A/N: Oh my gawd guys…It's a new chapter! O:
I don't have much to say except that I should be studying for my chem quiz…
Anywho, enjoy!
Warning: This chapter is LONG.
If something is written in italics it is thoughts.
If something is written in bold it is EMPHASIS. Okay, I'm done.
Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni.
I do not own A Thousand Years, it was written and performed by Christina Perri.
Chapter 13: A Thousand Years
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall,
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow...
One step closer.
Jealousy.
A disgusting feeling that made one yearn for what they could not have.
Azusa felt guilty for being envious of Mio, but now that she had come to terms with what she felt, it made it harder to ignore the ache in her heart.
Right now, the four of them were sitting in the club room. It was November 27th, a day that Azusa had been counting down for ever since her birthday. Yui had not gone to the clubroom for the past week and Azusa desperately longed to see her.
Yui-senpai's birthday is today... I'll finally get to see her again.
With that thought in mind, Azusa happily put up with the day's events and had successfully managed to get through the day. A smile crept onto her face as she took a sip of her tea.
"Are you guys ready for the party?"
Ritsu's voice pervaded through all the rest of the conversations as she tried to get everyone involved. And by everyone, Azusa knew that the drummer had spoken up in order to specifically get her involved.
"Yes! Yui-chan will be happy!" Mugi happily stated.
Mio scoffed before everyone turned to look at her. Her grey eyes narrowed before she sheepishly smiled.
"She's harder to please now, Mugi. Even I can barely get through to her anymore," Mio mumbled.
The three girls glanced at each other before looking away. Azusa glanced down at her lap and clenched her fist.
It had been something that she didn't want to admit, but Azusa knew that Mio was right. Yui barely talked to them now and whenever she did, it never seemed to last long. It was obvious that something was running through the older Hirasawa's mind that was blocking her from socializing with others.
"Azusa...can we talk?"
Garnet eyes met grey before Azusa saw the pleading look on her senpai's face. She sighed and nodded before standing up along with Mio.
"Excuse us…" Mio mumbled.
The younger girl could feel Ritsu and Mugi's eyes on her as they walked away from the table. Azusa followed Mio out of the room and waited as the older girl closed the door.
Neither girl said a word as they made their trek down the stairs. It wasn't until they reached the brass turtle statue that Mio took a seat at the bottom of the stairs. Azusa followed her lead and remained silent.
"It's been two months, huh?" Mio almost whispered.
Azusa narrowed her eyes and scratched at the wooden stairs with her nails.
"Yup...it's almost been three," she wistfully replied.
A slight silence hung in the air. Out of the corner of her eyes, Azusa could see Mio trying to gather her courage.
"I'm still very very VERY sorry," Mio said.
Azusa smirked before placing a hand on her stomach.
Sorry for causing me pain all of this time? For agreeing to go out with Yui-senpai even though you knew how she felt about me?
"Sorry doesn't change anything," Azusa bluntly stated.
The twintailed girl heard her friend sharply inhale. A wave of guilt tried to overcome her, but the feeling of numbness in her system won her over.
"I know, but if you'd look at the situation that we're in, I'm sure you'd understa-" Mio began but was abruptly cut off by the look in Azusa's eyes.
"What situation? You mean the one where Ritsu-senpai is goofing around with Mugi-senpai because you picked Yui-senpai over her? The one where what I feel apparently doesn't matter to any of you?" Azusa hissed.
The younger girl felt herself tremble in anger. She immediately averted her eyes; she was pleased that she had finally gotten what was on her mind out. That was, until she heard the sniffle.
Azusa turned to look at her normally composed senpai and saw that she had her face buried in her hands. Immediately Azusa felt the guilt wave finally flood through her.
"I-I'm sorry Mio-senpai...it's just...been diffi-cult," Azusa said, she felt he voice crack on the last weird and glanced down.
"No, no, I...understand. I'm sorry for being a horrible senpai, Azusa. I've been selfish," Mio muttered as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She sniffled once more before looking Azusa in the face and adding, "Actually, I've been trying to think of a way to fix this and..."
A way to...change things?
Azusa felt her heart leap to her throat. She bit her lip as she waited for the taller girl to speak. After a few seconds of waiting, Azusa decided to speak up.
"What're you thinking of?" Azusa hesitantly whispered.
Mio sadly smiled before she looked up. Azusa followed her line of sight and saw that she was looking at the turtle statue on the railing.
"...I'm going to end it."
Azusa froze up.
Her garnet eyes widened as Mio's words began to sink it.
"What?" Azusa asked in disbelief.
"I'm going to tell her it's not working," Mio said, pronouncing each word a bit more confidently.
But...Yui-senpai is with you because she likes you. She wouldn't go out with you for no reason!
"Mio-senpai... but that'd... that'd devastate her," Azusa pointed out.
Mio met Azusa's eyes and frowned. The garnet-eyed girl didn't even have to listen to what she was about to say to know.
"It's better than living a lie... having to pretend that I enjoy her kisses and romantic advances... it isn't pleasant."
Azusa tore her eyes away from Mio's face and clenched her fist. She glanced down at the tiny little scars on her knuckles she had given herself from the day that the two had started dating.
How could she...how could she be so... so SELFISH.
"She might be upset but it'll work out right? I mean… then it can go back to normal!" Mio nervously said.
Azusa blankly gazed down at the floor. It felt as if a part of her had died.
All I want is for Yui-senpai to be happy. This...this will definitely upset her even more than she already is.
"Azusa? What do you think?" Mio weakly asked.
"If you do that I'll never forgive you."
"Huh?"
Azusa felt tears well up in her eyes. She was desperately trying to fight her inner turmoil. Half of her wanted Mio to let go of Yui so she could have her back, but the wiser half knew that if Yui spiraled further down the path she was going, the Yui Hirasawa that they had all grown to know and love would vanish completely.
"You can't just lie to someone and use them until you don't need them anymore! Yui-senpai has feelings too!" Azusa shouted.
"Azusa, you're right but-" Mio began.
"I'm not kidding senpai. If you break up with her now, I'll never forgive you," Azusa coldly stated.
Mio blankly stared at her. Azusa could see the guilt in the bassist's eyes, but it was nothing compared to the aching in Azusa's heart. The younger girl turned around and clenched the fabric over her heart.
"I'm gonna go. I need to go buy her a gift anyway. See you at the party," Azusa muttered.
In a way the younger girl was glad that Mio remained silent afterward. The younger girl did not slow her pace down until she reached the lockers. The moment that she reached her own, Azusa burst into tears.
She WANTED to be selfish.
She desperately wanted things to be back to the way they originally were, but she'd rather be hurt than see Yui in further turmoil.
I'd do…anything to see senpai smile again.
As Azusa slipped on her shoes and rubbed mindlessly at her tears, she looked down at a little box that she had stuffed in her pocket.
The younger girl had bought Yui's gift months ago, though she had needed an excuse to leave the bassist.
The moment that Azusa stepped outside, she felt something wet hit her cheek. Once she heard a low rumble in the distance, she glanced up.
In the distance, a cluster of black clouds was quickly approaching.
~ K-ON! ~
A light drizzle encompassed the world outside of the Hirasawa household.
The five girls were sitting in Yui's living room. Though it wasn't as obvious on the surface, there was a slight awkward tension.
Yui was lying across her couch and was resting her head on Mio's lap while the bassist absentmindedly stroked her hair. Similar to Ritsu's birthday party, the grey-eyed girl was keeping a close eye on her childhood friend and the blonde heiress in front of her.
Though Mio was occupied with Ritsu and Mugi, Azusa had her eyes full with trying to not meet Yui's gaze. Whenever she even glanced over, it felt as if the brunette was eyeing her. It was rather unnerving.
Azusa sighed as she tried to bury her head in one of the couch pillows. There was less to do at Yui's house than at Ritsu's and without Ui there wasn't a stream of sweets being brought in to keep the tension from being too uncomfortable.
Azusa moved her garnet eyes and glanced up from her pillow. She met chocolate brown eyes which seemed to stare into her soul before she quickly averted her gaze.
The raven-haired girl tried to remain as still as possible while the others conversed.
This is just…really bad.
After realizing that there was no possible way that the group would agree on some sort of activity any time soon, Azusa realized that she could text Jun.
Duh, why didn't I think of that before?
Azusa smiled to herself as she whipped out her phone and began to text her friend.
[Hey Jun, what's up?]
It took a few moments for her friend to reply, but Azusa couldn't help but smile when she had replied. Hey, at least it was something to keep her distracted from the strange aura in the room.
[Yo, Azusa! How's Yui-senpai's b-day partay goin?]
[It could be better… the only ones who are really talking are Mio-senpai, Mugi-senpai, and Ritsu-senpai.]
[Oooh, that stinks!]
[Tell me about it. Yui-senpai keeps looking at me too…it's making me a bit uncomfortable. Should I tell her to stop?]
Azusa placed her phone down onto the wooden floor and bit her lip. She patiently waited until her friend replied. Meanwhile, as this had all happened, she hadn't noticed that Yui and Mio had left the room in order to get some snacks.
After hearing the amplified vibration from her phone being on the floor, Azusa picked it up.
[Hehe, you should be like, oh senpai, please don't defile me with your eyes!]
Azusa felt a blush creep into her cheeks as she stared at the words on the screen. She was about to type back an angry response when she was distracted by the background of her phone. She longingly stared at the picture that she could not bear to part with before her phone vibrated once more and a message notice popped up.
[Oh, gotta go! Sorry I can't help more! My mom needs me right now. Peace!]
Azusa bit her lip and placed her phone back in her pocket. Well, she had managed to kill SOME time while talking with Jun. At the sudden silence of the room, Azusa finally noticed that two of her senpais had gone missing.
"Eh, where did they go?" Azusa asked.
"They left the room like 5 minutes ago, Nakano. Someone's out of it, haha," Ritsu chuckled.
Azusa felt her blood creep back up into her cheeks before she chucked her pillow out Ritsu. The tawny-haired girl laughed before catching it and preparing to toss it back. Before she had a chance to launch it though, Mugi, who had grabbed a pillow out of nowhere, whacked the drummer with it.
The three of them looked at each other and burst into laughter just as the room light up. A loud boom then echoed throughout the house. Azusa grabbed a pillow that was near her and saw Mugi immediately cling to Ritsu's arm.
A few seconds after, Yui and Mio reentered the room with a tray of drinks and bowls of snacks. Yui placed her tray down on the coffee table and remained silent. Azusa noted that there was a blank look in her eyes and felt her insides squirm uncomfortably. She feels a feeling of foreboding and then glances over at Mio, whose eyes are wide in shock.
The bassist took a seat down on the couch and blankly stared at the bowl of chips in front of her. Yui crossed her arms and scratched her head before mumbling something that sounded like "I need to get some painkiller medicine for my head" before she left the room once more.
The noise that the rain made as it grew stronger engulfed the room. The four girls remained silent until Ritsu decided to escape Mugi's grasp on her and walk over to her friend. The drummer knelt down in front of Mio and looked up at her face.
"Hey, what's wrong, Mio?" Ritsu softly asked.
Azusa watched as Mio sobbed before Ritsu stood up and pulled her into a tight hug. The raven-haired girl nuzzled her head into her friend's shoulder as she tried to keep herself from crying.
What happened…?
Azusa glanced over at Mugi and saw that the blonde's eyes were narrowed and that she was staring down at her hair as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. The youngest member of HTT looked back over at Mio and Ritsu and saw Ritsu wipe the bassist's tears away as the girl gathered the courage to speak up.
"We broke up."
Azusa's eyes widened in shock before the bassist glanced down at her lap. The younger girl bit her lip and abruptly stood up.
"I can't believe you..."
"Azusa, please listen to me, I never intended to go through with-" Mio began, but was cut off as Azusa turned away.
"Go through with what..?" Ritsu asked.
The room flashed white once more before a loud rumble tore through the air. Mio shouted before she wrapped herself around Ritsu. Azusa narrowed her eyes at the bassist and looked outside the window.
Mio-senpai moved on pretty quickly.
"I can't watch as all of this happens! I just... I can't!" Azusa shouted before turning and glaring at the group.
Mugi, who had been quiet the entire time, frowned and reached out to her. The blonde's blue eyes were full of sadness as she tried to comfort her.
"It'll be okay, Azusa-chan," Mugi mumbled, but it seemed like it was directed more toward to herself than to the twintailed girl.
"Azusa, listen to me!" Mio loudly said as she got up. The bassist grabbed Azusa's arm and turned her so their eyes met.
"Yui, she…well, we…Yui, b-b-" Mio weakly said as her burst of confidence began to deflate at the anger in Azusa's eyes.
The twintailed girl pulled her arm out of her senpai's grasp before she scoffed in disgust.
They're ALL selfish. Mio-senpai just wants Ritsu-senpai, Ritsu-senpai wants Mio-senpai, and Mugi-senpai wants Ritsu-senpai, so they're all trampling over each other to get what they want.
"Azusa, Yui...broke up with me."
The garnet eyed girl's eyes widened at the bassist's words. She then narrowed them once more when she realized that she might have imagined them since the taller girl's voice had been a low whisper. She almost would have dismissed the words, if Ritsu didn't decide to speak up.
"...What?" Ritsu softly asked.
Azusa felt another wave of anger flow through her as another rumble of thunder filled the room. Why was Yui taking so long anyway? There was no way that it would have been Yui that had ended it, the brunette was probably upstairs dwelling in her sadness as they spoke.
"You're lying!" Azusa hissed.
Mio recoiled at the anger in the girl's words before weakly smiling.
"Azusa, I know that I've hurt you with my selfishness as of late, but please believe me when I say that I'm not lying," Mio softly said.
Azusa walked toward the doorway and paced around for a few seconds. She clenched her fist before furiously scratching her head.
I…I've been holding back my emotions for all of this time… I just can't do it anymore!
"All this time..." Azusa began.
The three girls in the room fixed their eyes on her as she began to speak. Azusa forced a smile onto her face as her vision began to violently blur.
Damn it, I can't cry now!
"A-all of this time…a-and none of you asked how I feel about all of this. Did any of you even try to reach out to me and ask how I felt? Do you think that I like being forgotten?" Azusa stuttered.
Mugi was the first one to react out of the three girls as she stood up from where she was and reached out to her. Azusa quickly withdrew from the blonde's touch and into the doorway.
"Azusa-chan," Mugi softly whispered, the hurt in her voice was evident.
Ritsu and Mio both remained silent as they glanced down at their laps. It wasn't long before Mugi backed up slightly and stared down at the ground.
"I-I hate this... I refuse to put up with this anymore," Azusa said. She quickly reached up and rubbed at her eyes before adding, "Just because you're all selfish doesn't mean I am too!"
When no one said a word, Azusa looked up and saw that they were all staring up at her, each of their eyes were filled with pain.
Great…now I hurt them all, why can't I do anything right?
The younger girl further backed up into the doorway before suddenly bowing and shouting,
"I'm s-sorry!"
Azusa quickly turned around and bolted out of the room and into the hallway. She could hear Mugi faintly calling out after her.
"Azusa-chan wait-"
She then heard more movement come from the room as Mio and Ritsu both sprang into action.
"Azusa wait, don't go out there-" Ritsu shouted.
"Azusa, it's my fault, please don't go!" Mio yelled.
As Azusa neared the front door, she almost collided into Yui as the older girl walked down the stairs. She met the brunette's eyes and saw no recognition for a few seconds before Yui's eyes widened and the girl hastily pulled down her sleeves.
"A-Azusa-chan?" Yui asked.
Azusa sniffled before quickly pulling a small box out of her pocket, thrusting it into Yui's hands and saying happy birthday before she threw open the front door. She heard Yui vaguely mumble something that sounded like "what?" before she ran out into the pouring rain.
All that mattered to Azusa at that point was to get as far as away from the others as she possibly could.
~ K-ON! ~
Azusa didn't know how far she was running.
She didn't even know where she was going.
Her clothes were soaking wet, but at this point it was too late to turn back. They would all be mad at her, she was sure of it.
She was just wanted to be away from them. She knew that they'd come looking for her and try to apologize, but she had had enough. She just wanted to be alone.
Azusa kept sprinting into the unknown with no concern as to where she was going. Since the rain made the pavement slippery, she eventually slipped when she made a quick turn and landed on her hands and knees. The small girl hissed in pain before she finally took in her surroundings.
She was near a sort of park with a small playground.
The raven-haired girl wasn't used to this side of town, so she wasn't exactly sure where she was. Azusa fought the pain in her knees as she limped over to one of the slides with a roof over it.
Her garnet eyes glanced around the unfamiliar area before the small girl frowned. She crawled deeper into the slide which was sheltered from the rain and just watched as it fell. A low rumble of thunder cracked through the atmosphere every now and then, but the sounds grew more and more distant.
Azusa sighed before lying down on her back and trying to ignore her throbbing knee. She had no spare clothes, she had no idea where she was, and she was already soaked.
Great… Just great.
The small girl felt her phone vibrate and remembered that she had it after all. She quickly picked it up and looked at the caller.
Once she saw that it was Ritsu, she fought the urge to chuck her phone into the rain, but figured it was wiser to keep it from getting wetter than it already was. It would already be difficult to explain to her parents why she was soaking wet and alone at a park.
After a few minutes, Azusa felt her phone vibrate once more and saw that Mugi was now calling her. The soaked girl ignored the call and placed her phone down next to her. She tried to crawl up into a tiny ball in order to preserve warmth before her phone rang again.
Her garnet eyes looked at the contact and saw that it was Mio. Azusa looked out of the slide and at the rain and sighed.
…Maybe I was a bit TOO harsh on Mio-senpai. She really did mean well, I just…snapped because I've been holding it all in for too long.
As the phone continued to vibrate for what seemed to be hours, Azusa eventually reached over to answer, but then heard the beeping of multiple missed calls. The younger girl frowned before tears slid down her cheeks.
A feeling of despair filled her once she realized that her friends had probably assumed that she was home safe and did not want to talk to them.
Dang it.
Azusa sniffled before a stream of tears steadily flowed down her cheeks. Her bangs were sticking to her forehead and she was sure that she would definitely get a cold at this rate.
The raven-haired girl sniffled before shakily sighing. She buried her head into her wet sleeve and tried to comfortably arrange herself in the slide. It was then that she heard the soft splashes of water being treaded on as if someone was approaching.
Azusa froze up and focused her ears on the sound before pulling herself into a tighter ball. She tried not to hiss in pain as her bones and joints ached in protest, but managed to remain silent as the newcomer paced around.
A soft vibrating noise could be heard from the distance and it seemed to Azusa that the newcomer had received a call.
"Hello? Oh, Ricchan, I'm by the old playground…She's not here so I'm going to head back…Okay see you soon."
Azusa focused on the familiarity of the voice before something clicked in her mind.
Wait…she said Ricchan…wait…could it be?
The raven-haired girl allowed herself to slowly slide down the slide and peek through the opening. She saw a figure with a black umbrella starting to walk away from the park before she felt her nose itch.
"A-aaa," Azusa tensed up as she felt her body ready itself for a sneeze.
"ACHOOO!"
The figure with the umbrella slowly turned around before Azusa met the newcomer's eyes.
"Azusa-chan?"
Azusa wearily smiled before weakly waving. She felt her heart race as a smile of relief and pure joy formed on Yui's face.
"Azusa-chan!" Yui shouted as she ran toward her.
The raven-haired girl weakly stood up to get out of the slide, but stumbled forward. She felt a pair of strong arms steady her before she glanced up at the older girl's face.
"…Dang, Azusa-chan, you're soaked," Yui softly said.
"W-where are the others?" Azusa shivered.
"They're all dispersed looking for you…they're really worried, you know," Yui stated before frowning.
"I'm sorry…to have to worry you on your birthday," Azusa weakly replied.
Azusa saw Yui's eyes flash a look of pain before the older girl glanced down at the ground. The two girls stood under Yui's umbrella in silence for a few moments before Yui spoke up.
"They explained to me why you're upset…"
The younger girl tensed up and looked up to meet Yui's eyes. Yui weakly smiled before reaching out and patting her softly on the head.
"Mio-chan did me no harm. I chose to end our relationship because it wasn't working out," Yui said.
Azusa looked back down at the ground and pulled away from Yui's touch. She felt her knee jerk before she hissed in pain.
"Your knee…does it hurt?" Yui softly asked.
Azusa shook her head almost immediately but yelped when Yui lifted her own knee and brushed it against hers.
"Can you walk?"
Azusa tried to move forward, but felt her knee throb and stumbled once more. Yui quickly steadier her again before saying,
"I'll carry you."
"No...Just let me walk," Azusa tried to say.
"Azusa-chan, just get on my back," Yui said as she helped Azusa over to the slide.
Azusa remained silent as Yui turned around and slightly knelt. The smaller girl carefully placed her arms around Yui's neck.
"Hold the umbrella so I can pick you up," Yui softly said.
Azusa took the umbrella in her hands before Yui carefully lifted her legs and hoisted her up on her back. The raven-haired girl rested her chin on Yui's shoulder in order to ensure as much coverage as possible with the umbrella before she realized that she was pressing her wet clothes against Yui who was dry.
"Don't worry about me, I don't live too far from here, so a little cold won't hurt me," Yui tried to valiantly say, but Azusa could her shivering as she trudged on.
The rest of the walk to Yui's house remained silent.
"Don't blame Mio-chan."
Azusa wrapped her arms tighter around Yui's neck at the statement. She nuzzled her cool forehead against Yui's neck before responding.
"O-Okay…"
"If you're wondering why exactly...it felt strained and I knew that she only cared for Ricchan like how Ricchan is using Mugi-chan," Yui softly said.
Azusa remained silent as they reached Yui's house. The walk up the stairs was a bit difficult because she had a girl on her back, but the brunette managed to successfully make it up without an incident. After opening the door, Yui carefully set Azusa down on the living room couch.
It's then that Azusa really noted how empty the house felt. She could hear Yui moving around in the other room while she conversed on the phone.
"Yeah, don't worry, Ricchan. Azusa-chan is safe and sound so tell Mio-chan to make sure she doesn't worry. Thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday…though we didn't really celebrate much, hehe," Yui laughed.
Azusa picked up one of the pillows on the couch and smiled into it. The sound of Yui laughing made her feel warm inside. It was something that she hadn't heard in a while.
"Okay, well, I'll see you guys tomorrow then…okay, make sure you guys take warm baths…bye," Yui said.
The brunette tossed her phone onto the couch before collapsing onto the seat next to Azusa's. The raven-haired girl reached up to undo her twin tails as Yui quietly sat on the couch.
"The reason it's so quiet is because my folks are on a business trip for two weeks," Yui said as if answering the previous question that was on her mind.
"I don't blame them...I just miss having Ui here. She'd probably be fussing over me having a house guest over and having them being soaked in the rain. Haha you two would have been good friends, you know? Too bad she's in England studying abroad," Yui trailed off before glancing at a picture on the wall.
"…I'm sorry, senpai," Azusa murmured.
Yui weakly smiled before patting her head once more and standing up to leave the room. When she returned, she came back with rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, and some gauze.
"It's going to sting a little," Yui said.
Azusa began to tremble until she saw Yui holding out her free hand.
"Squeeze it if it hurts, okay?"
Azusa quickly nodded as Yui soaked one of the cotton balls in alcohol. The moment it touched her skin, Azusa gasped in pain and squeezed Yui's hand tightly. After repeating the process a few times, Yui finished cleaning her wound up and applied the gauze almost professionally.
Yui-senpai is pretty good at tending wounds… I wonder where that came from…
"All set!" Yui smiled.
Azusa smiled back before she let out a loud sneeze.
"You can stay over if you want," Yui sheepishly mumbled.
"It'd be a bad idea... My parents probably want me home by now," Azusa softly said.
She glanced down at her lap and tried to hide the rising blush on her face. It's not like she didn't want to stay with Yui, it's just that she felt a bit uncomfortable because of the fit she had thrown earlier.
"Oh...okay," Yui replied in a sad tone that made Azusa feel like she had kicked a puppy.
"I-I'll call," Azusa quickly said.
The bright look in Yui's eyes after her statement was worth it and made Azusa's heart jolt. After dialing home, Azusa discovered that her parents weren't going to be home anyway, so they approved her staying over at a friend's house.
"Guess I AM staying," Azusa said.
Yui beamed at her and Azusa felt her cheeks heat up. The smaller girl sneezed again before Yui frowned.
"Oh right, you need a hot bath! Oh, and I need to give you your birthday gift!" Yui rapidly babbled as she ran upstairs to get Azusa's bath ready.
After helping her up the stairs and into the bathroom, Yui left a pair of her clothes on the sink. When Yui left the room, the younger girl wearily smiled before finally stripping her wet clothes off and dipping into the tub. She shakily exhaled as she felt her body relax into the warm water.
Once she was done with her bath, Azusa quickly changed into Yui's clothes, she sniffed the shirt that she was wearing and sighed contently when she realized that it smelt like her. She then rubbed at her eyes before walking into Yui's room.
The older girl was sitting on her bed and glancing at the doorway. When Azusa walked in, she then pulled out a small box and handed it to her.
"I guess I bought this a while ago. I found it last month though…. I'm not sure what it means, but I guess it's for you since it has the same logo as your tea cup...Azusa-chan."
Azusa looked up into Yui's eyes before going to open the package. She felt her heart jump to her throat when she saw what was inside.
It was a small locket that was shaped like a guitar pick. On the front it said Azunyan and had a picture of a small kitty on it. Once Azusa opened the locket, she felt her stomach jolt with butterflies.
To my dear kitty that brings joy to my life.
Love, Yui.
No wonder Yui was confused. Since the brunette had no recollection of their past together, of course it would be confusing as to where and why this would be hers.
"Do you want me to put it on you?" Yui offered.
Azusa nodded before turning so her back was to the older girl. She slightly tensed up when Yui's fingers brushed against her skin and tried not to let the electricity overcome her. Once Yui was done, she pulled away and smiled as she examined her. Azusa slightly blushed when Yui's gaze turned into one that was appreciative.
"It looks nice!" Yui smiled before glancing over at her clock and adding, "We should rest up. I don't want you to get sick…that and the others are coming over early in the morning."
Yui glanced around her room for a few seconds as if deciding something before she pointed to her bed.
"You can sleep in my bed if you want!" Yui said.
Azusa immediately brought up her hands and shook her head.
"No, no, I already ruined your birthday…I don't want to kick you out of your bed," She said.
After a few moments of trying to convince her otherwise, Yui eventually gave up once she saw that Azusa was stubborn and tried to think of a new solution. The brunette gasped and took Azusa's hand in her own. The younger girl worked to hide her impending blush as Yui led her to Ui's room.
"I'm not sure when Ui is coming home…but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you slept here!" Yui beamed.
Azusa weakly laughed before nodding. She tried to ignore the goose bumps of knowing that she would be sleeping in a dead person's room and remained poised for Yui's sake.
"Well, I hope it doesn't get too stuffy in here. Good night, Azusa-chan!" Yui sheepishly said before pulling her into a tight hug.
Azusa relaxed into the hug and nuzzled her head into Yui's shoulder before she felt something warm on her forehead. She glanced up and saw that Yui had kissed her forehead. The smaller girl froze up as Yui pulled away.
"Good night, Azusa-chan!" Yui smiled before waving.
Just for a second, Azusa saw one of Yui's sleeves slide down slightly and she noted something that she hadn't before. There was a few faint horizontal lines running along Yui's forearm that seemed a bit redder than the rest of her arm.
Were those always there...?
Azusa only had a few moments to think about it before Yui turned off the lights and walked out of the room. The smaller girl sighed before willing herself to only think of happy things and climbing into Ui's bed.
Her garnet eyes stared up at the dark ceiling as she uncomfortable arranged herself on her deceased friend's bed. A few hours passed where Azusa was still wide awake and the small girl noted that she would not be able to relax.
I'm definitely not sleeping tonight…
Azusa sighed as she heard the storm outside grow fierce once more. The raven-haired girl climbed out of Ui's bed and decided that she should test her hypothesis of trying to revert Yui back to her original self by trying to find her hairclips.
The small girl limped over to the light switch and flicked it back on. As Azusa rummaged through the various drawers in Ui's bedroom, the room flashed white and then a loud boom echoed throughout the house which caused the lights to go out. Azusa could feel it shaking from the loudness of the boom that she stumbled onto the floor.
Oh no, I've made the kamis mad for going through Ui's stuff!
Azusa clasped her hands together and quietly mumbled prayers to the gods for their forgiveness as the room quickly flashed again. She felt her eyes well up with tears as she ran out of the room and into the dark hallway.
W-which one was Yui-senpai's room again…?
The small girl carefully navigated through the dark corridor as another rumble of thunder shook the house. She eventually walked in front of a door that seemed familiar and slowly opened it. As the room flashed white again, she caught a glimpse of Yui sleeping in her bed.
How is she sleeping through this?
The sky seemed to roar once more as another sound of thunder boomed through the empty house. Azusa emitted a loud squeak before she ran over to Yui's bed, the sudden rush of adrenaline allowed her to ignore the pain in her leg.
Azusa stares down at Yui's peaceful face before getting the sudden urge to touch it. Without realizing what she was doing, she ran her finger along the girl's cheek causing the girl to shudder.
Yui then seemed to squirm slightly as her eyes slowly opened.
"Is everything okay, Azusaaawhhhh-chaaghh," Yui asked as she yawned.
For a few seconds, Azusa recognized the Yui she used to know and had grown to love. The sleepy girl rubbed her eyes before the room lit up again and another loud boom echoed through the house. Yui's shocked eyes then met Azusa's scared ones before she knowingly smiled.
"It's raining again?"
"There was a blackout," Azusa said before reaching up to cover her mouth.
When the younger girl sneezed, Yui sat up immediately.
"Are you feeling okay?" Yui asked in such a concerned tone that it left Azusa a bit flabbergasted.
The small girl backed up and almost stumbled, thus leading Yui to act and jump out of bed. Yui carefully led her to sit on her bed and leaned down.
"Stay still," Yui murmured as she leaned in.
Azusa felt her heart stop for a few second as Yui's face approached hers. She felt Yui place a hand on her face before she shut her eyes.
Yui-senpai why would you do THAT at a time like this?
Azusa tried to remain as still as possible as Yui leaned in and brushed Azusa's bangs away from her forehead before pressing her own against it.
"Feels a little warm… are you cold?" Yui mumbled as she pulled away.
Azusa quickly opened her eyes and nodded. She was grateful that the night was able to mask her blush. Yui stood up and took Azusa's hand in her own.
"Want to sleep in my room? You can have my bed," Yui said.
"No, I don't want to do that," Azusa grumbled.
"Uhm, well, I can always pull a futon ou-," Yui said before Azusa squeezed her hand and she stopped.
It's now or never…
Azusa glanced down at her lap and shakily inhaled
"W-why don't we just share the bed? I-I mean it's not like I want to sleep with you, it's just the most convenient," Azusa stammered.
Hearing no response from Yui, Azusa almost felt her heart drop in disappointment, but then when she heard the older girl laugh, it jolted again.
"If you say, so, Azusa-chan," Yui smiled before climbing into her bed. She lifted up the blanket slightly as Azusa climbed in next to her.
The two of them relaxed under the warmth of the blanket.
"Goodnight, Azusa-chan," Yui softly mumbled.
Azusa ignored the pain of her knee and focused on Yui's breathing. She smiled to herself as she reflected on the day. Sure it had started out in a rotten manner, but it had turned out remarkable and she couldn't have asked for a better belated gift.
As she nuzzled her head into Yui's shoulder, Azusa felt her body and mind finally destress.
"Goodnight, Yui-senpai," Azusa mumbled as she looked over at Yui.
Once she saw that the girl had fallen asleep, Azusa weakly smiled before adding.
"I love you."
For the first time in months, Azusa had no nightmares.
A/N: Omg…Excuse me while I go cry. –gets box of tissues- I'm sorry guys, my OTP just really gets me sometimes T_T they get me so hard that sometimes they make me stray from the planned outline and then the length increases. I hope you guys liked the chapter though! I have a chem quiz to study for, but I wanted to get this chapter out because you all deserve some fluff. ; u ; Though within the fluff there is also hidden meanings behind hidden meanings.
In the words of King Bumi, "You must open your mind to the possibilities" or something like that…So you have to look for things that look insignificant but actually are o u o!
Anywho…it's time for Review Responses!
Animestorywriter: No problem! Here is yet another one! Woo!
FoxOnPie: Yerp… :D Haha xD
PhantomChurro: I'm glad I made you happy ; u ;
Nanda Nasution: Nah, you're not pushy xD I understand. I hope this chapter helped your feels though ; u ;
Akiyama Shijin: I'm sorry but Mio wasn't in that scene at all T_T but Mitsu is starting to slowly make up! Poor Moogs tho and yes…Yui is recovering.
Guest: Wahhhh I'm sorry! I'm glad you liked it though ; n ;
Guest: (I'm guessing this is Tenma-chan but I could be wrong sorry if I am xD) Bah-dump can mean anything? It can mean an arrhythmia O: or it can be a misunderstanding or a hiding of feelings or we shall see. I hope you enjoy the upcoming preview as well! Also, the football game was fun ^_^
StattStatt: I'd like to thank you for favoriting and following me and all that jazz. I'm glad that you enjoy my stories so much! :'D I really need to work on BAS though…I'm neglecting that poor child. ; n ;
Guess what guys…there's no preview this week ; n ;
I'm kidding, I'm kidding please don't kill me.
Next time on Singing!
Azusa wakes up to an uncomfortable situation that only seems to worsen as the day passes. Meanwhile, Yui manages to escape even more chains that have been tying her down, but maybe ends up getting more than what she wanted.
Well, this is it for me for the weekend! Criticisms and reviews are appreciated…thanks for all of the support :'D! Have a nice weekend!
~imuffinator out.