Chapter 9: Dive Into The Heart
"This is big!"
"What is it?"
"I can't say it here! We need to go back to the clubroom!"
And those were the words that had sparked off the wild rush back to the clubroom, past their schoolmates and teachers who only watched on in perplexed amusement. It certainly wasn't the first time the nine of them had been up to their antics, and no one had any doubt that graduation would barely slow them down.
At that time, there had been nothing but hope and euphoria in Honoka's heart, that their journey was not over just yet. Surely this was a new adventure just waiting to begin, right?
Through the school building's entrance, the corridors and finally the entrance to their clubroom. Somehow Honoka felt as winded as though she had performed an entire live on the way there, bending over to catch her breath. Hanayo on the other hand practically flew across the room to the desktop, tapping away on keys furiously.
And with a chorus of footsteps the rest of Muse finally caught up, bursting into the room behind the two of them.
"Hanayo... I think it's time... you explained what's going on," Eli struggled to enunciate her question clearly in between her gasps for air, her hands on the table to steady herself.
With a frown on her face, Maki voiced her own displeasure. "Yeah Hanayo, what on earth's gotten into you?"
A whole cacophony of questions rang out, demanding an explanation from Hanayo. The brunette didn't seem to register their questions however, opening window after window on the computer searching for... whatever it was that she had discovered. All while keeping up a running monologue of squeals and exclamations. "Ahh! I don't know what to do! This is amazing! This can't possibly be happening! Is this a dream?! If it is, someone should just tell me!"
"Hurry up and tell us already!" Losing her patience, Nico made her way next to Hanayo, only to freeze at what she saw on the screen. "This... this can't be..."
"""What is it?!"""
"It's Love Live! It's happening again!"
And that was when all hell broke loose within the clubroom.
"After the massive success of the first two Love Live! competitions, the organizers have decided to hold another special concert in the Kansai region for all those who were unable to see them in person! All the finalists of both competitions are being offered free transport to and back from Osaka as well as lodging over the weekend, and it's all set to take place two weeks from now! In addition, there'll be a special poll conducted both online and on the ground to determine who are the true top school idols in the nation this time round!" Hastily summarizing the news, Hanayo spoke at a breakneck pace that she was only able to communicate in when it involved either one of two things: idols, or apologising profusely.
"In other words..."
"They're pitting us up against A-RISE again?!" Maki had her hands thrust against the table in indignation, her voice raised above normal.
"It's not just them, but all the other finalists! It's another free-for-all, with only one song to sway the audience once again!"
"This is ridiculous!" Nico mirrored the redhead on the other side of the table, her fierce posture lending her diminutive stature some impact. "To do something like this just a few weeks after the last one, that's just nothing more than a show to milk money out of the audience! There's no meaning in it at all!"
"It's just as Nico-chan says. Don't you see? This isn't even about us being idols. We're just being used as pawns in their scheme to make more money. No matter what the prize is, I'm not going along with this." Folding her arms obstinately, Maki's heated voice brooked no rebuttal.
For a while, it seemed like no one could quite combat the argument the unlikely pair had put up. Pursing her lips, Eli walked over to the computer to examine the news for herself. After her eyes rapidly scanned the page and scrolled down a bit, she stumbled upon something that gave her pause.
"Wait a minute... Hanayo missed out something."
"What?" Nico rebuffed coldly. "We're already the top school idols in the nation. What else could they possibly offer us?"
"It's not about the money- or rather, you're right, it is about the money. It's a charity concert."
Eli's revelation was enough to give even the black-haired senior pause, which was her sign to continue explaining.
"They really should've made this more prominent at the top of the page, but it appears that all profits from ticket sales will go towards the disaster relief efforts in Fukushima. They will only be deducting what it costs to bring in all the finalists and set up the venue."
Rapidly faltering, Nico wasn't willing to give up without a fight. "... Even if they say that..."
"Nico-chi, I don't think any company is silly enough to try and embezzle money from a competition watched fervently by the entire country." Ever the calm member of the team, Nozomi made the logical assessment that quietly cut through Nico's initial argument.
"... I still don't like the feeling that we're being played so easily."
Coming to her rescue, the composer of Muse was the one who followed up on her argument. "I'm still against it. To be taking a trip down to Osaka when the school term is about to start, that just doesn't make any sense at all. And you third-years just graduated! Don't you have something more important to do like study for university entrance exams, or apply for job interviews?"
"Oho, so Maki-chan is actually more concerned about us? That's kind of touching~" As always, the club's playful shrine maiden never let a teasing opportunity slip past.
"N-not really!"
Next to chip in was Umi. "Even so, Maki does have a point. This concert takes place at a very important juncture for all of us here, and it's not a decision to be taken lightly. Like she mentioned, you third-years have to make preparations for your next phase of life. Honoka, Kotori and I will soon be busy handling the influx of paperwork for the Student Council with the new school year. Meanwhile Rin, Hanayo and Maki have to take charge of recruiting new members for the Idol Research Club from the incoming students. For us to simply set all this aside, even for just one weekend..."
"But Rin wants to go nya! It's Osaka! The land of takoyaki and okonomiyaki and yakisoba... and the birthplace of instant ramen!"
"Uooh! Rin-chan's right, we definitely have to go!" Lured by the food, all other arguments immediately faded away from Honoka's consideration.
"Honoka! Did you even hear a single thing I said? Stop thinking about the food and think about your duties!"
"Eheh... Umi-chan's right too, but..."
"I want to go."
Surprisingly, the flame burning brightest was the one who was usually the most docile, her voice unwavering and steady for once.
"It may not be a full-out competition or anything, but I still want to attend," Hanayo continued. "To see the other school idols, to learn where we are lacking and where we can improve, I think that's something very important for us! No matter whether we're going to continue being school idols or are about to move on, I think the process of learning, performing, it should continue till the very end!"
On the other side of the table Maki sighed, but seemed unwilling to back down. "I understand your feelings, Hanayo, but we can't afford to be selfish nor neglect the things we have to do. As club president, do you even have any idea yet how you want to attract new students to our club? There's a lot of planning left to be done."
"That..."
The clubroom fell into a tense silence, with lips being bitten and a atmosphere much like it was riding a steel cable about to snap. Though everyone had calmed down from the almost-shouting earlier, the logical arguments that clashed head-on right now were no better. It was a deadlock, with neither side able to really dispel each other's points that all held merit to them.
Sensing the need to move on, Eli was the one to break the silence. "What about you, Kotori?"
"Me? I've said it since the start, I'll follow wherever Honoka-chan wants to go." With a peaceful smile on her face, Kotori once again managed to make something that should've been incredibly embarrassing sound like it was perfectly normal.
"And Nozomi?"
"I'm fine with whatever everyone decides~ With Eli-chi by my side, I don't really have anything to worry about for university entrance exams, right? But the ones who would benefit the most are the ones who are continuing with being school idols. That's why I think this decision is down to them. What about you, Eli-chi?"
Eli was taken aback at having the question thrown back at her, but managed to recover after frowning for a moment. "... I want to go too. It's a good chance to do something for the less fortunate, and it's just by doing what we do best. This sort of opportunity will never come again."
"So that's three votes for, and three votes against," Nozomi summarised. "Honoka-chan, what will you do?"
This was it.
Honoka felt like her entire life had been leading up to this decision point, this very moment. That the next few sentences she would speak would be among the most important she had ever spoken. That she alone held the dice of all their fates.
At the same time, she also knew that the decision had already been made a long time ago and that there was no turning it around. There was only one possible answer that Kousaka Honoka would've given.
"This... this is our last chance to be together. One last performance, as Muse," she stated quietly, her voice slowly picking up volume as the words came pouring out. "The nine of us have come a really long way together, over this past school year. We've laughed, cried, fretted over everything, yet managed to make it this far and became the champions of the second Love Live!. When we thought about parting, every single one of us cried. I know that even if none of us said it out loud. Just earlier today on the rooftop, I couldn't hold back my tears again.
"When Hanayo-chan announced that something was going on, there was only one thought in my heart, that it couldn't possibly be over. And here we are."
The leader of Muse took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
"In the end, I want to do this! No, I want all nine of us to do this! Whether it's a charity concert or not, whether we have a ton of things that we should be doing or have to do beforehand instead, all of that doesn't matter! This is the last performance Muse will ever get to make as school idols! This is our last chance to stand together on that stage, and bring smiles to the people who have supported us all this while! This time, it's really the perfect chance to end it all with a blast!"
Even before she had finished speaking, Honoka could already see the result in everyone else's eyes.
No matter what misgivings she had, the only way was forward.
Outside the window a multitude of colours rushed by, though the scenery did not change much. Even if the distance between Tokyo and Osaka was well over 500 kilometres, it was a nearly unbroken stretch of urbanization that sprawled between the two major cities of Japan. Drab, imposing buildings, brightly-coloured billboards proclaiming the superiority of their products... all of those slowly gave way to smaller residences and telephone poles, yet there were few points where actual greenery could be seen. As expected of the Tokaido line, the very first bullet-train that had ever been developed to bring traffic into the city, towns and residences had naturally sprouted up alongside its tracks.
Still, it wasn't entirely a boring trip.
"Look, look! You can see Mount Fuji outside the window nya!" With her tension off the charts as always, Rin was happily bouncing on her seat with a finger aimed at the window, and the mountain far off in the distance.
Feeling the gazes from the people surrounding them, her childhood friend frantically tried to quell her friend's excitement with a whisper. "Rin-chan, don't shout in the train!"
"Ah, sorry Kayo-chin~"
"Hmph, what are you even making so much noise over, you're acting like an elementary school kid." Seated just across from Rin was Nico, who doing her best to act like an adult without really succeeding since she was right next to Maki whose getup naturally oozed maturity. Next to her, the third-year looked more like a little sister being watched over.
"I bet Nico-chan hasn't even seen Mount Fuji before either!" Rin was unwilling to let the matter rest, though she continued in a much lower tone.
"O-of course I have!"
"Hmm, is that so?" Maki's tone was level, but the slight curl of her lips clearly showed her disbelief.
"That goes without saying! I've even climbed it before!" Caught in the same usual cycle, Nico's fibs only grew in exaggeration.
"Oh? That's wonderful. I've never climbed it myself-" Maki began.
"Hah!"
"... since my family usually just stays at our vacation house by the lakes at the base of the mountain."
No matter how hard she had tried to avoid it, in the end it was still Nico who was left speechless and gaping like a goldfish, feeling like she lost for some reason.
...
The carriage door slid open smoothly, revealing a middle-aged woman pushing a cart laden with drinks and snacks. The sight only served to remind Honoka of how hungry she was, causing her to dive into her bag and rummage fervently for the package she had received just that morning.
"Honoka, it's only 11am! Can't you wait another hour or two till lunch?!" As expected of someone who had known her since childhood, Umi already knew what the ginger-haired girl was up to without asking, her beady eyes trained on the wrapped box Honoka was removing from her bag.
"Aww but I'm hungry Umi-chan! It's fine, train rides like these need snacks to go with them~"
Seated on their left, Kotori's eyes lit up with delight as she clapped her hands together. "What did your mother pack for us, Honoka-chan?"
"Stop encouraging her, Kotori, she's only going to put on more weight at this rate! And the morning of our live is not a good time to be overeating!"
"Calm down Umi-chan, I'll just have something light for lunch later. Hmm let's see..." Deftly unwrapping the cloth tied around the box, Honoka lifted the lid to reveal nothing other than her family's famous manjuu.
Was it just her or did Umi just stiffen unnaturally on her right? With a shrug, Honoka offered the box to her other friends seated both beside and across from her. "Everyone, help yourselves! But oh, Umi-chan wouldn't want any right? Since it's not a good time to be snacking after all~"
Nozomi had a mischevious twinkle in her eye while she nibbled delicately at the offered sweet, carefully watching the blue-haired archer just across from her. "Honoka-chan's family's manjuu is delicious as always~"
"I wonder if I can feed them to the birds as snacks~" Meanwhile, Kotori was singing a certain line from 'Sweet&Sweet Holiday' for no particular reason while nibbling on her own manjuu.
"Even if I'm still not used to them, it's hard to deny the charm of Japanese sweets..." Eli sank back into her seat with a content smile on her face, overwhelmed by the sweetness of the bean paste filling.
"Eyaa, today's sweets are delicious as usual!"
"..." Umi had a conflicted expression on her face, clearly torn between sticking to her guns and giving in to temptation. She settled for stonily gazing out the window at the grey scenery rushing past her, trying to clear any thoughts of sweets from her head.
Nibbling away, Honoka almost choked in surprise when an arm came into her vision right next to her head, reaching for the box. "Uwaaaaah!"
"Nico-chi, it's not nice to take food without asking for permission first."
"But you all just kept talking about how nice it is and didn't offer any to us at all! What is up with this sort of treatment?!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry~" Realising she had forgotten the others in the other set of seats facing each other behind them, Honoka offered the box to the rest.
"Ooh! It's tasty nya!"
With a chorus of thanks the other four members began eating in earnest. And that was when Umi's self-restraint finally snapped, reaching out to the box within Honoka's hands...
Which was empty.
"Ah, sorry, Umi-chan, did you want some after all? I'm afraid we just finished the last of it~"
Faced with the empty container where her fingers grasped at thin air, Umi retracted her hand and stared at it blankly, her mind still struggling to catch up with her surging emotions. In just the space of a few seconds a whole multitude of expressions flitted across her face in quick succession: confusion, rage, and finally misery.
And then a lone tear began to roll down her cheek.
"Uwah! I was just kidding Umi-chan! I have a second box so please stop crying!"
The pre-live tension was just as how she always remembered.
Standing in the wings of the waiting area, looking at the hallway leading to the stage, Honoka couldn't help but feel reminiscent. After all the lives they had performed up till now, it was hard not to look back. Their performances within the school auditorium, through the school hallways, the school field, the streets of Akiba, the rooftop, the auditorium once more, the UTX rooftop, the modelling show, and again in Akiba, the second Love Live! regional finals and then the actual finals... Not to mention all the last bits of singing they had squeezed in on the third years' graduation day.
They had been fumbling amateurs in the beginning, and maybe they still were. But all those experiences they had while chasing their dreams definitely counted for something.
The pounding of her heart, the blood surging through her veins, all the adrenaline that brought her hair up on edge and making her feel like she was just about to burst with excitement. All this was familiar to Honoka. Even the thought that everything felt the same but that it'll be different this time round, that too was a thought she had before.
Though she couldn't quite shake the feeling that this time, things really would be different. Well for one thing, it definitely would be the last time they did this as school idols. But it was mainly the feeling that had persisted ever since she had gotten the rest to accept the offer.
A shadow that lingered over the decision, that had persistently dogged her all the way down here to Osaka.
Pull yourself together, Honoka, she told herself sternly while shaking her head, hoping to just will it all away as she usually did with her pre-live nervousness. Unfortunately, the deep-seated unease refused to oblige.
"Honoka-chan?" Right on cue, Kotori came up beside her, gripping her limp hand firmly and suffusing it with warmth. "You don't look so well."
Shaking her head with more vigour, the ginger-haired girl found a smile she didn't entirely have to force pulling at her lips. "I'm fine, Kotori-chan. Just nerves before the live, that's all." Squeezing her best friend's hand back, Honoka tried to put on a calm façade so as not to worry the rest.
Normally such a weak cover wouldn't have fooled Kotori but thankfully the brunette seemed slightly distracted as well, gazing intently at their linked hands as a faint, almost-imperceptible blush tinted her cheeks.
"Kotori-chan?" Forget worrying the rest, now it was Honoka who was worried.
"Uhm..." Retracting her hand, Kotori held it in front of her chest tightly as if for support, before continuing with her sentence. "Honoka-chan, there's... there's something I want to discuss with you after the live!"
"Eh?.. That's fine, but you can't say it now?"
"No! I mean, I don't want to distract you or anything so... We definitely have to talk after the live!" The brunette's cheeks were definitely getting redder for some reason, and Honoka somehow found the combined effect of that with her costume incredibly cute.
"Okay then Kotori-chan, I'll... hear what you have to say after the live?"
"It's a promise!"
"Kotori, that's unfair!" A third voice cut in across their conversation with a fuming archer storming up to them, with an expression that Honoka had learned to dub as Umi's "Demon Face". But the moment she stopped next to the two of them and her eyes met Honoka's, the expression melted away into a blush.
Just what is up with these two?.. Honoka couldn't quite make head or tails of what her childhood friends were up to, and neither of them seemed capable of looking her in the eye at the moment.
"Honoka. I also have something to discuss with you after the live, so please hear me out later as well."
"Eeh? You too?"
"It's... a very important matter. So I would appreciate it if you could take the time to listen to what I have to say."
Feeling like everything was somehow out of her control, Honoka could only pout. "Now this is just making me curious! I wanna know now!"
""No!"" This time both Umi and Kotori replied as one, before looking at each other and smiling helplessly.
"Eeeeh, Kotori-chan and Umi-chan are being unfair~"
"Five more minutes to Muse's performance, please get ready!" A stage assistant called out into the waiting area, interrupting all their conversations. It was finally time.
Out of habit, all nine members drifted into a circle, where Honoka ran her eyes over everyone to check if they were alright. Eight resolute pairs of eyes gazed back, all filled with the same determination she felt permeating her entire self. Putting her fingers in a V-shape in the centre, everyone joined their fingers together in a nine-pointed star the way they always did.
"This is it. Our hearts are one."
Rather than a sense of regret, it was a sense of fulfilment and closure that was in the air. The sensation of all nine of them huddled here together, invulnerable against the world once again for the last time. In this moment, their bonds felt so strong they were almost tangible, binding them together.
No matter what happened today, tomorrow or far off into the future, Honoka knew that they would never part for the rest of their lives.
"Let's give it our all and convey all the emotions we're feeling right now to our audience! This live is going to be our best! One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
"Four!"
"Five!"
"Six!"
"Seven!"
"Eight!"
"Nine!"
"""Muse, music... start!"""
To be honest, Honoka had actually been momentarily stunned when the stage curtains pulled open, revealing the stadium with a whole sea of lightsticks already held up in anticipation. Her legs moved on autopilot, bringing her to her position as the centre while the introduction began playing.
And when the violin kicked in along with the glaring lights, it was all she could do to not gasp with the excitement that was literally pouring out of her.
This was it!
Muscle memory from all the rigorous training was enough to turn her around upon the musical cue, and seeing the crowd properly in the dazzling light now brought her emotions to a peak. Advancing forward, she started to sing the opening with her childhood friends.
"Honest feelings tie us all together
Even when we're being serious we're clumsy, Our hearts clash
Even so I want to achieve big dreams
It's right here, It's only just begun"
Spinning around in dance, Honoka skipped aside lightly as practised, making way for the third-years with the beginning of the second verse. Their songs had always been complicated that way, with each group taking only a couple of lines before switching to another. It was a constant flurry of movement alternating between song and dance, taking turns to be in the spotlight.
She wouldn't have had it any other way.
"(I know) It's not just fun and games, We have to be tested
(I know) Even though such pain lies in the future
(I'll go) When we come together we get stronger
(I'm sure) We'll continue to change (We'll be stars!)"
Now that she thought about it, it might have been slightly ironic that they would sing this particular song, a song of beginnings at their final performance.
... No. If anything, it actually made more sense than any other song. It had to be this one.
This was just the beginning.
With her adrenaline and emotions running high, together with the dazzling stage lights and the sea of rainbow-coloured lightsticks bouncing up and down, and the heavy bass that pounded the stage beneath her feet, all of them combined to make a potent heady mixture that might be driving her crazy. But Honoka was dead certain that their time together was only just beginning.
"If each of us can put our hearts into the things we love
A new (place) will be our goal
If we trust in the things each of us love
We can (embrace) the excitement and move forward"
There was just so much left for them to experience together. There was without a doubt that this past year, the nine of them had truly found where they belonged, and discovered the things that they loved doing. And there was no way they would simply give up on them.
Even if the third-years had graduated, they would certainly find a way to continue singing and dancing... all nine of them together.
"(Leave your fears behind) With a brilliant smile
(Fly, fly high) We're all living this moment"
That was definitely a thought she would have to discuss later with the rest. After a performance like this, there was no way the rest would be unaffected.
And that was when the earth trembled.
It had started mildly at first, enough that Honoka had thought it was simply the bass as she took a step back to get ready for her transition into the next verse. But most of the crowd had clearly stopped bouncing along, and the shouts emanating from the audience were starting to take a panicked tone. The noise level was... actually decreasing.
Having lived in Japan all her life, the leader of Muse instinctively knew just what was going on, but her emotions were just too high to accept it.
No! Not now! Not now of all times!
To her left, Eli had nothing but confusion on her face. That's right, she hadn't been living here long enough to get used to them, Honoka dimly processed in a split second as the shaking began to intensify, and unhealthy metallic groaning sounded from overhead- or was it behind? No, it was all around them.
All her life she had been taught to dive under the nearest table, but with no available cover nearby, all her instincts just froze up.
With a loud snap, a huge section of the screens that filled the background broke away along with its supports, falling towards the left side of the stage. And directly under its shadow were Hanayo, Rin, Umi and Maki.
Time seemed to slow down, even as Honoka's legs instinctively brought her backwards and away from her friends that lay in its path. She cursed her cowardice and willed herself to move forward instead, but her body refused to listen.
"Watch out!" a hoarse voice called out. She had no idea who it belonged to. It might even have been her own.
Frame by frame, reality proceeded as though it was a film in slow motion. She saw Rin and Hanayo clasp each other's hands in their final moments, even as they tried futilely to get as far away as they could. She saw Maki throw her hand out towards the other end of the stage, her mouth clearly mouthing the syllable "Ni".
She saw Umi with her rare gentle smile, eyes resolute as ever, one hand clutched to her chest and the other in a clear sign of farewell.
The next thing she knew, she herself was on the ground, having been pushed forward back into the centre of the stage but just clear of the falling screens. As Honoka struggled to get her bearings, feeling the cold hard sensation of the stage beneath her, multiple impacts struck the stage.
She looked up, scanning for her friends. In front of her was where the background screens had fallen, leaving no trace of the four girls buried beneath.
On her right lay Nico's petite and fragile body, pinned under a huge speaker that weighed more than her. That was way too far from her original position however, so she must have been running towards the others blindly which led to her collision.
Behind Nico were Nozomi and Eli, where the spiritual girl had clearly tried to shield the other from falling debris. Except the entire scaffolding girder that had fallen upon them was no mere force to be trifled with.
And behind Honoka herself was the one who had pushed her forward out of danger, Kotori. This close to her, Honoka could see the blood starting to ooze out from where the fallen stage-light had impacted with her childhood friend.
Honoka took in the entire scene in an instant, her eyes processing the information and yet her mind refusing to believe it.
This was supposed to be our beginning.
She noted with mild interest the flower of red blooming under her arm where it had scraped the stage roughly, as well as the sharp pain that was shooting up her left leg. But it might as well have happened to someone else rather than her.
The chorus of screams faded away. The impacts of more falling stage equipment no longer shook her world. Her vision narrowed into a small tunnel.
Let it end.
When an ominous snap sounded directly above her, her ears somehow picking it up through the chaos, it almost brought a sense of relief to her broken mind.
Honoka looked up with a frail smile on her face, watching as the light fixture approached to start her off on her next big journey with the best friends she ever had.
This is our beginning.
The first sensation she had when she awoke was that she was cold.
Cold was something that she had become accustomed to in the infinity that had followed the incident. Cold was the void that she had first found herself in. Cold was the whispers and words and bad news that had threatened to shatter the warm world she had built up around herself. Cold was the rain that had permeated that frozen, unchanging world.
But this cold was different. This was a cold she felt with her body, not her soul. A cold that didn't feel the same throughout, a cold where she knew most of her body was warmer as if covered by a blanket and her arm was cold but her hand was warm, ever so warm.
The next sensation that came to her sluggish mind was the beeping. A steady, continuous beeping that cut through the haze that filled her consciousness, bringing slightly more clarity to her foggy mind. Her mind instantly recognized it for what it was, even though it sounded muted and far off in the distance.
Next was the smell, the sharp clean smell of disinfectant and medication. Or so it should've been, except the smell seemed almost as if she was trying to sniff it through the worst blocked-nose she ever had in her life. Not that she was having any difficulty breathing, but the sensation was just too disconnected from her consciousness.
And then came the heartbreaking sound she never wanted to hear, a sound that she would've done everything in her power to prevent in her lifetime. A sobbing that sounded as if it was rooms away, but still clearly discernible as her sister's.
"Onee-chan... please wake up..."
In that moment, Honoka felt as if nothing could stop her from reaching out to comfort her sister. The haze was clearing, she was starting to feel the cold more acutely, even the sensation of the sleep crystals that sealed her eyes shut was starting to come into her consciousness.
Thrashing about mentally, Honoka willed her body to move, and she was almost sure she had gotten a finger on her other hand to twitch just a bit. Just a little bit more and she would...
Welcome song! Our hearts are together as one
That's why this will be our never ending stage
The song lyrics came unbidden to mind, but she immediately froze in her mental struggle.
She had forgotten something, hadn't she?..
Sorry, Yukiho. I'll be back once I settle my unfinished business.
Letting go of the sensations that seemed so real yet so distant, Honoka dived back into the darkness.
Orange.
That was the first thing Honoka saw when she first opened her eyes, before the orange light resolved itself into the sunset sky with clouds drifting across lazily. Picking herself up from where she had been lying on the grass, the ginger-haired girl dusted loose bits of grass off her school uniform and looked around.
Sunset, in the school courtyard. The same spot where all nine of them had lay together on their final day here. It had been a time of endings then, and it was still the same now. There was no better scene for it.
Honoka took a deep breath to gather herself, and then walked over to the tree where they had always eaten lunch together. Seated on the ledge, Kotori doodled away on her notebook, humming happily to herself. Next to her, Umi was seated in serene poise the same way she always was, the perfect picture of a lady.
"You came back." It was a statement, not a question.
"Eheh, you know me, Umi-chan. I don't like doing things halfway, so I didn't want to leave any unfinished business."
"Do you understand now, Honoka?"
"..." Faced with the truth, and this time it finally was the truth, Honoka couldn't quite bring herself to voice it out. There was an irrational fear that once she said it, it would become irreversible- even if it already was. But to put it into spoken words was to acknowledge their undeniable truth.
And so Umi said it out for her. "It's not you."
Honoka closed her eyes in despair and fear of the words she knew were coming, even as she felt tears welling up and threatening to overflow.
"It's us."
Author's Note: Welp! It's been a month since the last update, but I really hope I made the wait worth it with this 6k word update orz. I had no idea it would stretch to become this long, my outline had seemed so short but it just somehow exploded into this length. The title Dive Into The Heart, as in to dive into the heart of the matter. As well as in the end, where she turns back just one step away from reality in order to meet her friends one last time.
So regarding this chapter, well, it's a flashback that takes off right after the conclusion of S2. Which makes this fic an AU of its own the moment the movie comes out. I didn't feel like I really added a lot of content to this chapter though, for some reason. Mainly it was just plot driving the story along, and writing out the exact madness that lies at the core of this entire story. But I hope I managed to keep everyone in character.
The story comes to an end where it all began. Specifically, a scene of an orangey sunset in the school courtyard. For the few readers who've been reading all my works, this is the same setting at the very start of Love marginal, the fic that started it all for me. (If you've read all my works, thank you, thank you so much. *bows*)
Shippy-bits scattered throughout this chapter, too. Aren't they just heartwarming? That was one of the parts I really loved writing for this one.
Anyway, this story is rapidly approaching its conclusion, the next chapter will be uhh, the last. Probably.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed on the previous chapter! 11 reviews for one chapter alone, wow, that's the most I ever got before, and without relying on the cliched NicoMaki fluff! Love you guys! Please continue to treat me well and leave reviews. =)
Till next time!