A/N: Hey there, it's been a long time. I'm back to finally finish this story, there will be one more chapter then an epilogue after this, then this project will finally be completed. Massive thanks to Sir_Biron, who has been pushing me to make this for a while, and even went as far as to continue revising these before I publish them. Also, I will be going over all previous chapters to fix mistakes and poor grammar, hopefully by Christmas this fic will be a much smoother read from start to finish.

Anyways, if you've stuck around this long, from the depth of my heart, I thank you. All reviews are appreciated and I encourage you to leave one, whether it be positive or negative. Now, without further ado, please enjoy the newest instalment of this humble project of mine.

Chapter 12: Hauntings of the past

Dark skies accompanied by dreary snow clouds plagued the endless horizon above Sakuragaoka high school, prompting all students below to leave the school clad head to toe in weatherproof gear. Whether this gear was a rainproof jacket or a trusty umbrella, everyone had their protection from the downpour of snowflakes. That is, everyone besides one Ritsu Tainaka; who, despite what she knew was appropriate to wear in such weather, relentlessly pushed forwards through the snow in nothing but her regular school uniform. She trudged through snowy grass and concrete paths alike to reach her clubroom, her shoes filled with puddles and her blazer increasingly damp from melting snowflakes falling to rest on it. Even as she slipped time and time again, her hands reddened from scratches and scrapes and her blood turned to ice, she still continued forward.

As her feet carried her towards an unsure future, Ritsu's mind spun and lacked the direction that her physical self possessed. It was as if her mind were a racetrack and her thoughts the racers and all the racers were in the process of smashing into one another and spiralling out of control. She mentally screamed out, begging for answers to how she had gotten here; how her pleasant life had been so awfully disrupted to such a miserable extent. She painfully thought back, giving far too little attention to reality as she bowled over again and again, picking herself back up every time her feet failed her. Her mind began to spin as she mentally retraced her steps, remembering how her life had crumbled before her and her soulmate had unforgivably betrayed her, throwing her whole life into the downward spiral it was now unarguably in. The memories began to hammer her head and distort her physical senses as she recalled her existence over the past few months.

"Gah! Mio, get offa me willya!?"

"Hold on, you've got some more stuff on you."

The auburn haired girl, dressed in a neat suit that was becoming more creased by the minute, struggled and squirmed as her girlfriend, much like her own mother used to, used a questionably new handkerchief to wipe some misplaced crud off Ritsu's upper lip. In spite of Mio's best intentions, Ritsu was having absolutely none of it as she pushed Mio's invasive hands off.

"H-hmph…!" Ritsu exclaimed as she managed to finally push Mio off of her, batting the bassists' hand away once again to prevent any kind of counter attack. Mio tried once more to rid Ritsu's face of any imperfections; howbeit she was unprepared for how wriggly Ritsu turned out to be when she felt threatened. Ritsu squirmed her way out of Mio's hold and barrel rolled under the raven haired girl's legs, almost knocking her down in the process. Ritsu quickly scrambled to her feet only to be wrenched back by her frustrated girlfriend grabbing the back of her collar, sealing her fate.

"Good grief, I feel like I'm dealing with a toddler." Mio exhaled, glaring at Ritsu as she held her girlfriend up by the collar, Ritsu hung there by the neck and sheepishly crossed her arms, avoiding Mio's judgmental gaze.

"I just don't want you to start rubbing my face with a stinkin' tissue!"

"Then why don't you do it!?"

"Because there's nothing there!"

The grip on Ritsu's collar tightened as Mio's blood began to boil; she began to carry the girl to the mirror when she suddenly felt gravity bring down its might on her hand as Ritsu went completely limp in protest. Mio fought back the urge to clobber her irritating girlfriend and dragged her to the mirror, further dirtying Ritsu's suit along the way.

Ritsu was eventually dropped in front of the mirror where she was expected to see the error of her ways and tidy herself up. However, in stubborn rebellion, she kept her eyes shut. This was until Mio finally gave into her primal urges and smacked Ritsu on the back of the head. The shorter girl winced in pain and looked up at herself, seeing that, as Mio had priorly established, there was a sizeable crumb on her upper lip. She turned her head away from the mirror and embarrassedly wiped away the crumb with her sleeve, finally making her ready for the date.

Without warning, she felt two soft arms hook themselves under her shoulders and pull her up to her feet. The warm arms softened her sulking heart as Mio spun her around to make them face to face. Ritsu stood there with a blank inquisitive expression as Mio cupped her face and scanned it for anything else worthy of purging before they headed out for the night. A few seconds seemingly dragged on into hours as Ritsu stood there, innocently staring into Mio's determined eyes as they scanned her for any more stains. Once she was content that Ritsu was clean, Mio let go of Ritsu's face, turned her own to the side and let out a small sigh of relief.

"There, that wasn't so hard now was it?" Mio rhetorically asked the girl in question. Ritsu did not humour her however, as she stood there looking completely enchanted, struggling to comprehend the unspoken warmth and sense of security one acquires from having two arms pull wrap around her in such a hug like fashion. Ritsu was always weak to genuine hugs and Mio may have just found a new weak spot.

When she didn't receive a reply, Mio turned around and looked Ritsu in her big amber eyes. The amber eyed girl stared straight through her, still lost exploring a new world of unknown wondrous joy. Mio giggled slightly at the sight, the drummer was always so over the top and rude that seeing this kind of reaction to Mio's own actions was amusing yet also moving in a few smaller ways. Mio smiled at the thought that behind all of Ritsu's immaturity and fidgeting, Mio nevertheless wielded grand influence over her and was able to bring out Ritsu's calmer, softer side. Although she would've enjoyed dwelling on the topic more, time was running short and the reservation at the restaurant had to be met lest the evening be ruined. She buried her giggles and slyly entangled her fingers with Ritsu's own.

"C'mon Ritsu, let's go," Mio coyly beckoned her, tugging on her hand as she edged closer to the door. Ritsu snapped out of her daze and looked to one side; embarrassed and excited by her new discovery, yet sheepishly smiling all the way. Her grip on Mio's hand tightened in nervous anxiety as she made mental notes to get Mio to lift her up again later, staring into space all the while.

Taking the opportunity at hand, Mio took one last look at herself through the mirror propped up in her room. She was wearing a long blue formal dress accompanied by high heels and topped off with earrings and painted nails. She wasn't ever one to dress up outside of New Years; but her commitment to Ritsu made every date as important as New Year's, so she put in the effort to look nice for every date. Ritsu surprised the bassist with her willingness to wear a suit, unspokenly mirroring Mio's own sense of importance around their dates.

Sometimes, despite the fact that on every date Ritsu wore the physical pants, Mio felt like she was the adult in the relationship. She felt like she had to take care of Ritsu, from sometimes dressing her to wiping the crumbs off of her face. Not that it was a complaint necessarily, as Mio's motherly instincts grasped at any opportunity to express themselves; but sometimes she wished a bit of maturity would come out of the energetic auburn haired girl.

Still, she continued her way through the doorway and out of the main door to her house, waving off her parents while half dragging an absent minded Ritsu along the way. Eventually Ritsu's senses came back and she returned to her persistent self. She was in every capacity her previous self but whenever she fell over she begged Mio to pick her back up again. Mio albeit didn't mind as, as previously noted, she very much enjoyed Ritsu seeking things from her; it gave her a sense of importance that only she could provoke these reactions out of the Ritsu.

However, the same could not be said for Mio's reactions to Ritsu.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Yui-chan?"

"The usual please, Mugi-chan!"

Yui graciously bowed her head in thanks as she accepted the tea so kindly poured for her by her half Finnish friend, she gave the blonde a warm smile before bowing her head once again to take a sip of the boiling European delicacy. Without regard to her common sense though, the dim-witted brunette failed to link the warm steam radiating off of the liquid to the temperature of the drink itself, which led to the girl taking a sip unbearable for such a hot drink. She immediately jolted at the heat flooding her mouth and spat it out to one side. Unfortunately a particular Azusa Nakano happened to be sitting to that side and was sprayed with Mugi's upper class tea.

"Gah! Yui-senpai!" the twin tailed guitarist yelled at her senior in angry frustration. She brought her eyes up and saw Yui caressing her burnt tongue and decided that not being able to taste treats properly was punishment enough for the ditsy klutz. Feeling satisfied with her decision to leave her senpai to her own devices, she turned her attention back to the room around her. Mugi had by now noticed Yui's distress and was gathering some water from the nearby water fountain to soothe her burned tongue. Her attention was then brought to two idling teacups facing the next pair of seats from her. The two individuals whom the tea had been poured for, were absent without explanation. Neither one of the two had called in advance to say they were not coming to the club room for the day, which implied whatever they were doing they deemed to be too urgent or important to readily explain beforehand.

Nevertheless, this did not satisfy Azusa's worries about the pair.

Mio and Ritsu had been dating for a few months now. The two lovebirds had been inseparable, seemingly never taking their hands off one another; whenever they did their feet were always resting on each other. It seemed that if they were to break their physical bond within the presence of their friends, the whole world; nay reality itself, would become undone, such is the only rational explanation for the over the top attitude the two high school seniors took to their physical intimacy.

So, why are they absent? Azusa thought to herself. Surely it had something to do with their relationship, without a doubt so. The real question was whether it was a good occurrence within their relationship or a bad one. While Azusa would've loved to believe their absence could be because of a surprise last minute date, a sudden hasty decision to go have a romantic dinner without factoring in consequences (which further explained neither one calling in ahead of time), Azusa knew this to be the unlikely answer to her mental inquiry.

The invisible hand gripping her heart tightened as she ran through the lists of possibilities. Perhaps an argument, a fight, maybe even a physical fight?

Her heartbeat picked up as she tried to control her breathing; by now her other two elders had noticed her unusual behaviour.

"What's wrong, Azu-Nyan?" Yui gently asked her, resting her hand on the girl's shoulder. Azusa's vision remained focused directly in front of her, a symptom of deep thought; yet her heart pace steadied at the physical touch. The sense of calm was short lived however; as she practically jumped out of her seat and rushed out of the door, leaving Mugi and Yui confused and worried at her erratic actions. Azusa moved at a rushed pace from the doorway to the top of the stairs; but as she was about to descend down them, she heard two clear voices below her.

"Whaddya mean I'm making you 'uncomfortable, we're dating aren't we!?"

"We are… And I'm happy that we are…"

There was an uncertain pause.

"But I think for some reason… I'm feeling less attracted to you."

"Who knew that your love for me was on a timer!?"

"Ritsu, it's not like that."

Azusa heard someone fall to the floor.

"I did this, I overdid it didn't I?"

"I don't know for sure, but that would be my guess."

A sniffle echoed from below, followed by the sound of someone helping themselves to their feet. There was another awkward pause before Azusa heard Ritsu take an assertive breath and then speak.

"Well from now on I'll take a step back then, in fact I'll…"

Another unsure pause almost pushed Azusa into intervening between the two.

"…I'll miss y-you…"

Azusa tensed up as Ritsu's voice cracked at the end. She quietly took a few steps down the staircase and looked down at her the two apparent lovers. Ritsu had her head meekly nestled in Mio's right shoulder as she was reassuringly hugged by the bassist. Mio had a solemn look plastered on her face as she patted her girlfriend's back. The bassist looked uncompromising, like she was going through an inner turmoil masqueraded as a poker face. The two stood there for a minute or so until Mio gently pushed Ritsu off, prying off the auburn haired girls arms gently yet coldly. The two stood there as Ritsu sniffled a few more times, shame burning in the form of reddened cheeks and regret flooding through her mind,; the previous conversation digging up her longstanding fears of her own misplacement in Mio's life. She choked down a sob and turned away from her girlfriend; her confidence in herself shaken and her confidence in their relationship deeply uprooted. Ritsu took a series of deep breathes and turned back around, ready to win Mio back by any means necessary.

Unfortunately, Mio had already gone without a word; and all Azusa could do was stare sympathetically, wishing the best for her downtrodden senpai.

Pleasant chimes rattled through the west borough of the town shopping centre as the door to one of the many small café's swung shut, leaving Ritsu Tainaka outside in the chilly atmosphere the winter season brought with it. She waved one last goodbye to the employees inside and began her trek through the shopping centre; determined to find meaning in the busy, bustling hub of activity. She passed from store to store, stopping every now and then to search to see whether the store was hiring part time employees. Getting a job was something Ritsu was more than willing to do, although it was the circumstances of this job hunt that irked her just slightly.

She used to spend her weekends with her beloved girlfriend; going on dates, adventures and anything that strengthened their intimate bond. Ritsu would often be the one to organize such things, although her management skills were haphazard at best; so for a time Mio got involved with organizing. Mio had a fantastic sense of romance and would organize the most magical dates for the two to go on, whether it be a simple dinner out at a restaurant she handpicked or even a small holiday. Despite this, as time further progressed, Mio's enthusiasm for their dates weakened, leaving Ritsu as the sole guardian of their date nights. Because of this, Ritsu found herself more often than not finding that she alone was creating all of the plans, as Mio chose more often than not to participate rather than contribute. Often she wondered if she were to abruptly stop organizing and let the weekends and school holidays roll by; whether Mio would pick up the slack and begin organizing, or simply let their schedule die.

Recently, to her dismay, Ritsu had found her answer. As of four weeks prior, Mio had requested for them to spend less time together. Ritsu had begrudgingly agreed, so she tried out a little experiment to test her already rattled faith. Right after Mio announced this, Ritsu stopped organizing altogether. The results troubled her deeply, as Mio had not offered for them to spend some time together outside of school grounds at all since then. Ritsu had, out of desperation, jeopardized the experiment by asking Mio out on a date planned for this current day. Fortunately for the experiment, but unfortunately for Ritsu's social well-being; Mio had declined, claiming she was busy.

Busy with what exactly? It was a question Ritsu refused to directly confront, lest it make a bad situation even worse than it already was. She had her doubts, although she trusted Mio beyond the extent her gut told her to. She had unwavering faith in her childhood friend, she would not waver; she had caused this breakdown in their contact by overdoing it and now she deserved to suffer the consequences. Mio most likely was busy; perhaps she made a new schedule for her weekends.

But would that not mean that she's going to be busy every weekend?

Ritsu's face hardened as she realized that this break may be longer than she anticipated, maybe this was the new normal. A few brief talks in school and maybe holding hands between lessons,; down from long days spent at each other's homes and holidays together. It was a shift Ritsu hated, she despised it; but she despised herself more for bringing it upon herself. She would make amends, and she would give Mio enough space to recover.

She waved away any further thoughts on the topic as her heart began to sink, she quickened her pace to almost escape the realization she refused to let dawn on her. It was her own fault; she had brought it upon herself. This was what she believed above all else.

This was until she saw something she was not meant to.

The Auburn haired girl stopped in her tracks, her thoughts were dispersed in a way she could've never hoped to achieve herself. Both her mind and heart froze at the sight that lay before her. She took some idle steps towards what she saw, unbelieving in the reality that she witnessed ahead. Perhaps she was mistaken, going crazy even? No, what she saw was the ultimate truth, an exercise in the duality of man.

The sound of distant cars making late night journeys drifted in and out of Mio's hearing range. From time to time she heard the commotion from one of the many suburban homes that reached from start to finish down the street. Along this street there was a junction to an old local park; one she and her best friend had spent their earlier years together in, playing and bonding together. Of course it had been a long while since she and Ritsu had last been in the park together; it was pleasing to know that her old best friend remembered a place so integral and special to their relationship as friends and as lovers. She opened the door to the fence around the play park and walked in, smiling at the memories the area brought back to her. Nevertheless, there would be time for remembrance later, so she took a wandering gaze around to find the person she had been scheduled to meet.

Ritsu stood just beside the far corner of park, cloaked in a dark hoodie and jeans, looking much like a loitering troublemaker. Mio always liked that Ritsu gave off those vibes; she respected it, as she would've much preferred them to the timid ladylike vibes she herself gave off. Ritsu was strong willed and independent, although she had a softer side at her core, and a real weakness when she doubted in others faith in her.

Mio approached her girlfriend and gave her a small smile along with a friendly wave. She had not been seeing a lot of Ritsu recently. Although this was her plan, she still missed her companion. Ritsu however, did not wave back; instead she looked up at Mio with a quivering lip and tears tugging at the corners of her eyes.

Shit.

Ritsu, not even attempting to compose herself properly, began to speak. In a small voice she let out, "M-Mio… Who was that you were w-with?"

Mio's heart froze.

"I-I saw you two t-together…"

Pain filled eyes stared expectantly at Mio, unwavering even as the host broke down. Ritsu lifted her sleeves up to wipe away the tears rolling down her cheek as she quietly sniffled. Her fragile heart felt as if an unknown assailant were gripping it with full force, squeezing her hope from her one heartbeat at a time. She looked pleadingly at her girlfriend. She didn't want it to be true, she didn't want to have been used; she didn't want to have seen Mio holding hands with another girl, blushing and smiling all the way like she had with the drummer all those weeks ago. The thought alone tore her to pieces, and seeing Mio here, knowing damn well what her answer would be, was the finishing blow.

"R-Ritsu…" Mio stammered out, unsure of what to say for she did not have an explanation, not even a defence she herself could justify. As this fact dawned on Ritsu, hurt turned to anger.

"H-how could you cheat on me!? W-w-with someone you told me you weren't I-..." The thought of Mio being romantically interested in someone else was like a punch in the gut for her, "I-interested in!?"

Again, Mio did not have an answer.

"You better have a good goddamn explanation!" Ritsu yelled at her, taking a few bolder steps forwards, anger boiling up inside of her. Mio had told her suspicious companion that she was not attracted to Akar Ichiimada in the slightest and that Ritsu was her only soulmate. Akar was another student Mio had grown close to very recently very quickly; she had swept Mio up almost as soon as she had arrived. The amber eyed girl was left in the dust of this sweep up; not realizing until now the correlation between this sudden massive increase in time Akar spent with Mio and Mio asking to see her less. Akar was very much like Ritsu in many ways, but in others she was notably different. She shared Ritsu's loud tomboyish personality; she enjoyed messing around with her friends and over-exaggerated skits. Yet she lacked Ritsu's cooking skills, but was able to make up for it with her ability to charm others into doing cooking for her. If one were to look at them both comparably, Akar was Ritsu but scrawnier, louder, more interesting and yet somehow managed to be more compassionate and soft on the inside.

She was, in Ritsu's mind, just herself but better.

This worried her deeply, deeper than any directly spoken threat ever could. At first, Ritsu thought nothing of their growing friendship; she thought it would be healthy for Mio to have friends alongside her lover. The naïve Drummer had so gravely been misguided by her own moral standards that she had not protected her catch, and now she had lost it.

Mio took a few short breathes and shrunk back away from Ritsu, fearing for her own safety. She had not intended to do everything she had done; first Akar was a friend, then a close friend, then a very close friend. She had never wanted to be romantically intimate with her newfound friend; she was just powerless to resist such things. Perhaps if she had stood firmer against her perceived charm and irresistibility to the newcomer, then Ritsu's feelings and wellbeing could've been spared.

"I… I never wanted it to be this way," She struggled to catch her breath between speaking, "I-i… It just happened…"

Mio found her own excuses pathetic.

"I was just being nice, just being a good pal, y'know!?" She tried to laugh it off; it was the only thing that could keep her composure. She prayed to every deity she could think of that Ritsu would laugh too. Despite Mio's best efforts, Ritsu remained unamused. The amber eyed girl was no longer quivering in sadness, but in anger, her heart lurched for justice, as did her gut. She continued onward towards Mio, forcing the other to continually back up to avoid being practically rammed by the former.

"You told me we couldn't date anymore," Ritsu spat, venom dripping from her every word. Injustice to such an extent could turn people into something they are not and the fallout of such feelings would be even more detrimental. Nevertheless, Mio refused to run away, for fear that Ritsu would tear her limb from limb if she couldn't satisfy the increasingly frustrated high schooler opposite to hers.

"You told me you couldn't date me anymore because you discovered you were straight," Ritsu choked out, fresh tears welling at the memory. She remembered Mio's indifference to the breakup. She said it was natural, she had simply been mistaken; she told her that if Ritsu were a boy she would've continued to date her. A small part of the auburn haired girl always suspected that it was a ruse, a cover for her new companion. However she believed it, it was simply so unbelievable that it became truth for it proved nothing was impossible. She brought up her balled fists to angrily wipe away the salty droplets; still more came, blinding her vision, increasing her need for vengeance. She wanted to see Mio squirm; not like she had beforehand, when it was an exercise of their bond. No, she wanted to see Mio fidget as she dug herself a hole, as she was confronted with telling such abhorrent untruths.

She wanted Mio to experience the same pain she felt, right down to her shattered core.

Ritsu continued forward as the two backed up further into the park, almost tripping on various pieces of park equipment along the way. She continued to throw all too accurate accusations at Mio, unrelenting in bringing up even the most obscure memories to add to the pile of wreckage that was Mio's excuses for the breakup. Ritsu began to thrash her arms around as she became angrier and angrier, the weight of all Mio's past excuses weighing down her heavy heart and driving power into her bloodlust.

As time marched onwards and Ritsu grew more impatient, Mio finally felt a spark of resistance flair up inside of her. She searched for whatever wrongs Ritsu had done to her and weaponised them; potentially in justification of her disloyalty and partly in retaliation to the unusual spitefulness of the shorter girl's current state.

"W-well…" Mio gulped in fear, trying to swing her attention to formulating sentences rather than making sure she didn't back up into a ditch or road. She had little success, but managed to spur out whatever came to mind.

"I-i…" Mio let the injustice of Ritsu's actions light a flame of vengeance inside of her, "I-I was running crying to Mugi every week because of something you did, do you think I could've stayed loyal with such a torturous relationship!?"

Ritsu's anger died down a notch at hearing Mio's pain. She knew Mio had been upset at times, but never guessed it had been as often as once a week she sought her therapist friend. Such a revelation brought fresh tears of guilt tot her eyes,; but she used that guilt to heighten her anger, remembering the agony that comes with knowing that this would be the end of her perfect supposed-to-be lifelong relationship with her one and only. It was all Mio's fault for knowingly cheating.

"That's still no excuse for c-cheating on me!" Ritsu choked up at mentioning the vile act, mentioning it verbally brought out a new flurry of memories. All pleasant and happy, such memories filled her with grief that she would never be able to go back to them; and even worse so that perhaps she wasn't Mio's soulmate, even if she were hers. Such thoughts brought crushing regret and remorse over the tremendous time and energy of her best friend she had wasted on her. The amber eyed girl felt chains pull down on her heart, attempting to drag her away from the current situation; to leave Mio to live her life with those she actually loved, rather than with someone she cared for so little that she would rather cheat on her than have a heart to heart.

With every sentence spoke, the resolve of each girl took another nail to the coffin.

"I simply did what you would've done," A resolute frown found its way onto Mio's face, accompanied with her quivering lips and teary eyes it didn't look so menacing, but the frown alone struck fear into Ritsu that she no longer had the moral high ground.

"Don't think I haven't seen you with Yui before," Mio exclaimed, unable to express her deep buried concerns in any way other than an explosive shout to overcome the uncertainty that came with those suspicions.

"E-eh?" Ritsu's look retained its sadness, but now confusion visibly accompanied it.

"I see you're too dense to realize your own attraction, and to see that same attraction returned," Mio murmured, her eyes closed and lips steady; feeling emboldened from the intellectual high ground she now took. However, this was short lived as flames once again flared up inside the shorter girl; the insult piercing her fragile big front ego more than before, as now she lacked the usual safety of friendship to soften its effect.

"Why do you always say I'm not smart!?" Ritsu hissed through clenched teeth, the effects of the insult spurring spiraling pain to sensor ping throughout her soul. She took it both to mean that she was less than both Mio and Akar in terms of intelligence; therefore unworthy of such a relationship with Mio, that Mio held this longstanding opinion that Ritsu was genuinely stupid or thick. Both tore the poor girl to shreds inside. Despite the heightened tensions, Mio took the rapidly closing window of opportunity to explain herself.

"On top of that, you're always bringing me down. Sometimes I get up in a good mood and then you scare me or anger me, then I'm feeling down for the rest of the day."

"But you liked that, you always used to hit me as payback!"

"Think Ritsu, I haven't done that in a long time."

Ritsu thought back to her irregular playfulness around her lover. At times she would scare her; at times she would tease her or jokingly insult her. However, now that she remembered them with a new lens. She saw that Mio had indeed stopped hitting her, although her long buried conclusion at the time was that her soul-mate cared for her too much to hit her anymore; rather than the more obvious reason: apathy. Instead now Ritsu would place a reassuring gentle arm around Mio to reassure the girl that all was fine, most of the time Ritsu was too sucked up in the role of caring for her frightened girlfriend that she neglected to see the girl's true feelings both inwards and outwards. The implication that the hugs and reassuring words had little effect was ringing truer and truer every second longer she thought about it. Her previously misplaced sense of being able to right her wrongs with a simple hug pushed guilt further into her subconscious, edging her closer and closer to a breakdown there in the park. Nevertheless, she was able to harness her guilt into anger once again and went on the offensive.

"But you only stopped doing that once Akar Transferred!"

A realization pulsed through Mio as she realized Ritsu was correct. A soft blush crept onto her face as she realized just how far in the wrong she was. She had not intended to sacrifice the special things that defined the personal world that she and Ritsu shared; she instead had let Akar's influence subconsciously sway her feelings towards her girlfriend, leaving all of those special things feeling awkward and subpar to the time she could be spending with Akar.

But she remained confident in Ritsu's abuse of her wellbeing. Too many nights did she cry herself to sleep over the rudeness Ritsu put upon her. Of course it was not the run of the mill insult that got to her, but the combination of them all, and the sincerity of some. Even worse were the insults and cold comments Mio experienced from her girlfriend whenever they were going through a rough patch. Mio, more often than not; felt herself feel more insecure and imperfect at Ritsu's mean comments, even if she were hugged after them. Ritsu simply didn't understand what sort of thoughts and implications her elevated levels of "banter" and rare coldness left Mio with.

As Mio attempted and failed to splutter out an explanation, Ritsu's anger boiled. Mio felt as if she were physically tongue tied as Ritsu grew bigger and scarier; the scene reminded her of her own grade school interpretation of the eldest Tainaka student. Mio's terror grew as Ritsu steamrolled forwards, shouting angrily all sorts of obscenities that washed over the taller girl's panicked state. Fearing for more than just her dignity at the hand, she let her primal instincts take over; she stopped and stood her ground. Just before the raging auburn haired girl in front of her collided with her, she did something she never thought she would, and something that she would live to regret for the rest of her days.

Ritsu's hairband tumbled to the ground, the impact of Mio's fist dethatching it from the amber eyed girl's head in the process. For a few split seconds, nothing moved. Not even the happy chirp of the evening birds could be heard as both girls quivered, one from quickly dawning overwhelming pain and the other from fear of consequence. A deafening silence took centre stage as the world lay still.

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air, shattering Mio's fragile state and making her shiver in horror.

Ritsu tumbled to the floor, making a loud thud as she collided with the rough cold stone pathway. She threw her hand up to her head and grabbed the impact zone of Mio's aggression, finding blood trickling down from her head to her now red tinted bangs and along the sides of her neck. Ritsu had been hit many times before by her girlfriend, but always on the thick of her head, never as anything that could move her to sobbing pain. And yet here she was, sharp stinging resonating through her head and awakening her pain receptors, tears rushed down her face in uneven streams as she attempted to dig her hands into her aching head to rip out the thunder of the hit that was causing her unbearable pain. Nightmarish screams and sobs echoed throughout the park as she fell to the floor in torment, curling up into a ball and violently kicking at the air in a fruitless attempt to expel the damage. She thrashed around in agony, generating both subconscious remorse and guilt from the girl still standing in front of her.

Mio brought her hand back up, looking at the foreign object sprouting out of her wrist that was causing the one she loved so much pain, she saw a splotch of blood on the end of this object. At this Mio felt herself freeze up, unable to process what she had done and the consequences that lay before her, to mentally admit to what irreversible damage she had now done to her assured lifelong relationship with her soulmate. Thoughts slowly trickled down into her conscious as she took another look at the sobbing girl that lay before her. The image refused to register itself in her mind; she stayed oblivious to the situation at hand, writing off reality as a mere figment of her nightmares. Her eyes twitched and her chest tightened at hearing the smaller girl beg her name, over and over again like a broken screeching record. Mio's subconscious fought hard as she paced to absentmindedly pick up the fallen headband, then once retrieved she continued on her way, leaving the park and its horrific screams, behind.

She kept on walking until she could hear no more, not even the whirr of nearby cars disturbed the newfound peace in the air around her. She breathed heavily, fighting an exhausting mental war to keep her from processing the event that took place only a few minutes prior. She entered her house without giving her parents her usual greetings and locked herself in her room. Only then did she sink to the floor, finally letting the repressed tears flow freely down her face, stinging her eyes and her soul. She held the headband close to her heart, promising she would treasure the item that now represented all that was lost between her and her knight in shining armour. She had not only betrayed the loveable companion's trust; but had left her to rot in that playground, ignoring her tearful pleas for help and consolidation. Mio wished she could take back everything and travel back in time to scoop up her girlfriend from the floor and apologize, apologize for all the wrongs she had knowingly committed. Apologize for striking the girl in such a way that she wouldn't wish upon her worst enemies. Apologize for not returning the 12 hugs a day minimum that Ritsu gave her. But it was too late, Mio understood that Ritsu was most likely gone now, and no amount of babbling apologies however sincere could bring her back to her side ever again.

Eventually, after finally coming to the half-hearted conclusion that what was done was done, the bassist's mind was laid to rest and she drifted to sleep lying against her door. She laid unmoved from the position she had assumed once she had returned home, clinging to the yellow hairthing all the while.

Ritsu's flurry of thoughts and memories was brought to an abrupt end as she tripped over the stairs leading to the final floor of Sakuragaoka high, landing with her chin taking the full impact of the floor. Blood began to ooze out of her mouth and her vision began to give way again as she cast her eyes down and saw the now disregarded tooth lying on the ground below her. She knew she wasn't built to endure so many missteps, in her climb to the clubroom she had tripped so many times that she worried whether she would die from blood loss before she reached her destination. She thought back to all the times Yui had put up with her,; all the times Yui, the loveable airhead, had jeopardized her own happy existence to try to shine a light onto the drummer's own miserable life.

However, how had Ritsu treated the guitarist in return? Constant doubts, showing a lingering interest in Mio, practically the same thing her recently reconciled best friend did to her, save the final traumatic blow. She had abused Yui's goodwill, sucking the beautiful warm life out of the brown haired girl and leaving her a suicidal husk of sadness and despair. How Ritsu was able to crush whoever sought to her good, she decided was a thought chain for another day. Even so, she knew she had wrongs to amend, and her dedication to setting the world right pushed her to the top of the staircase.

Suddenly the door to the music room smashed open, its hinges disconnected and its glass shattered, the door now lay on the floor, and on top of it laid one high school student, who had quite literally been through hell and back, only to find herself at the pinnacle of her constant tribulation of an existence. Ritsu pushed herself off the ground, her legs shaking and arms faltering, she firmly stood tall above the formerly locked shattered door.

It took Ritsu a few seconds to register what was happening around her, the sudden shift of running to slamming a door down to standing idly still was too much for the poor girls' brain to comprehend at such short notice. She absentmindedly stared as her clouded vision began to evaporate and her sight slowly returned to her. A hunk of metallic blood left her mouth and splattered on the floor to the right of her, seeping in-between the cracks in the floorboard.

Ritsu raised a hand, splayed her fingers and reached out for the girl in front of her.