Chapter 13 – Pop Stars & Beating Hearts (Part 2)

"Thank you guys SO much! I owe you all big time!" Yui said as we stood outside of the old gym.

"Yeah, yeah. We know." I said. "Just remember what you promised out of all of this."

"*gulp* So, I really have to tell everyone?"

"Why else did we make you keep your Lyrica outfit on?"

"*sigh* Fine. A deal's a deal. Let's go."

The five of us (six, due to Jeb hiding in my schoolbag) headed inside the gym to meet with the others. And to no doubt explain why Haruka, Takane, Kei, and I were on stage with Lyrica.

"Hey, everyone." I said.

"There you guys are! You have some…WAIT, OH MY GOD! YOU BROUGHT LYRICA WITH YOU!"

"OH, MY GOD!" The fangirls of the group could not contain themselves from the excitement.

"Maybe this was a mistake…" Haruka said with a sweatdrop.

"No, it's fine. I gotta get this out eventually."

"Get what out, Lyrica?" Akari asked.

"Well, um…thank you, everyone, for coming to see me perform. But, um…I really need to get something off my chest."

"Off your chest?" Sakurako asked. "You've got a pretty big chest already."

"Seriously…" Himawari and Ariana-senpai both facepalmed.

"That's not what I meant. Look, I'll just show you what I mean." Yui then began undoing her medium-sized ponytail and fixed her hair to the hairstyle she was most commonly known for.

And once that happened, everyone that didn't know her secret before was in complete shock.

"N-No…freaking…way…" Ayano, Rukia, Rise-senpai, and Iyo-senpai said.

"Y-Yui? A-Are you really…" Akari, Sis, Himawari, Kyouko, and Ariana-senpai said.

"HO…LY CRAP! YUI FUNAMI IS FREAKING LYRICA!" And then Chinatsu, Sakurako, Tsu, and Tsukasa had completely lost it.

"S-Surprise. Hehheh." Was all Yui could say.

"Nani? you mean you girrs did not notice unnutiru now?"

"W-Wait, what?! Maddie, you knew?!" Ariana-senpai asked her childhood friend.

"The pop of the j known as Ryrica rearry rooked a rot rike the girru known as Yui. I thought you arru wourd see it rike I did. Mais je suppose que j'avais tort."

"You don't have to gloat, Maddie."

"Man! How did a foreigner figure it out before I did?!" Chinatsu whined.

That's what I want to know…

"S-So, Yui…h-how long were you…y-you know…a famous J-Pop idol?" Kyouko asked.

"W-Well…you know how I said I was busy a lot shortly after we came back from Hakone?"

"Wait, wasn't that…2 years ago?" Akari asked.

"So, you've been hiding this huge secret from all of us for the past two years?"

"Well…not all of you. Sachiko knew from the start."

"What?!"

"You mean you told a freaking OC before telling any of us official characters?!" Chinatsu yelled.

"Man! Why are all of these plot-whore OCs getting all the good stuff?!" Sakurako yelled.

"And just who the hell are you calling a plot-whore OC?" Literally every OC in the room got pissed at that statement.

"Tch! W-Well…crap."

"So, why were the four of you up with Lyri…I-I mean Yui?" Ayano asked.

"The performers that usually come along with me all got sick." Yui explained. "So, I asked Chizuru to help me out since she plays guitar. She then brought along Koyama-san, who can sing, Dezaki-san, who can play drums, and Kei, who was good with the technical stuff."

"Technical stuff? Did that include the keyboard, Kei?" Tsukasa asked.

"No, Tsukasa. I can't play the keyboard. I don't even know a thing about it."

"But I do. Pretty knowledgeable stuff, too." Jeb said as he jumped from the bag I was carrying and onto my shoulder.

"Jeb? You were up there, too?" Sis asked.

"W-Wait, huh? THIS is Jeb?" Chinatsu asked.

"The one and only." Jeb said with a bow.

"Wow. I thought you two were bullshitting about having a talking mouse live in your house for 17 years." Sakurako said.

"To think that it was actually true…" Himawari added.

"We told you so." Sis and I said.

"Well, we still got a little over an hour before the party ends." Akari said. "Let's all go back."

"U-Um, I would…but I really want to change out of this outfit already." Yui said. "I was lucky enough to come all the way here without someone recognizing me. I don't want to risk it again."

"Fair enough. We'll meet you there. Yui "Lyrica" Funami." Kyouko teased.

"D-Don't call me that!" Yui began to blush.

"Oh, I am SO calling her that." Chinatsu said.

"Me too. Not holding back, either." Akari added.

"Kn-Knock it off, you guys!"

"So sorry…Yui "Lyrica" Funami." All three said followed by a bit of laughter.

"Ugh!"

"This is what happens when you keep secrets from us…" I teased.

"You shut the hell up." Was all Yui said to me.


The party had soon ended and everyone had gone home. Well…not everyone. Himawari and I went to the local park just to enjoy the silence for a while.

And to fully explain what's been on my mind for a while.

"Hey. I'm sorry for ditching you like that earlier." I said.

"It's fine." Himawari said. "Yui needed help, after all. Still, I never would've thought you could play guitar. When was that a thing?"

"During the Nanamori days. My grandma gave it to me as a gift and I've kept it since. Though, I recently just back on it."

"I see." Himawari went silent for a bit. "Do you…like it?"

"Hmm…yeah. I really do, actually. I forgot how fun it actually is. Glad I got back on it."

"I see. So, it looks like you've finally found your passion, Chizuru."

"Huh? My passion?"

"Don't you remember back in Chapter 2? You were upset that you didn't have a passion and nothing that really made you happy."

"Oh, yeah. I did say that." I then thought about it some more. "Well, I guess I did find a passion. This Inner Struggle thing wasn't that bad at all."

"Well, compared to Akari's, Kyouko's, Ayano's, and Rise-senpai's, yours was pretty much nothing."

"Yeah, true. I never wanted this, to begin with. Well, at least the only thing that changed about me was my eye color. I think I might keep these contacts now."

"You should. Ruby red eyes make you look cute."

"C-Cute?!" I then started blushing. And soon, Himawari did the same. Realizing what she had just said.

"Y-You know what? Yeah. I-I mean it. Your new look looks cute on you, Chizuru. And I'm sure as hell not taking it back."

Hearing that only made me blush even more. But in the end, I admired how she was going through this. I just want to get this over with just as much as she does. And it looks like she's taking the lead.

"Hmph. Fine, then." I said with a smirk. "You look cute yourself, Himawari. The perfect example of a nice little girly girl."

"Girly girl, huh?" Himawari soon grew the same smirk. "Makes sense coming from the girl who wears nothing girly to begin with."

"*giggle* Yeah, I know. I dress as boyish as freaking Kei."

"Or worse, Yui in middle school."

"Ha! So freaking true!"

The two of us laughed it off for a good while before calming down and looking at each other for yet another good while. Our blushed faces getting redder as we slowly brought ourselves closer together.

"Hey, Chizuru."

"Yeah, Himawari?"

"You wanna make this as less cheesy and cliché as possible and just admit that we love each other already?"

"Fine with that. Love ya, Himawari."

"Love ya too, Chizuru."

We snuggled up against each other and gave each other our first kiss of being a couple (which was pretty much our first kiss, period). After that, we didn't really do much. Just…sat at the quiet park and stared at the night. Peacefully holding each other's hands as we enjoyed our time together. In a sweet peaceful bliss.

And…this ended up being cheesy and cliché after all.

Aw, who fucking cares anymore? I'm just glad this whole mess is finally over.

Good riddance, Inner Struggle.

Author's Note: Here it is. The last chapter of Chizuru's Lost Happiness and, officially, the end of the Inner Struggles series. I've lost interest in continuing this series and this story kinda proved it. it was a nice run while it lasted. Almost going on 2 years since Akari's Depression, which is STILL the most popular story I've written for this series. I still can't believe it, myself.

So, what's next for me? I'm…not really sure. I'm not sure if this is true or not. Or if I should truly believe this…but I think the demand for Yuru Yuri fics is dying. It's not as lively as it was nearly two years ago with Akari's Depression and I'm noticing it greatly. I mean, I want to continue writing stuff for this…but if the interest from others isn't there, then what's the point? You know what I mean?

I may come back to Yuru Yuri. Maybe I won't. It truly depends on if the demand for more stories is still existent. If not, then…well, I could always try other series.

Thanks for reading. Later.