serious look that Nozomi was giving her and asked her if something was wrong.
"What's wrong the matter Nozomi?" Honoka asked
"Honoka, what really happened to you?" Nozomi asked
"I just told you that I got into an accident" Honoka said
"Don't lie to me Honoka" Nozomi said
"I'm not lying!" Honoka said
"Honoka, I want you to tell me what really happened and I want the truth. Don't hide anything from me. It's not easy to keep things from me" Nozomi said with a serious tone
Honoka looked down, she didn't want to tell anyone that Umi was the one who attacked. She didn't want Umi to get in trouble. Even after everything that Umi had done to her, Honoka still viewed Umi as a friend. But she knew that hiding things from Nozomi wasn't easy. She had to come clean and tell Nozomi what really happened. Honoka explained everything to Nozomi, she told her everything that Umi had done to her and Kotori. When she was done with her explanation she looked at Nozomi, who had a shocked look on her face.
"I never thought Umi would go that far" Nozomi said
"Nozomi, please keep this a secret" Honoka said
Nozomi looked at her in shock. She was honestly surprised to hear that Honoka wanted to keep this a secret from the others. Nozomi decided to protest.
"Honoka, it that's what really happened to you then the others have a right to know" Nozomi said
"Please Nozomi, I'm begging you to keep this a secret from everyone" Honoka begged
"Why do you want this to be kept a secret?" Nozomi asked
"Because I don't want Umi to get in trouble. She's still my friend" Honoka said
Nozomi was shocked to hear that Honoka still viewed Umi as a friend after everything Umi had done to her.
"Honoka, Umi's no longer your friend. She tried to kill you and Kotori. A friend shouldn't do that" Nozomi said
"I understand what you're trying to say but I still want this to be kept a secret" Honoka said
While Nozomi was talking to Honoka, Kotori was waiting for Honoka in the cafeteria. Kotori was starting to feel uneasy because Honoka had been gone for a long time. Kotori was afraid that Umi followed Honoka. Kotori couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed both of the lunches that she had bought for her and Honoka. She went down to bathroom that Honoka went to. When she made it to the bathroom, she heard two voices in the bathroom. She recognized one being Honoka's and the other voice sounded like Nozomi's. Kotori peeked inside and saw that Honoka was actually talking to Nozomi. Kotori heard the conversation that they were having. Apparently Nozomi followed Honoka all the way to bathroom so she could find out the truth from Honoka. Kotori wasn't all that surprised that Nozomi was able to figure out that something was wrong. Hiding things from Nozomi was almost impossible. Kotori decided to enter the bathroom and join in on the conversation. Kotori decided to help Honoka convince Nozomi to keep everything that had happened to them a secret.
"Please Nozomi keep it a secret between the three of us" Kotori said
Both girls turned around and saw Kotori was there.
"Kotori? Why are you here?" Honoka asked
"I was waiting for you in the cafeteria but you've been gone for a while I decided to check on you and I saws that you were talking to Nozomi" Kotori explained
Honoka nodded, while Nozomi was shocked that Kotori wanted to keep it secret as well. Kotori's explanation for wanted to keep it a secret was because she wanted to respect Honoka's decision. Nozomi eventually gave in and promised to not to tell anyone. After a month had passed since Honoka was almost killed by Umi. Honoka's injuries were all healed and her scars were gone. Honoka decided that the only way to bring Umi back was to make her let go of all of her own emotions at once. Honoka knew how she was going to do it. When she was with Kotori she told her what she was going to do.
"Kotori, I'm going try something to bring Umi back to us" Honoka said
"What are you going to do Honoka?" Kotori asked in a worried
Kotori was afraid that if the plan that Honoka came up with fails then Umi will try to kill them again. But Kotori was curious on what Honoka was planning on doing.
"I'm going to challenge her to a kendo match" Honoka said
"What?! But Honoka Umi is an expert in self-defense. Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Kotori said
"I understand your concern Kotori, but I need have Umi unleash all of her emotions at once and I believe that the only way that I can do that is by challenging her to a kendo match" Honoka said
"If you really think that this will work then I will support you" Kotori said
"Thanks Kotori you're the best" Honoka said
To prove that she meant what she said, Honoka leaned in gave her girlfriend a passionate kiss on the lips. Kotori felt that passion and she loved it.
It was decided that Honoka would do this after they were done with their student council work. When the student council work was done Honoka turned towards Umi, who was preparing to leave, while Kotori was watching with some worry on her face.
"Umi!" Honoka said in a loud voice
Umi looked over towards Honoka.
"What do you want Honoka?" Umi asked
"I challenge you to a kendo match!" Honoka shouted
"Are you stupid? I'm used to be the captain of the kendo club and if I recall you never beat me once" Umi said
"What about when were kids when I beat you?" Honoka asked
Umi blushed when Honoka mentioned that.
"I wasn't trained in swordplay back then. After I was trained in kendo you were never able to beat me. It'll just be a waste of time" Umi said
Umi was about to walk out the door but stopped by the thing that Honoka said.
"Are you scared that you'll lose?" Honoka asked in mocking tone
"What did you just say?" Umi asked in scary tone
"I said are you afraid of losing?" Honoka asked again
"There's no way I could lose someone like you!" Umi yelled
"Prove it, unless you're too scared" Honoka said
"I'm not scared!" Umi said
"Are you sure? Maybe you're scared that your kendo skills had rusted" Honoka said
"That's it! Meet me in the kendo room in ten minutes. I'll show you that you don't have what it takes to beat me!" Umi yelled
"Fine I'll see you there!" Honoka yelled back
As soon Umi left Kotori went over to Honoka to talk to her.
"Don't you think you went too far Honoka?" Kotori asked
"The only one who can get Umi worked up is me, I said those things because I had make sure Umi would accept my challenge no matter what" Honoka said
Kotori just stared at her girlfriend. She knew Honoka very well, but she still wasn't sure that a kendo match would work. But she trusted Honoka so she decided to let her go through with this.
Ten minutes later both Honoka and Umi were in their kendo uniforms, both of them were holding boken swords. Kotori was looking at both them. She could feel the intense atmosphere between them. Kotori was kneeling on a mat on the sidelines. She folded her hands into a praying position. Kotori prayed that everything would go well.
Both girls charged each other. Their swords clashed against other. Umi stepped back and tried break through Honoka's guard. Honoka saw this coming and purposely dropped her guard. When Umi was close enough to strike Honoka dodged and swung her sword to Umi's side. Honoka's move made contact with Umi's side. This caused Umi to lose her balance a little bit but she was able to regain her balance in matter of seconds.
"She's still very skilled kendo, I shouldn't be surprised since she was the second strongest in the club. I'll prove to her that I'm still the strongest one here" Umi thought
Honoka charged at Umi and performed a horizontal slice but Umi was able to counter with a vertical slice. Both girls kept going at each other. Kotori could tell that both of them refused to accept defeat. Honoka went in for a thrust move but Umi did a side step and performed a vertical slice which made contact with Honoka's right shoulder. Honoka gritted her teeth and kept going at Umi with everything she had. Honoka was hit in the stomach by Umi, who performed a horizontal slice. Honoka was able to catch herself before she fell down.
"Umi is as skilled as ever, it's not surprising since she was the strongest member in the club. But I can't give up! I can't lose! I have to win so Umi will return to her normal self!" Honoka thought
Both girls countered each other's moves and when both of their swords clashed against each other again they both held their ground. They tried to overpower each other and while they were in this position Honoka took this opportunity to talk to Umi.
"Umi, how do you feel right now?" Honoka asked
"What are you asking all of a sudden?" Umi said
"I'm asking what you are feeling right now" Honoka said
"The only thing I feel right now is anger and you're the cause of it" Umi said
Umi was able to push Honoka back and almost got in a hit but Honoka saw it coming and was able to block it at the last second. Honoka was able to hit Umi with a stab to the stomach. Umi stepped back and tried to recover from the blow that Honoka just gave her. Honoka took that time to charge at Umi and hit her left shoulder with a vertical slice and then followed up with a horizontal slice on the stomach. Umi staggered back some more and looked at Honoka. Umi then charged Honoka and attempted and kept swing her sword but Honoka was dodging every one of them. When Honoka dodged it looked like she was dancing. Umi decided to combine kendo and martial arts. She was able to hit Honoka a few times with her combined fighting style. Honoka fought back by combining her dancing and kendo skills. She was able to hit Umi a few times as well.
Kotori was shocked by the performances that the both of them were doing.
"Honoka is combining her dancing with her kendo skills and Umi is combining her martial arts with her kendo skills. I don't know who's going to win. This could go either way" Kotori thought
Umi was able to figure what Honoka was using to make her moves better and more graceful.
"Honoka's using the dance moves from our idol training to make her kendo moves better, in that case I'll do the same thing. I'll combine martial arts and dancing with kendo. There's no way Honoka can win this" Umi thought
Umi's combined style was able to overwhelm Honoka. Honoka fell to the ground and Umi had her sword at her neck.
"You lose Honoka" Umi said
"Sorry Umi but I'm not giving up yet" Honoka said
Umi looked at Honoka like she was crazy. Honoka grabbed her sword and was able to swiftly hit Umi's ankle. This caused Umi to stagger for a few seconds and that was all the time that Honoka needed to get back on her feet. Umi glared at her because of the surprise attack that Honoka gave her.
"That was a dirty trick Honoka" Umi said
"You weren't on guard so I took advantage of a vulnerable spot that you weren't guarding" Honoka said
Umi just glared, she had to careful of any blind spots that she had. She had to be on guard at all time.
Honoka decided to go on the offensive and dashed at Umi. Umi saw Honoka charging at her and was about to defend herself but before she could Honoka was already in front of her. Umi was shocked when she saw how fast Honoka had just moved. Honoka performed a horizontal slice and Umi was on the side. Umi staggered to the side and Honoka took that time to perform a vertical slice that landed on Umi's shoulder. She then jabbed Umi in the stomach. Umi was having a hard time keeping up with Honoka.
"How did she so fast all of a sudden? She's almost as fast as Rin" Umi said
Both girls countered each other blow for blow. They were starting to get tired and they took the time to catch their breaths. Umi was starting to feel strange. Umi was starting to feel excitement.
"What is this feeling right now? Why am I feeling so excited? No one was able to beat me in kendo. No one came close to beating me. The only who could fight head on was Honoka. This might be the excitement that I was looking for when I was still in the kendo club" Umi thought
Honoka was feeling the same excitement that Umi was feeling.
"This excitement I'm feeling right now, I know this feeling. No one in the kendo club could beat me. The only one who could be me was Umi. This is the feeling that I wanted Umi to feel. I love this feeling that were having right now" Honoka thought
Both girls had smiles on their faces. Kotori saw the smiles that had formed on Honoka and Umi's faces.
"Honoka and Umi are smiling at each other. It's like all the hate they've been feeling is slowly melting away" Kotori said
Both girls decided to talk to each other while they were battling.
"Do you feel this excitement Umi?" Honoka asked
"Yes, I do. I love this feeling right now" Umi said
"Do you feel all of your anger and jealousy melting away?" Honoka asked
"It feel like all of my negative emotions are melting away and being replaced by my positive emotions" Umi said
"I'm having the same feeling right now" Honoka said
"Sorry, Honoka but you're not gonna win this" Umi said
"Don't be so sure Umi" Honoka said
Both girls charged at each other and delivered their final blows. They passed by each other as they performed a stab move. They stood still and waited to see which one of them fell first. Honoka staggered a little from feeling the pain of the stab that she received. Umi smiled and thought this was her victory but she suddenly felt intense pain and collapsed. Umi's collapse was a signal that Honoka had won the match. Honoka walked over towards Umi and knelt down in front of her. Umi stared back at her with a smile.
"You finally beat me" Umi said
"Yeah, I did" Honoka
Umi sat up and was about to push herself up but before she could she saw a hand in front of her face. Umi looked up and saw that Honoka was looking down at her with a smile on her face. Umi realized that Honoka was offering her a hand to help her up. Umi smiled back and took Honoka's hand.
Kotori was watching this and realized that this was how the two of them used to interact. Kotori felt some tears falling down her face. Kotori realized that the tears she was crying were tears of joy. She was happy that both girls managed to become friends again.
"That was great match Honoka" Umi said
"I think so too Umi" Honoka said
"Umi, I'm so glad that you're ok, I'm also glad that you've returned to the kind person that you used to be" Kotori said
"This reminded of all the times we used to play when we were children. And I tried to break that friendship when anger and jealousy got the better of. It was so intense that I even tried to kill two of my childhood friends, I tried to kill my best friends, you two were my very first friends and I tried kill both of you" Umi said
Umi felt the tears that were rolling down her face. Umi covered her face with her hands and started to sob. She was crying so much and the feeling that she had tried to kill her two best friends came rushing out. Honoka and Kotori smiled and gave Umi a hug so they could give her some comfort. Umi started to apologize to the two of them.
"I'M SO SORRY! I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING THAT I'VE DONE! I'M SORRY HONOKA! I TREATED YOU HORRIBLY AND I REGRET EVERYTHING THAT I DID TO YOU! I WAS JUST JEALOUS OF YOU BECAUSE YOU NEVER DO ANY WORK AND YET YOU GOT EVERYTHING! ALL THEY HATE THAT I WAS FEELING JUST CAME OUT AND I TOOK IT ALL OUT ON YOU! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I KNOW I DON'T DESERVE YOUR FORGIVENESS BUT I HOPE WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS!" Umi cried out
"I forgive you Umi" Honoka said
"I forgive you too Umi" Kotori said
The three just stayed there and comforted Umi until she was able to calm down. Honoka decided that the three of them should have a sleep over at Kotori's house. Both of them agreed with Honoka's idea. The three of them were at Kotori's house and they were all in Kotori's bed. Kotori and Umi were asleep while Honoka, who was also asleep, was in the middle of both of them. She had her arms around her around both of them.