A/N: an important Author's Note is at the end of this story.

To all who read these lines, my thanks. To all who enjoy these lines, my happiness.

Chapter 14 - Incongruent

Maki's sixth day in Niigata

Honoka sat on the couch of Ayako's apartment while the other four girls were playing a round of some card game Honoka didn't completely understand. The game wasn't of much interest to her, so she decided to pour herself a serving from Ayako's stash of sake and read.

She spent the better part of the evening splitting her attention between drawings, drinks, and discourse. Originally she'd been reading some of Ayako's various doujinshi but at some point along the line she picked up Escape, the doujinshi that Ayako had drawn based around the story of Honoka, Arisa, and Yukiho.

Reading over the lines, taking in the drawings, enjoying the pictorial representation of her girlfriends; it was only the second time shed read the book and it was all so surreal. Seeing her personal experiences like this, from the perspective of some narrator, allowed her mind to absorb the scenario and experience her own life in a different way. Between the rush of nostalgia and the second serving of sake, she found herself with the book open in her lap, her head leaning back and staring at the ceiling.

It all changed when we came here. We had time to work everything out.

The pictures moved into scenes from their first days. They struggled, they fought, they cried, they loved…

They came together. They survived.

They thrived.

And now here we are. Happy. Thanks to that happiness we were able to accept and reconnect with Maki.

Honoka looked over at the table. Four girls were laughing, saying something about making up rules as they went along. Ayako said something along the lines of 'I can't believe you'd accuse me of such treachery' while Maki wore a face that was one of exasperation and impatience - more often seen while the redhead was in the presence of Nico.

Back when those two neeeearly got together. Who knew they were just good friends who bickered in public and were actually interested in other people? But seriously, those science babies would have been adorable - short, obstinate, motherly, genius babies.

Oh Nico…

Ah, but then Eli made the move. A strong one, at that! Confessing to an underclassman at your own graduation? In front of all of those people, many of which had fawned over you for years? That's forward, even for Eli.

Eli…

Honoka found herself struck by her own thoughts. Something in her head clicked.

Hm.

I wonder… why?

After all that happened these last few months, now I'm thinking about the good times. I'm remembering the fun things we did. I'm…

Oh wow.

I'm missing them.

I'm missing them? Or the times? Are the two mutually exclusive? I guess they don't have to be. And there's nothing wrong with missing someone, even if they've wronged you. It's like remembering the good times you had with an ex; even if you broke up under bad circumstances, that doesn't negate the good times.

So yeah… I guess I miss them.

"Honoka, are you okay?" Yukiho looked over at her sister,

Honoka noticed the way she was - staring at the ceiling with a book open on her lap. She readjusted herself and crossed her legs.

"Yeah, sorry? I wasn't paying attention."

"No worries, it's okay. You just looked really deep in thought. Painfully deep… actually, maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No no, it's fine. I was... I was thinking…" Honoka trailed off, taking a sip from her glass.

"Hmmm, what about?" Arisa looked interested.

Honoka looked at the ceiling again.

"I think I want to go back to Tokyo."

The entire room was silent.

Honoka put down the glass and crossed her arms and sat back on the couch. "I think I want to go back to Tokyo for a day. Like, not to stay overnight. Just to go and say hello. Just to show everyone that I'm - no - that we're okay. I think it' be nice."

Arisa stood up in a frenzy. "Whoa whoa, you want do do what?! Honoka, we left Tokyo because we didn't want to be around those people any more! Because they were the ones continuing the problems that we were trying so desperately to solve on our own! And now that we're here, now that we're happy, you want to go back and pop your head in the door and announce that we're alive and well?"

"Yeah, I think I do." Honoka looked at Arisa with hazy eyes. Like she was looking at her but not seeing her.

Arisa started walking around the table towards Honoka. Yukiho stood up too, but made her way in between the two girls… just in case.

"No, Honoka. No! Look at where you've lead us! You lead us to a new life where we can make our own happiness without others getting in the way. Why change that now? Why give them a reason to interfere with our lives again?" Arisa was breathing faster, looking almost scared.

Yukiho grabbed Arisa's right hand and held it to her chest. "Love, she did just say 'I think'. It's just an idea, right Honoka?"

"Mmm. An idea. But… I think maybe it's a good one." Honoka still looked a bit out of herself; like she was still replaying the past in her mind.

"See? It's just a thought, Arisa. Nothing's been decided." Yukiho tried to console her girlfriend.

"But what if it ends up being a decision? I don't want anyone to go to Tokyo. I don't want anyone back home to find out where we are. I don't want to connect those two parts of our life."

Honoka looked back at Arisa. "Why do you or I get to make the decision one way or the other? Who gets to decide when and if we do connect our two lives? What happens if I want to and you two don't, or vice versa?"

Honoka's eyes saddened. "I feel like I just figured out the last big hurdle of us moving here. And I'm sorry I brought it up so abruptly, Arisa, Yukiho. I'm sorry I upset you, Arisa. But it really was just a thought and I think it's one we should think about."

Arisa looked a lot more calm, having pulled Yukiho into a side-hug. "Yeah… yeah… sorry about that. You surprised the hell out of me, Honoka. But I was serious, too. I don't think it's a good idea. Maybe not forever, but for a long time I think we need to stay away. We need to make our own lives and they need to make theirs."

Yukiho looked up at Arisa. "Can we really stay apart that long? At some point someone will find us - don't you think we should recontact them on our own schedule, not on theirs?"

Arisa frowned. "You're taking her side?"

"I'm not taking any side!" Yukiho protested strongly and pulled away from Arisa. "I think you're both right in your own way. But I also think we need to come to a consensus about this. And I think we need to do it sooner than later."

Honoka nodded slowly. "She's probably right. Not exactly the kind of thinking I wanted to do with a weekend starting tomorrow…. fortunately I have work to distract me."

Ayako spoke up. "I'll be happy to give you as much work as you'd like so you don't have a split second to think about anything!"

"On second thought, maybe I'll call out of work."

"Bad Honoka. No off day for you." Ayako stood up and made her way to the toilet.

"If you need a…. Not-part-of-the-relationship person to talk to, I don't mind listening to anything you want to talk about." Maki shyly volunteered her services. "If you're okay with me, that is."

"For me too?" Arisa asked.

"Of course, for anyone."

The three lovers exchanged glances. Maki suddenly realized what she'd gotten herself into.

"Looks like tomorrow will be a day of counseling by Dr. Nishikino!" Ayako made her reappearance while still re-tying her loungewear.

"Coming from you it sounds more like I'm a daytime talk show crock of a counselor, so please never say that again." Maki looked back over her shoulder and stuck out her tongue.

"How rude." Ayako went into her room. "I'll just be in here trying not to make noise while I read lewd comics. Holler if you need me!"

"I… didn't need to hear that…" Maki shook her head.

"But you liked it!"

"Weren't you going to your room?"

Ayako squinted and stuck her tongue out before sliding the door to her room closed.

"Well, " Honoka got back on track, "mind if I call you tomorrow night after I get off work, Maki? Let's go out and hang out for a bit. I'll show you my favorite place for Honoka-to-herself time."

"Fine by me. You ladies have a request?" Maki looked over at the younger girls.

"We were planning on going out together tomorrow… but I don't mind if you come along. Is that okay, Arisa? I'm sorry we won't be alone anymore." Yukiho looked up at the blonde girl.

Arisa shrugged. "Sure, why not? We have our whole lives to be alone. We can spare a day for a friend who's helping us anyway. Maki, could you meet us at our apartment around 9:30?"

"I'll be there."

"Great. Well… on that note, maybe we ought to head downstairs and go to bed. One of us has work tomorrow, isn't that right Honoka, darling?" Arisa shot a wink at her girlfriend.

"Moooooom I don't wanna goooooo…"

"Yeah yeah, let's go to bed. If you're good maybe I'll tuck you in." Arisa giggled as she started towards to door.

"I'd rather I do the tucking, thank you."

A thought crossed Honoka's mind. "Or the two of us could pair up for a little bit of tucking… someone… else… into bed…"

Arisa and Honoka's eyes met and then made their way to Yukiho, like lions surrounding a young gazelle. Yukiho now looked both aroused and scared.

The troubles and pleasures of being the plaything of two girls' desires. Maki thought. What a life.

"Go you three, before I choke on the mood."

"Goodnight Maki!" Two girls cheered and headed for the door.

"G-goodnight… Maki…" One girl stood for a second, collecting herself. "I hope I'm awake enough to see you tomorrow."

"So do I, Yukiho."

The next day

Maki stared out the window of a bus that was rumbling through the downtown area of Niigata. She sat behind her two riding companions which were currently sharing a cold orange juice, sipping through two straws that were protruding from the bottle's opening. The three girls were on their way to the city aquarium, placed quaintly on a road that runs along the coast of the Sea of Japan.

It was Saturday and as she was a civil servant, Arisa had the day off. Yukiho took the opportunity to suggest that she and Arisa should go out for the afternoon since Honoka and Ayako would be working evening shifts that day. Arisa loved the idea and put forward the aquarium as a place to enjoy being out and about without having to suffer through the dog days of summer while doing it.

Of course, last night's events put a spin on events as Maki would now be joining them on their pseudo-date. That morning Maki arrived at the door right on time, asking once again if it was really alright to barge in on their alone time.

"Of course, Maki." Yukiho was the first to reassure her. "I think we've got a lot on our minds after last night. Let's work through it together."

Thus, that morning the three packed Arisa's backpack with some snacks and drinks and headed off to the station. From there it was an easy twenty minute ride through the city to the coast. Maki had originally thought about quickly sitting next to one of the girls just to see if they'd pout, but she decided to allow the lovebirds some time to themselves since they didn't often get to go out just the two of them.

Maki marveled at the dynamic between each of the "couples" within the three girls' relationship. Undoubtedly, it took a lot of hard work to ensure that their relationship stayed healthy from all angles, but it was still impressive that they were all as close as they were.

Moving away from outside influences probably helped with that. You start working for each other instead of others.

Maki sat back in the seat and looked at the empty seat across the way.

I wonder if Eli and I could have done the same thing, going away for a while and thinking about only ourselves. Would that have fixed us?

I didn't want to hurt… I mean, she didn't deserve for me to breakup with her the way I did, did she?

"This is the face of the Maki I knew for so long." Arisa had turned around and was poking Maki's right cheek. "And I'm not sure I like it. It's the 'I'm dealing with something related to Eli' face, and it doesn't suit you."

Maki make a playful attempt to bite the finger that was lodged into her cheek and Arisa pulled away. "Sorry, I just got to thinking-"

"Bad habits die hard, I see."

Maki glared with a smile. "Someone's become quite the feisty little babushka after moving out to the hinterlands."

Yukiho couldn't suppress her giggles any longer, much to Arisa's annoyance.

"Hey, I've tackled someone once this week; don't make me do it again." Arisa attempted to sound intimidating, but that's hard to do when the people you're addressing are currently laughing.

"Okay, okay love. There there." Yukiho started to pet her blonde girlfriend who was mostly unamused at the exchange.

The bus pulled up to the entrance of the aquarium and they all disembarked. They purchased tickets and made their way into the aquarium, deciding to take a leisurely circle around the building.

They took their time and made a point to appreciate the variety of saltwater fish that were kept in the modest-sized aquarium. After a while, they purchased drinks from a vending machine and sat down in front of the penguin area to watch the antics of the sub-arctic animals.

Maki chose a milk tea, Arisa an Orangina, and Yukiho a lemonade. Sitting and watching the penguins, Yukiho and Arisa couldn't help but lean against each other.

Man, I want to be that cute with someone.

Wait, someone?

After a few moments Arisa noticed the redhead staring at them and donned a playful scowl.

"Yes, Maki-senpai? Anything you'd like to share with the class?"

"Oh nothing, you guys are just cute." Maki sighed and sat forward on the bench. "In all honesty, back on the bus I was thinking about how the three of you coming out here was so go for your relationship. It makes me wonder if I needed to get farther away from Eli in order to fix all of that mess."

This piqued Yukiho's interest. "Come to any conclusions?"

"Hmm… not yet. It's strange really. When I was in Tokyo I slowly worked towards independence from Eli's influence. After a few months I felt confident that I had removed myself from her emotional gasp, so to speak. So I started texting with her again but… that may have been a mistake. Those conversations got longer because they felt comfortable, familiar. I think I let down my guard."

"But then I was saved. I went to Comiket and met Ayako and all of a sudden I had something to focus on. Now I'm here and ever since I've arrived I haven't thought about Eli at all."

Maki took a sip of her milk tea. "So that presents a conundrum: I know I was happier after I left Eli. But am I happier without Eli, or am I happier without my relationship with Eli? If it's the former then it makes sense that I'd feel at ease here, physically separated from her. If it's the latter and I'm just happy without the relationship, then why do I feel so comfortable here? And why don't I want to leave?"

Yukiho raised an eyebrow. "You're sure then has nothing to do with Ayako?"

Maki shook her head. "No, I'm not sure at all. Maybe it does. Maybe it doesn't. I'm not sure- wait, w-what do you mean Ayako?" Maki was instantly flustered.

"Oh come on Maki, I can see how you look at her."

Arisa chuckled. "And we can definitely see the way she looks at you. Especially when you're walking away from her and her eyes work their way downward…"

Maki stood up suddenly. "I need to throw my bottle away, be right back!" She started moving away from the two giggling girls at a surprising pace, trying to get that mental image out of her head.

Does she really do that?! She is the lewd type but… AHH stop brain!

Taking a moment to collect herself after throwing her bottle away, Maki returned to the penguin exhibit and sat down next to the other girls.

Crossing her leg and twirling her hair in a familiar fashion, she calmed herself and redirected the conversation. "Anyway, enough about me. We were supposed to be talking about you guys and what Honoka brought up last night."

"Hey Maki," Arisa said abruptly, sounding more serious than before. "...thanks."

"For what?"

"For taking care of my sister for so long. You… you took care of her when I couldn't. No, you took care of her when I wouldn't."

Arisa locked eyes with Maki, clearly in pain. "Knowing that Eli was with you… and seeing how loyal you were to her while still trying to be loyal to Honoka as well… it really made me worry less."

"I loved her then and I still love her now, but there was no way I could be around her because of how controlling she became. Maybe I could have helped her understand, maybe I could been more understanding myself..."

"But I left Eli. I told her I wasn't her sister anymore, which was a terrible thing to do. The realist side of me knows I was justified in doing it and for being so absolute with the break, but the emotional part of me felt like I failed to help her understand my feelings for Honoka and Yukiho."

Maki put a hand on Arisa's back. "She didn't want to understand. It was her choice. She tried to control the situation, just like she tried to with Honoka and eventually me. But, if I could be allowed to defend her for just a moment…"

Maki uncrossed her leg and started rubbing Arisa's back. "She thinks about you often. She always has. Eli never talked about 'Honoka leaving' or whatever, she always said 'Arisa and them'. You were always first on her mind, no matter how you treated each other. I'm not saying she was right in what she did, but I don't believe she was ever angry at the girl named Arisa - she was upset she couldn't solve your problems for you."

Arisa sighed. "I guess that's the root of all of her problems, isn't it?"

Yukiho spoke up with a smile. "Hopefully she's working through those problems, just like everyone else is. Just like we need to…"

Arisa looked displeased. "I guess we can't avoid it any longer."

"Arisa, I'll be straightforward." Maki sat back on the bench. "Give me your best reason for not going to Tokyo. Because I'm pretty sure I can give you a better reason TO go."

Arisa looked a bit taken back by Maki's challenge, but quickly recovered. "I'll give you as many as you want. Let's start with the fact that I'm simply happy here and I don't want to go. But if you need more than that, how about this: everything that made me and my family unhappy is in Tokyo. To merge my past with my present… I can't allow them to become the same thing. I refuse to risk my happiness for a chance to reclaim friendships that apparently mattered very little to begin with."

Maki was unmoved. "So you'll hide in your happy place, just to be safe?"

Arisa was firm without yelling. "I will live in my happy place and try to make others happy because I love them! I want to be loved, is that so wrong? I want to share my love with people that matter to me, is that so wrong?"

"Not at all," Maki sat forward and got much closer to Arisa, "but you're missing something - or rather, someone."

"I have Honoka, I have Yukiho, as of late we have Ayako. Hell, we have you right now! Pray tell, what is this special reason of yours?"

"You said it yourself earlier, Arisa. You played your own trump card. I believe your exact words were 'I loved her then and I still love her now' just a few minutes ago." Maki grabbed Arisa's hand. "You can tell me I'm wrong, but I don't think you will. If you could regain a sister, if you could at least start the process of forgiving her… would you?"

"Maybe she's right, love." Yukiho was embracing her girlfriend gently from behind. "Maybe you… maybe we don't have to merge our past and present. Maybe we can just connect them. We don't have to force things. What's wrong with the possibilities?"

Arisa felt a single tear making its way down her cheek. "I'm scared is what's wrong."

"Of what, love?"

"Of… her influence… of the others affecting us… making us want to go back, to abandon what we have here"

Yukiho's hand gently grabbed Arisa's chin and moved it towards her own face. "Do you really think any one girl is going to come between me and you? I don't care how bossy she is, how much she thinks she can affect you, or what language she speaks."

Yukiho squeezed Arisa's chin. "I'm going to win. You're mine. I'm yours. Got it?"

It took a moment for Arisa to nod in agreement and by that point Yukiho was wiping the tear from Arisa's face.

"Good, I'm glad we understand each other." Yukiho let go of her girlfriend and hugged her. "We still need to think about it. But know that I will protect you from everything, and I know Honoka will as well."

Arisa thought for a moment. "If Honoka's going to protect anyone we should be sure to have a body pillow nearby… just in case."

The three girls erupted in laughter.

"Hey, how about the dolphin show?" Arisa jumped out of her seat. "Last one there sits alone on the bus!"

The three stood up and jogged towards the outdoor part of the aquarium.

And Maki let Yukiho win the race.

Later that evening

Honoka's apartment

Honoka burst through the front door.

"I'm hooooooooooooooooooome!"

"And now the entire prefecture knows, thank you." Yukiho said while washing dishes in the kitchen. "Did you bring it?"

Honoka squinted as she peeked around the corner at her sister. "I'm not sure if I want to give it to you any more with that kind of response to me coming home."

"And who just cooked your dinner?"

"The book is right here!" Honoka held up a blue bag with a new manga volume for her sister.

"Dang, you've got her whipped good, Yukiho. I need to learn from you." Maki was laying on the couch reading the third volume of Akuma no Riddle while waiting for dinner.

"You need to learn how to be a better houseguest, methinks." Honoka tossed her work apron at Maki, who batted it out of the way. "Anyway, after dinner do you want to go somewhere with me? I don't have work tomorrow so I wanna go to the 24-hour game center tonight. Yukiho isn't much into game centers and Arisa doesn't like to throw off her sleep schedule so I usually go alone."

"Sure, sounds good to me. I haven't been to a game center in ages!" Maki looked around for her purse. "I wonder if I even brought my game pass for Project Diva…"

"Vocaloid fan still, eh?" Honoka smiled. "I'm glad your tastes haven't changed. Anyway, we can catch a free taxi van from the station that runs every half hour. And if you don't have your card, I have mine. Though I don't play Project Diva nearly as much as you do, probably."

Arisa poked her head out of the bedroom. "The next time you have a Saturday or Sunday off I demand a girlfriend date there. We haven't played games together in so long. Even though I suck at most of them."

"Yes, dear. And you're quite good at some of them, you know." Honoka gave a wink and a smile.

"Whipped by two girls… Honoka, I fear for your freedom."

Maki ducked a pillow that was playfully tossed at her.

An hour later

A local game center

Honoka and Maki entered the multi-storey game center and went straight for the music games on the second floor. The first floor of the building was mostly UFO prize games with a fair number of medallion-style games. The second floor was comprised of music games, RPG games, shooters, and a few other kinds of games both girls failed to recognize.

It was around 9pm and the number of patrons in the store had begun to diminish from the usual weekend evening rush, so they were able to find a Project Diva machine that was unused. Putting their things down next to the game, they each pulled out their game cards and got change from the change machine.

"You up first, Honoka?"

"Sure, thanks. Gotta feel good about myself before you get your turn and I'm brought back down to earth." Honoka gave a wink and put a coin in the machine.

"Yeah, whatever. You're not as bad as you make yourself out to be, you know. I do beat you most of the time, but you're not that far behind me." Maki sat on the bench next to the game station.

"Hmmm…. what song to play first…" Honoka perused the song choices thoughtfully.

"Ah, here we go! I'll do Rolling Girl for my first song."

Maki raised an eyebrow. "Starting with a song by Wowaka? Feeling ambitious tonight, I see."

Honoka shrugged, pressed a few buttons, chose a level and a few other options, then got ready for the first round. The song started and she began pressing each of the four gameplay buttons in time with the song. After a few minutes and some stressful combos, Honoka finished.

"Hey, that was damn good! Okay Honkers, you've been practicing haven't you?"

"Maaaaaybe. You got me into this game, ya know. It's one of the few things that I took with me from Tokyo - my love for games. The first few times I came here I couldn't play. I didn't like what it reminded me of; no offense. It wasn't you so much as that place that it reminded me of."

Honoka sat down on the bench and Maki got up to take her turn.

"But eventually I was able to separate this game from Tokyo. It's here, in my hands. My past life was something I left behind and no matter how much something here may remind me of my past, I am here and it isn't."

Maki tapped a few of the buttons and chose her song. "Sounds like you were a little better able emotionally separate yourself into this new life of yours than your girlfriends."

"Maybe… geez, Maki. You're starting with Leia? Look, we're here to have fun, not try for carpal tunnel. Pace yourself."

"Pssshhhh." Maki got down to business and started the round. Honoka watched at the redhead moved along with the music, feeling the rhythm in her body. She hit notes with both hands, sometimes two with one hand, moving her hands rapidly across the play area in front of her. She nailed several long combos before finishing with a literal twist and a flourish, spinning in place before hitting the last note.

"Show off." Honoka stood up for her next turn.

"Somebody's gotta put you in your place, young lady. Well - actually, it looks like those two have already put you there with how whipped you sounded earlier."

"Hey, it's not being 'whipped' if it's voluntary." Honoka retrieved a water bottle from her bag and tossed it with some vigor towards Maki. "I ask a lot of those two and they give to me willingly. Others call it 'whipped' but I call it committed - it's showing them how much their feelings and actions mean to me, no matter when and where. They come first."

"Does them coming first include going against your instincts and not going back to Tokyo like you think you want to?"

Honoka stood in silence, leaning against the game machine. "I'm… not sure."

Maki took a drink from the water bottle and decided to keep quiet. There had to be a lot going on in the mind of the older girl and Maki had long since promised to listen more than she spoke during her time in town. Now was the time to put that into practice.

After a long minute Honoka spoke again. "I want to do what's best for us, but I'm also willing to let us enter into situations where we might make mistakes. Trying to circumvent your future mistakes and problems is just another form of control. There's nothing wrong with controlling certain things, especially here in the present. But… how can I say this…"

"I don't want to control my future because you never actually reach the future. When the future comes, it's not the future any more; it's the present. Instead, I want to help steer my present for a better everything - past, present, and future."

"So you won't force it?" Maki stood up and paced. "But it sounds like you think going to Tokyo is the best direction to steer your life. What happens if those girls resist again?"

"Then I'll wait until they're ready and I'll prepare to deal with the consequences." Honoka turned and put another coin in the game machine. "But I won't stand idle while either of them try to put off the inevitable. I'll keep bringing it up because I think it's important."

Honoka played another song, markedly more difficult than the last one. Maki was genuinely impressed at Honoka's improved skill at the game. She had closed the gap between the two's skill considerably in the last few months.

She chose 'Love is War' as her song.

How appropriate.

Honoka made it through the very difficult song and panting, turned to face Maki. "We can't be a secret forever. The time will come sooner or later, but we do have the chance to choose when that time is."

"Last night I started thinking about Nico and Eli and all I thought of were the happy memories we shared. Nothing was ugly or angry. And then I got thinking… what if you or Ayako or someone got mad at me for something I did and I knew it was my fault… and then what if one day they left without saying anything. How would I feel?"

Honoka rested her hands on the game console and leaned forward. "I don't regret my actions for coming here. I feel completely justified. But I don't want my happiness to cause others unhappiness. After all this time, I feel like I at least owe those girls a hug and an explanation. Not a justification, just an explanation."

Maki walked towards Honoka's side. "Then you know what you have to do. You have to convince one girl that no matter what happens in Tokyo, everything's going to be okay. That connecting your past and present isn't merging them."

Honoka sighed and raised an eyebrow. "That's… rather insightful, Maki. But probably easier said than done."

Maki laughed. "Kinda like that song you just played, that was awesome. Let me give it one more go and then let's play something else. Preferably something where I'm actually still better than you."

"You're on, little girl."

Ayako's apartment

The next morning

Maki wasn't usually one to complain about the sun intruding into her bedroom in the morning. In fact, as far as alarms went the slow seeping of sunlight through the window was fairly tame in the grand scheme of things. It's like a warm embrace rousing you from your peaceful dreams.

But what she wasn't used to was complete darkness followed suddenly by a blinding beam of light that seemed to encompass her entire being. Such was the feeling as Ayako violently thrust open the curtains to her bedroom, jolting Maki awake.

Maki groaned and grabbed her pillow to pull it over her head. "Urrrnrgnnn what are you doing, Ayako?"

"Letting light into my dungeon of dreams. Anyway, you should wake up." Ayako walked over to Maki's floor mat and tried to remove the pillow from over the younger girl's face. Maki was having none of it.

"Sleep. I want sleep." Maki said in a muffled voice through her pillow.

"And I want a sandwich, but neither of us are getting what we want now are we? It's 10am, Maki. Time to take your place among the living."

Maki released the pillow, hoping Ayako would fall over from her continued pulling. No luck. So she put her arm over her eyes and decided to continue complaining in the hopes that Ayako would give up and go away.

"I went to bed at 4. Give me a break."

Ayako tossed the pillow back at Maki. "Whose fault is that? Probably the girl that was at a game center for four hours in the middle of the night and then came home and read manga for a few hours."

Maki groaned and rolled over, realizing she wasn't going to be allowed to go back to bed. "Fine, I'm getting up. Why are you waking me up, anyway?"

Ayako grabbed a few things from the living room and started putting them away in the closet. Apparently she'd been up doing laundry this morning.

"I want to go out to lunch with you and then we're going to meet up with the other three later this afternoon. They said they wanted to chat about… stuff."

"Ah… probably that stuff…"

Ayako rubbed her neck. "Yeah… probably…"

Maki stood up, walking over to the taller girl. "I don't think you need to worry about it, Ayako. I think they're working things out on their own and doing it pretty well. At least, that's what I saw yesterday and last night from them. They seem… I think they agree, but in different ways."

Ayako looked solemn, lost in her own thoughts. Maki put a hand on her shoulder. "Ayako… you're worried they're going to leave, aren't you?"

Ayako chuckled and shook her head. "Am I really that transparent?"

Maki hugged from behind, resting her head on black hair. "Only when you're talking about people you care about. Never change that."

Maki couldn't see the immense blush running across Ayako's face at that moment, but she had an idea it was there. Ayako put a hand on the hands wrapping her from behind.

"Thanks, Maki. If you tell me not to, I won't."

"Good. Now close the window and let me go back to sleep."

"No, you're mine for the next few hours and I plan on taking advantage of that." Ayako turned around and poked her on the forehead.

"Taking advantage of a college girl? How bold." Maki winked and made her way towards the shower.

Maki… I will never be able to win a word battle with you, will I?

Three hours later

Toyano Lagoon Park

Ayako handed Maki a beer out of the convenience store plastic bag and then pulled one out for herself. The two were sitting on a blanket in a wooded area near a pond in a very large park south of the city center. It was only a 15 minute bus ride from the south side of Niigata station and was spacious enough that they could find a spot on the shade to avoid the later summer heat.

They had gone to lunch at a ramen restaurant near the station called Hamakita. Ayako was a big fan of ramen, especially tonkotsu pork broth style ramen, and this shop served this style exclusively. Maki usually went more for miso style but she didn't mind changing things up once in awhile.

After their lunch they went to the park to meet up with the downstairs trio.

"Ya know, I've been wondering." Ayako took a sip of beer from the white, black, and gold can. "I call other groups of family members by their family name, like 'the Higuchis' or 'the Suzukis' for example. But I don't know how to collectively address our three friends. I know they aren't married or anything, but I feel like we should be able to say something shorter than 'Honoka, Yukiho, and Arisa' every time. Thoughts."

Maki pondered this. "Never really thought about it, to be honest. If I'm talking about them I just say 'them' and that's all. But I guess it is a good point. What would I say if I wanted to invite them over for dinner? 'Hey, let's have those three inseparable girls from downstairs up for dinner tonight' or something like that?"

Ayako grinned devilishly. "Already planning on inviting them up to an apartment that you share with me, eh? And you said I was being bold."

Maki blushed slightly. "Stop it. I was just giving an example. Butthead."

"Hello middle school insults! Oh how I've missed thee!"

Maki swung her beer-free hand in the general direction of Ayako who managed to avoid the harmless impact. Just about this time three girls could be seen in the distance headed straight for the blanket being shared by Ayako and Maki.

"You could always ask them, you know. They're your friends." Maki took a long sip of beer. "They've probably never thought about it either."

"Nah, that would be kind of embarrassing actually. I'll just come up with something silly and attach it to them without their knowledge."

Maki smirked as the three girls approached and called out to them. "HEY LADIES! WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR MARRIED HOUSEHOLD NAME TO BE?"

Ayako nearly spilled her and Maki's beer as she launched herself towards the redhead, trying in vain to cover her mouth. Between the incredibly random question and the reaction that Ayako had given in response to said question, the three girls decided to ignore it and sit down like nothing had ever happened.

"Nice to see you two lovebirds also." Arisa greeted the two.

"We're not… love… BIRDS." Maki struggled to remove Ayako from her while responding to the blonde's statement. "I hate this strange girl, to be honest."

"Now now, Maki." Honoka said, feeling amused. "You sound just like you did when you were back in high school. And who's your best friend now?"

Maki's silence told the story as she pretended to take the world's longest sip of beer.

Everyone had a laugh at the situation and they all settled down for an afternoon of fun and joviality. Everyone had a beverage and snack of choice, sharing everything they had with each other.

Conversations ranged from general work topics, as most adult conversations tend to do, to good manga they've read lately, to the new anime season slated to start in less than a month. Yukiho was thrilled to talk about the impending second season of Citrus while Arisa was more interested in the third and final season of Hibike! Euphonium.

"Reina and Kumiko are finally going to get together, I just know it. The yuri is strong with them." Arisa looked a bit more excited than someone should over the possibility of two anime characters falling in love with each other.

Yukiho huffed at the thought. "As if KyoAni would ever go down that path. Not that I wouldn't like to see it, mind you."

"I need to get a new TV, mine is crap back in the dormitory." Maki thought about how she'd be able to afford one but couldn't figure it out.

All four girls looked suddenly more solemn.

That's right. She's going back, isn't she? I mean… I guess she has to. She has school and everything…

As if sensing the moment, Maki's phone rang with a text message. Maki took out the phone and looked at the screen.

FROM: Eli

Maki took a deep breath and opened the phone to read the message.

hey maki. I hadn't heard from you in a while and i just wanted to see if you're okay. you don't have to respond if I'm being too intrusive. but it'd be nice to hear from you. call me if you can?

Maki looked up at all four girls. They knew.

"No point in hiding it. Here, anyone want to read it?"

Maki moved the phone towards the other girls. Nobody dared take it until Ayako reached out, took the phone, and looked at the screen. She analyzed the message and then looked at the icon at the top of the screen that showed Eli's face. It was the first time she'd seen Eli's photograph.

"I have to compete with that…" Ayako said under her breath with immense feelings of self consciousness.

"What was that?" Maki tilted her head.

"Nothing, just… it seems benign enough. Maybe you should call her." Ayako gave the phone back to Maki.

Everyone sat in silence for a long time. Finally Honoka spoke up.

"You need to go back, don't you? You've been here a week. You've seen a lot and helped a lot but… you have your own life to get back to. You have people who care for you and you have people you care for. And, of course, you have school in a few weeks."

Maki sighed. "Yeah… I really should head back in a day or two. But… I don't want to. I'm happy with you guys. Thanks for that."

"Anything for Maki-chan!" Yukiho chimed in and winked. "You'd do anything for us too, I know it."

"Yeah, I would. I won't ever give you up again. I know how bad it feels to lose you."

Honoka whispered something to Arisa who looked serious for a moment and then nodded, giving Honoka a peck on the cheek. Honoka repeated the same actions to Yukiho who also thought deeply for a second and then nodded, smiling.

"Maki." Honoka turned around and grabbed something out of her bag. "I have a favor to ask of you and it would leave me in your debt if you'd do it."

Maki looked scared to accept but there was nothing else she could do. "Of course, Honoka. Ask me anything."

"Will you please deliver this letter to all seven of the other members of Muse? Only give it to all eight of you at the same time. There are eight copies of the same letter in here. It's from the three of us to the eight of you."

Maki nodded and reached out to grab the large envelope. "I'll do exactly as you say. I promise."

"I know you will. I trust you, Maki. Thank you."

Maki looked at the envelop in her hands and felt an immense amount of responsibility on her shoulders. It was intimidating.

"May I ask… generally speaking, what is the letter about?"

The three girl smiled together and Honoka spoke. "It's a letter to all of you that you can read whenever you open it. But at the end it tells you something very important."

Honoka hugged the two girls that leaned against her.

"It lists the address of the cafe where Arisa, Yukiho, and I will be waiting to meet with the rest of Muse two weeks from today."

A/N: Apologies for the long delay in this chapter. Also, thank you for the comments and PMs that have been left and sent to me. I appreciate each one.

Chapter 15 will be the end of the main story line of Triangles. When I publish the next chapter I will mark this story as "completed".

HOWEVER, I will continue writing additional storylines as they come to me. I have at least two more small story arcs I want to write with a minimum of two chapters each, but I guess they're more like an OVA in anime. Or something. I'll leave to up to you to decide.

As always, thank you for reading. Please join me one last time in a few weeks for the conclusion of this journey of three special women.