Well… I'm definitely not going to regret what this chapter's content will be after what happened last time… nuh-uh, definitely not. On a more serious note: I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their support of this story; considering how small of a fandom this fandom is, I still believe that this story is doing amazingly well based on all the support it is getting. Thank you very much, once again!
I would also like to apologize for the long break that happened; real life was a mess of things and, to be perfectly honest with you all, I would have preferred continuing to write myself as well. Thank you for waiting patiently for me to return to this story.
And a special thank you goes to the consistent reviewers of this story: Rei, Aki, and Rider! As well as the returning reviewer: Nyaanyaarin! Thank you all for supporting this story as much as you have, and I hope you will continue to support it until the very end! We have officially passed the halfway mark!
Another thank you goes to the person who helped make this chapter (and this story as a whole) a reality: my beta, LightZephyr!
Disclaimer's the same as always: I do not own BanG Dream! Girls Band Party
It was a beautiful and peaceful morning, the sun was starting to rise from beyond the horizon and birds of all sorts and sizes were making their presence known. It was the start of a bright new day, but a certain someone was still sleeping through the majestic beauty of the dawn.
With her face dug deep into the mattress she was lying on and the pillow covering her head, Uehara Himari tried her best to try and drown out the sounds that were plaguing her. She had stayed up late to watch a movie with Tomoe the previous night and was now regretting her decision; unlike Tomoe, Himari had to get up early in the morning. Himari wanted nothing more than to get some more rest, but cruel fate decided to choose that moment to let a small blur zoom into Himari's room.
"Himari-nee! Himari-nee!"
Despite the excited cries of the mini human, Himari did not seem like she was ready to part ways from the warm embrace of her blankets. Burying her face in the soft covers, Himari thought that she was finally left alone when she did not hear the little devil's voice for a few seconds.
"Hi…ma…ri…NEE!"
In a flash, the seven-year-old who was standing by Himari's bedside had grabbed two handfuls' worth of blanket and, in a display of a surprising amount of strength for her little body, yanked both it and the sleeping girl off the bed. The smooth motion was accompanied by cheerful laughter from the younger girl, a heavy thud and a yelp that was both of surprise and pain.
"M-Mio-chan, why…?" Himari managed to mutter as she rubbed the parts of her body that hurt the most. After recollecting what little dignity she had left, Himari tilted her head up to look at the little girl towering above her, "Wha-What time is it, Mio-chan?"
"It is seven-thirty, Himari-nee!" Mio piped up as she grasped for Himari's hand and started to literally drag the older girl out of the room. Her next words were accompanied by the familiar rumblings of her seemingly-bottomless stomach, "Cruz-niisan and I are hungry, Himari-nee!"
Himari knew better than to struggle against Mio's grip and allowed herself to be dragged to the little kitchenette; despite the girl only being seven years old, she was the only person Himari knew who managed to defeat Tomoe in an arm wrestling match. Despite this resurfaced memory, Himari still tried to hide the smile in the form of a frown when Mio finally let go of her.
"Mio-chan, you know that it is not very nice to drag people away when they don't want to be, right?" Himari lightly scolded the young girl as she began her search for some bread. When Mio walked back to her to get a few plates, Himari added in a much softer tone, "How would you feel if someone were to drag you away without your permission?"
"I'm sorry, Himari-nee…" Mio muttered softly, lowering her head and fumbling with the hem of her shirt. The young girl also used the watery-eyes look that had kept her out of trouble in the past. She hoped that this time would be no different, and soon enough…
"Awww, Mio-chan…" Himari squealed, lunging at Mio and wrapping her arms around Mio tightly. Mio gasped in surprise at the sudden action; despite having expected something like it to happen, the force of Himari's glomp was greater than she could have anticipated, "Himari-nee will go and finish everybody's breakfast. Can I count on Mio-chan to go and get everybody here while Himari-nee does this?"
"Okay, Himari-nee!"
Mio ran off to the hallway as soon as Himari let go of the tiny human with a spring in her step, putting a small smile on Himari's face in the process. As soon as Mio had disappeared, Himari turned back to the assortment of ingredients laid before her.
"All right, Uehara-san! Let's get to work!" Himari cheered, doing a little fist pump as the words resonated in the otherwise quiet and peaceful room. Himari was about to roll up her sleeves and start moving the vegetables on to the cutting board when another person entered the room and made her presence.
A still sleepy-looking Tomoe had walked inside, her fingers of one hand entangling themselves in the messy bedhead she still had while the other hand was used to try and stifle a yawn. The redhead was wearing a fluffy, pink-colored sweater over her pajamas and was clearly still in the process of waking up herself.
"Mo-o-ooooooooooorning, Himari," Tomoe tried, and failed, to stifle the largest yawn she had made since moving in with Himari. Seeing what the house owner was doing, Tomoe slapped her face a couple of times before rushing over to Himari's side, "How can I help?"
"Don't take this personally, Tomoe, but I can handle it," Himari smiled woefully before continuing to cut the onions into the thin slices she wanted them to be in. After having completely cut the onion she was working on, Himari wiped the corners of her eyes with one hand and used the knife-wielding hand to point at the table, "How about you start setting the table if you're already here anyway? Mio-chan is already getting Cruz-kun and Setsuna-chan, so don't worry about the kids."
"You know, Himari…" Tomoe trailed off as she crouched down to get to the cupboard where the plates were as Himari threw all the onions in the pan on the stove. Himari turned in time to see Tomoe close the cupboard with the back of her heel, "The way you said that it makes it seem like we are a married couple and you just told our youngest daughter to wake her brother and sister up."
"Eh, Ah, I… I didn't mean it like that!" Himari screamed that last bit out a little louder than she had wanted to; even Himari herself was shocked at how hard her voice reverberated through the room and continued ringing in her ears. Then, a lot softer, she repeated, "I didn't mean it like that…"
"I know you didn't, Himari," Tomoe laughed, patting the shorter girl on the head before turning towards the table and setting down the plates she had been carrying. Without taking her eyes from the table, Tomoe continued, "It's weird, though… they have only been here for like a week or two and yet it feels like we have been a real and close-knit family for years…"
"I know how you feel…" Himari said as she absent-mindedly stirred the meat around in the pan, observant enough to prevent it from burning but lost in her own set of thoughts all the same. With her eyes starting to burn again, Himari wiped them with the sleeve of her pajama, "It will be hard saying goodbye to them when Eve-chan comes to pick them up again."
"Himari-nee…"
Both Himari and Tomoe turned to look in the direction of the source before a blue blur rushed towards Himari and tackled her to the ground. This blue blur was soon followed by a smaller, pinker blur, accompanied by a muffled yelp from Himari on the floor.
"We love you two too, Himari-nee! Tomoe-nee!"
"We don't wanna gooo!"
Setsuna and Mio were lying on top of Himari as they cried their eyes out, dampening Himari's shirt in the process. The weight of both girls on her and the sound of their cries was enough to break what was left of Himari's composure as well.
"Mio-chan! Setsuna-chan!"
As the three of them had their little moment together, a third figure shuffled their way inside the room, his eyes never leaving the three girls on the ground. He seemed to be conflicted by a certain thought, but he couldn't come to a decision.
"Something on your mind?" Tomoe asked as she stood beside the young boy and placed a calming, reassuring hand on his shoulder. When Tomoe saw that she had his full attention, she bent through her knees to look him in his eyes before adding, "You can tell me, big guy."
Cruz did not respond right away, maybe partly due to his nine-year-old brain not being able to think of the right words to say. Scratching his cheek and then crossing his arms, he frowned at the sight in front of him, "I don't get them."
"Because they are all over each other trying to say their goodbyes?" Tomoe guessed, correctly, in a calm and understanding voice as she saw Cruz's expression change, albeit only minimally so. With a smile, Tomoe took a few seconds to think over her options on what to say next, "Does that mean that you did not enjoy these last two weeks here or that you will not miss any of us at all?"
"W-What?!" Cruz cried out, eyes wide as he stared at a Tomoe whose expression he could not read. This is why he did not know how to act in front of Tomoe; unlike Himari, where how she feels and thinks is as clear as day, it is a little harder to guess those sorts of things with Tomoe.
And Cruz hated the fact that he could not read the redhead.
"You know that isn't true…" Cruz mumbled with a slight pout and fumbling around with the hem of his pajama shirt. When he did not hear Tomoe respond to this, he turned to look at her only to get squished in the tight embrace that followed, "Ack! T-T-Tomoe! Ca-Can't breathe!"
"It will help both yourself and others to be a bit more honest with your feelings, Cruz," Tomoe whispered softly in Cruz's ear, loosening up her embrace just enough so he could breathe again. Fighting hard to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape her lips when she heard her prisoner gasp for air, Tomoe continued where she left off, "So how about you tell us how you really feel, big boy?"
It could have been the way in which Tomoe was holding him. It could have been the way in which Tomoe had voiced those exact words. It could also have been the cacophony of tearful wails behind him.
But it was at that moment that Cruz's broke down as well.
"I-I-I… don't want to go… either!" Cruz cried, not even trying to hold back how he was feeling now that the dam had broken down. Interpreting Tomoe's gentle touch as an invitation to crawl closer against her, Cruz did not move much after that with the exception of the occasional sniffle. He did not even seem to mind when Tomoe had picked him up and carried him to the table where he was put on one of the unoccupied chairs.
After making sure that Cruz had calmed down enough for her to leave him alone, Tomoe walked over to where Himari was still on the ground and helped her get back on her feet. Offering a small yet meaningful nod in Himari's direction, Tomoe picked up Setsuna and carried her to the table as well where she lowered the teen into the chair next to Cruz. Not long after, Mio was placed on the chair on Setsuna's other side by Himari.
"We feel exactly like you three do, but unfortunately we all agreed that you would only be staying with us until today and that Eve will be picking you up today," Tomoe began solemnly before subtly dodging the jab that was aimed at her side. Taking a few steps away from Himari, Tomoe looked at all three of the children who had been staying with her for the past two weeks with a smile, "But that does not mean that we cannot spend time together again after today."
This seemed to catch the three children's attention as all three looked up in perfect synchrony at Tomoe and Himari. Setsuna was the first to regain her ability to speak.
"Does that mean that—"
"You can all come to visit us more often? Of course!" Himari grinned, walking over to adjust the utensils on the table before turning to look at Tomoe, "Tomoe, I can finish preparing breakfast myself. How about you get that little something for them instead?"
"Sure thing! Just make sure you don't follow my sister's example by burning down the whole building, okay?" Tomoe said before bursting out laughing when she saw the look on Himari's face. Holding her side with one hand and grasping on to the countertop with the other, Tomoe needed a bit before she regained her composure.
"I'm kidding I'm kidding, Himari," Tomoe was still slightly chuckling when she moved over to Himari to place a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I'll be right back then. Take care of the food in the meantime, okay?"
"All right, but hurry back or the food will get cold!" Himari called out to the redhead who was already on the other side of the room at that point. Himari wanted to call out a variety of other things but knew that she would only be wasting her breath; once Tomoe had her attention focused on something, she really could not be made to focus on other things.
'Okay, Himari, focus!' Himari thought to herself, lightly slapping both her cheeks before looking at the ingredients in front of her, 'It's the last meal with the kids here, let's give them something to remember! Now let's see… where was I?'
As Himari focused her attention back on the breakfast that she was making, Tomoe had already reached the other side of the small apartment that she and Himari were sharing. Ever since they started to watch over the children, they had even less privacy than they had before, so trying to hide something from a group of children who were curious by nature proved to be a challenge.
"I should really thank Ako for this one day…" Tomoe mumbled to herself, grabbing the small painted shoebox that was somewhat hidden from plain sight in Tomoe's wardrobe. The box was painted over in the same color as the inside of the wardrobe, making it blend in really well. In addition, it also matched the color of most of Tomoe's clothes, which made it seem like there was just a messy pile of same-colored clothes on a quick glance.
Careful so as to not mess up the clothes even more than she usually does, Tomoe placed the box on the ground before she tried to save her clothes by folding them up neatly again. Once all the clothes were back in the wardrobe in a somewhat orderly pile, Tomoe opened the box to see if they were still there, closed the lid again with a smile and left the room.
If Tomoe had gotten lost on her way to getting what she wanted to get, all she needed to do was follow her nose back to the living-dining hybrid room. The familiar aroma of Himari's famous dish wafted through the hallway, making Tomoe slow down her step to savor this gift to her senses.
"Smells good, Himari!" Tomoe called out the moment she knew that Himari would hear her, heading straight for the table that was now a lot fuller than it was when she had left it. Placing the box on the floor beside one of the table legs and avoiding Setsuna's inquiry on it, Tomoe sat down on one of the two unoccupied chairs, "When can we start eating, Himari?"
"Just a moment!" Himari yelled from the kitchenette, clearly distraught and not knowing what to do. Both Tomoe and Setsuna were already on their feet and about to rush forward to see if they could help, but before either of them could do this they were ushered to sit back down again by Himari, "Come on, you two. We can't eat if you're still standing up, can we?"
"But—"
"Himari-nee—"
"No buts!" Himari called, trying to push for a somewhat angry undertone in her voice despite knowing that she could never truly be angry with any of them. This did not stop her from trying, though, as she followed up soon after, "Both of you, you're setting a bad example for Mio-chan and Cruz-kun!"
Despite both of them understanding that Himari's anger wasn't real, neither of them wanted to find out if they were wrong about this. They both hurriedly sat down again and, alongside Mio and Cruz, waited patiently for Himari to place the food on the table.
"Sooo… before we start eating, there is something that Tomoe and I have to say…" Himari trailed off after placing the still-steaming bowl on the table and sitting down on the only unoccupied chair left. This caught the attention of the children, but Tomoe only gave Himari a knowing smile, "I know that we will all miss these last few days that we have spent together, so Tomoe and I have a little something for all of you."
"A present?!" Mio piped up, the first of the three to fully process what Himari had just said. When Himari nodded in confirmation the youngest in the room could barely contain her excitement, "Oh can we open them now? Can we can we can we?!"
"As soon as you finish your food," Tomoe said in a voice that managed to sound both stern and playful at the same time, answering Mio for Himari's sake. Before Tomoe could say anything else, however, the three children had already taken their fair share of the food and waited patiently to be allowed to start eating.
"T-That was fast…" Himari chuckled softly, a cold droplet of sweat running down the back of her head as she wondered why she had never thought of this trick before. Taking a moment to look at an equally-baffled Tomoe, Himari motioned for them to start eating as she offered Tomoe half of what was left.
The five of them ate in relative silence after that, relishing the warmth and swirl of flavors that assaulted their taste buds like Himari's cooking usually did. The tenderness of the meat and the mixture of spices that Himari used did the job well, but something was still amiss. And all five of them were affected by this.
After a while, one of them decided she could not take it anymore and decided to do something.
"What's wrong, Setsuna?" Tomoe asked, noticing the gloomy look on her face and choosing to address it right away. Despite having an idea what it could be, the redhead pressed on, "Did you bit your tongue? Was the food too hot? Are you feeling sick?"
"No-Nothing like that…" Setsuna mumbled as she placed her utensils on the plate, signifying that she was done eating. When she saw that Cruz and Mio had followed her example, Setsuna looked up at Tomoe, "It's just… Tomoe-nee and Himari-nee have done so much for the three of us, and we… to be honest, we have been nothing but a nuisa—."
"Not once," Tomoe said calmly, interrupting Setsuna and dragging the silence on to let what she was about to say truly sink in, "Not once did either Himari or I think that any of you were a nuisance here. Right, Himari?"
"That's right!" Himari chimed in as she picked up the dirty dishes, motioning to Cruz to stay seated when he made signs that he wanted to get up and help. Seeing that he stayed put obediently put a smile on Himari's face, and it was with this smile that she turned to look at Tomoe, "Tomoe, if you would?"
"Of course, that's why I got them out," Tomoe nodded, leaning down from her seated position to pick the box up and place it on the table so everyone could see it. It did not take long for Tomoe to see that she had the children's attention, so she suppressed a laugh and opened the box, "Normally, it is tradition that you take these home and open the gifts in private. But because I think I can hear Eve already walking up to our door, you may open them now if you want to."
Sure enough, Tomoe had barely finished speaking and they could already hear the knock on the door. Himari, who was closest to the front door, stood up and hurried over to let the visitor in while Tomoe handed a small bundle wrapped in colorful wrapping paper to each of the children. Setsuna, Mio, and Cruz all waited and stared at the bundle in their hands until one of them could not take it anymore and tore the paper off.
"Wow…"
Setsuna held up the necklace up high in the air to look at it more carefully. The light reflected off the shiny surface of the chain, but what caught Setsuna's attention the most was the small little plate that reflected the light in such a way that Setsuna could not see what was depicted on it.
"Tomoe-nee, what's that?" Mio asked, pointing at the little plate as well, having leaned forward to try and get a closer look. Squinting her eyes a bit and tilting her head to the side, Mio thought that she recognized a form, "Is that… a field of sunflowers…?"
"That's just so like you, Tomoe-nee," Setsuna said as a smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth while tracing the outline of the sunflowers with her finger. Barely breaking away from her trance-like state, Setsuna finally turned to look at Mio and Cruz, "And what did you two get?"
"Mio got the same as what you got, Setsuna. And we got Cruz an armband in a similar design," Tomoe said as the two took out their respective gifts and held them up to see. Seeing the look on their faces was all that was needed to get Tomoe to smile brightly as well, "Here, let me help you two."
Without waiting for a response, Tomoe stood up and walked over to Mio. Tomoe gently took the small necklace from Mio's tiny hands and wrapped the chain around the girl's neck, fastening it on the back. When she was done with Mio, Tomoe moved over to help Setsuna's with hers and nodded in satisfaction.
"Himari! Eve!" Tomoe called out to the two people who had just entered the room and, as if on cue, both Himari and Eve moved to stand on either side of the redhead. They were both visibly curious but for completely different reasons, so Tomoe wasted no time in telling them why she had called them, "Look what the kids have to show off now."
"What do they—oh they look so cute!" Eve squealed as she rushed over to Setsuna and gave her a tight hug. Breaking away when she heard the familiar sound of Setsuna suffocating in her arms, Eve focused her attention on the other two only to see that they were holding a similar item.
"While Eve-nee is almost killing Cruz over there..." Setsuna began, trailing off as she watched Cruz struggle to free himself. Hiding a smile from the people in front of her, Setsuna bowed before hugging both Himari and Tomoe at the same time, "Thank you for everything! We'll miss you."
"We'll miss you too, Setsuna-chan," Himari said as she held the girl close to her while Tomoe stroked her head lightly. The older two were quick to let go, however, as they understood what they had to do. It was Himari who ended up reminding Setsuna of this, "Come on, I am sure that Eve-chan is tired and just wants to get you all home. Isn't that right, Eve-chan?"
"That is… not incorrect…" Eve admitted with a sheepish smile as she played with one of her braids. Then, seemingly in an effort to put the focus on somebody else, Eve turned to the three she came to pick up, "Is everybody ready to go? All your bags packed and all?"
"Yup!" Mio piped up cheerfully, clearly proud of the fact that she was ready to go. Before Eve could say anything else, Mio had already grabbed the hands of both Cruz and Setsuna and rushed off.
This left Eve standing there wide-eyed at their behavior, Tomoe who had to excuse herself or burst out laughing in front of the visitor, and Himari who picked up where she had left off by loading the dishwasher. By the time that Himari had finished and the dishwasher was turned on, Eve was only then starting to get over her shock.
"What's wrong, Eve-chan?" Himari asked as soon as she saw the look on Eve's face, sitting down on the chair opposite hers while waiting for a response. When Himari did not get a response at all, she decided to push a little deeper, "Surprised how much those kids changed in these past few weeks?"
"Actually, yes, I am," Eve admitted after a second of contemplation. Turning to look at Himari directly, Eve added, "What did you do to get those three to change so much so fast? I cannot really get them to do anything and their parents have not had any luck at all whatsoever."
"I guess it has something to do with the fact that we are not related to them?" Himari thought out loud, thinking of an answer to Eve's question but drawing a blank aside from what she had just said. When she saw the puzzled look on Eve's face, Himari took another second to think of the right words to say to try and explain what she had said, "It's perhaps because we aren't related to them that they try harder to behave and follow the rules, so if our rules are different from what they are used to they will work harder to try and follow them. Maybe it is to try and impress us?"
"Either that or it is just that we are better parent figures than you are family members of those kids," Tomoe joked, walking back inside with a cup in either of her hands. Before Eve could properly respond to this, Tomoe added quickly, "I'm just kidding, just kidding. Oh, do you want something to drink, by the way?"
"Ah, no thank you, Tomoe-san. I think we should be going soon; we have used up too much of your time already, after all," Eve said quickly with a small smile. Nodding at something behind both Himari and Tomoe, the two residents of the apartment turned to see that Mio, Setsuna, and Cruz were ready to head out, "All right, shall we, everyone?"
The three kids nodded in agreement and then took turns to give Himari and Tomoe one final hug, with Himari and Tomoe reassuring them that they can always meet up again whenever they want to. Now with their goodbyes said, the kids rushed to get their bags and head out to claim the front seat, leaving the three adults behind chuckling softly.
"I know that this is not much, but here is a little something for everything that you have done for us, Himari-san, Tomoe-san," Eve said as she pushed two small wrapped gifts, one into Himari's hands and one into Tomoe's hands. Seeing how the both of them were already about to say something about this, Eve quickly beat them to it, "It is rude to turn down and reject a gift someone went to great lengths to get you, is it not? Besides, if Himari-san and Tomoe-san do not want it it will just be thrown away anyway."
"So please…" Eve finished with a somewhat watery smile that tugged at Himari's and Tomoe's heartstrings, "It is the least that we can do in exchange for everything that you have done for us. For them."
"All right, thank you, Eve," Tomoe finally said, accepting the gift and placing hers on the table. She did this just in time as Eve lunged forward to tackle the redhead in a tight embrace barely a second later. Despite this sudden act of affection, however, Tomoe had trouble keeping her laughter in check, "Come on now, Eve… stay here for a lot longer and you'll end up making the kids wait too long out there."
"I understand I understand," Eve said, her voice filled with the contained laughter as well. Eve let go of Tomoe, smoothened her clothes a bit and embraced Himari for a few seconds, "I will be off then. Now, if you will excuse me…"
And with that Eve took her leave, leaving Himari and Tomoe as the only ones left in the apartment. It did not take long for either of them to realize just how quiet the apartment is with just the two of them, and so Himari ended up unwrapping her gift.
What fell out of the wrapping paper was a decently-sized chocolate bar with the word 'Fazer' on the front. Himari eyed it curiously, weighing it in her hand before turning to Tomoe, "Have you ever heard of this brand before?"
"No, I haven't. Maybe it is from where Eve is from?" Tomoe wondered out loud, unwrapping her own and finding that Eve had given her a similar bar as Himari's. Tomoe looked like she wanted to say something else but then saw that the phone was ringing.
The redhead was faster to reach the phone and was, therefore, the one to answer the call, "Hello, Uehara-Udagawa residence, Udagawa Tomoe speaking. … Ah, Tsugu, how are you? … Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, but I am sure that— … Himari? Yeah, she is right here, just give me a moment."
"It's Tsugu, she wants to speak with you," Tomoe said, her hand covering one end of the phone as she handed it to Himari to try and muffle the sound of their conversation. With a worried frown, Tomoe added, "She sounded really shaken, be careful with what you say to her, okay?"
"Right, of course," Himari said, her voice wavering slightly in the process. Before she took the phone she made sure to slap herself on the cheeks slightly to calm her nerves, "Hey Tsugu, it's me. What's up?"
Tomoe left the room to head to her wardrobe for a change of clothes, fearing that she would affect the conversation between Himari and Tsugumi should she burst out laughing again. When she came back she saw a gloomy Himari sitting at the table with her face buried in her hands.
"What happened?" Tomoe asked, alarm bells already ringing as she rushed over to Himari's side. Fearing for the worst, Tomoe knew that she could not let up, "Himari, what happened?"
"Tsugu is going to tell something to Moca…" Himari mumbled through her fingers, her voice barely audible to Tomoe who was standing beside her. But Himari wasn't finished reciting what had just happened, "She took Moca to a floristry, thinking that that would be the best place to tell her."
"And? What did Moca say?" Tomoe asked, trying to urge Himari on by guiding her train of thoughts. However, much to Tomoe's surprise, Himari shook her head slowly.
"Apparently, before Tsugu could tell Moca… Moca collapsed and lost consciousness…" Himari said and Tomoe could feel her heart drop right then and there; the redhead remembered the first time when she had met Moca after the latter had come face-to-face with a floristry. Himari looked up and saw just how pale Tomoe looked, nodding silently, "I guess that means you know how bad it is?"
"So all we can do now is… wait patiently to find out what happened after Moca lost consciousness?" Tomoe asked in disbelief and defeat. Himari didn't answer Tomoe's question, but in a weird way, this was all the confirmation that the redhead needed.
Unbeknownst to the other, both Tomoe and Himari were thinking of the same thing at that exact moment.
'Tsugu, you can do it!'
And that wraps up today's chapter! Thank you for reading this chapter and the continued support even past the little break. It would mean a lot if you told me what you thought of this chapter in a review, and I will see you all next time (which, due to something else, should be late-March)! Take care, everyone!
Beta Note: Hi, this is the first time I get to write a quick little beta note in a chapter. Since this chapter focused quite heavily on them (and they came from a franchise many may not have heard of) I thought I might as well bring it up: the three non-Bandori characters in this chapter come from a 2003-13 manga/2009 anime called Needless. Do I recommend that franchise? Not… really… was it fun to incorporate as many Bandori-like references in this story where possible? Definitely! The only reason it got my attention is that I found out it had esper-like characters (Raildex similarity) and featured Uehara Himari's seiyuu, Katou Emiri. Emirin did not voice any of the three crossover characters, though.