"Hmm... you seem down."
"Huh?"
"You don't seem like yourself. Is something on your mind?"
"I... I just... miss Michiru..."
"Oh. Can't you visit her?"
"No. She's too busy."
Yachiyo wasn't the only one who was having problems with the distance. Shiori seemed to be struggling a lot too now. Yachiyo guessed Mei Fan might be feeling that way too.
Unfortunately it wasn't like there was much they could do to help. If Michiru was too busy, there was nothing else to do about it. It sucked.
"Well, there's really not much I can help you with." Yachiyo sighed.
"It's okay. Um... onee-chan invited me over for the weekend again. Do you um... maybe wanna come over too? I haven't gotten to ask Mei Fan yet."
Yachiyo shrugged, "Sure. Why not. Haven't seen any of them in ages either."
"Okay!" Shiori smiled.
At least that seemed to cheer her up a bit. It probably would do her well to see Fumi too. It may not be the same as seeing Michiru, but it was good enough for now.
Yachiyo wouldn't lie and say they weren't interested in seeing what the five Rinmeikan girls were getting up to as adults.
When the weekend arrived, the three of them found themselves at the house. Shiori had a spare key, so she let them all in.
"Hey, Shiori! You made it!" Ichie greeted them at the door.
"Ah. Ichie. It's nice to see you again." Shiori greeted her.
"And Yachiyo and Mei Fan!" Ichie smiled at the other two, "Welcome! Come in!"
Ichie seemed very excited to see them all, if the way she was bouncing around was any indication. She led them into the living room.
"You made it." Rui and Yuyuko were there.
Yuyuko was sleeping on Rui's lap. It seemed not much had changed since she graduated.
Yuyuko didn't stir despite the noise Ichie was making. She was probably used to it by now, so it didn't bother her.
"Hi." Shiori smiled at her, "Where are onee-chan and Tamao?"
"Went out shopping." Rui replied, "Wanted to make something for dinner but realized we don't have the ingredients for it."
"Oh. Well, I guess we can talk until they get back. I brought Yachiyo and Mei Fan along too." Shiori said.
"Come take a seat!" Ichie plopped herself down beside Rui.
The three students went ahead and found a place to sit. Shiori sat in the middle, Mei Fan and Yachiyo choosing a side.
"So, how's school going?" Ichie started the conversation.
"It's just busy." Shiori replied.
"Yeah... and there's some drama..." Yachiyo sighed, "Stupid rumors about something..."
"Is it about one of you guys?" Rui asked.
"No. It's about the school itself." Yachiyo replied.
"Rumors are always chaos." Ichie stated.
Rui gave her a side look. Ichie pouted at her.
"I'm guessing that means Ichie has done something with rumors before." Mei Fan commented.
"Yes. She has." Rui nodded.
"Don't tell them, Rui. Please?" Ichie begged.
"Fine."
"Thank you!"
"I don't know if that makes me more concerned or not." Shiori mumbled.
"Anyway, what are you guys doing now since you've graduated?" Yachiyo changed the subject.
"I'm an idol!" Ichie said very enthusiasticly.
"Expected."
"I compete in Kendo professionally." Rui said, "And Yukko is a freelance worker. She does whatever she wants."
"Tamao is taking over her family's business, right?" Mei Fan questioned.
"Yep." Ichie nodded, "And Fumi is gonna be co-owner."
"That's cool." Shiori said.
"What are you guys thinking for jobs?" Rui asked.
"I wanna do outfit commissions." Yachiyo stated.
"That sounds really fun!" Ichie replied.
"I'm not sure yet... I kinda want to do something like martial arts." Mei Fan said.
"What about you, Shiori?"
"I don't know." Shiori shrugged, "I haven't found anything that really stands out to me yet."
"You have time." Ichie reassured her.
"Not that much time..." Shiori mumbled.
Mei Fan patted her on the head, "You'll figure it out, Shiori."
"I hope so..."
They continued to talk for a while, until Fumi and Tamao returned. They greeted the visitors and went to put away the groceries. Once that was done, they joined everyone in the living room.
"When did you arrive?" Fumi asked.
"About an hour ago."
"Well, it's good to see you all again."
"Yeah. It's been a while."
They continued to talk. There seemed to be a lot of things to discuss today. Shiori was mainly doing the talking. Yachiyo and Mei Fan just sat there and followed along. It did feel a bit awkward, like they were intruding.
"Mmm... what's with all the noise?" Yuyuko finally stirred.
"We have visitors. You were told about this already." Rui stated, playfully flicking Yuyuko on the head.
"Oh. It's that time already?" Yuyuko sat up and stretched, though she was still somewhat leaning onto Rui.
"They've been here for am hour already, Yukko." Rui told her.
"Eh? Then why didn't you wake me, Rui." Yuyuko frowned.
"You're a heavy sleeper. Nothing can wake you half the time." Ichie commented as she launched herself onto Yuyuko's back and hugged her.
"What time it is?" Yuyyko asked as she struggled out of Ichie's hug to sit up properly.
"Noon."
"Already?"
"Yes."
"Ooh! We should have lunch together then!" Ichie stated.
"We don't really have much for lunch." Tamao said.
"And besides, we'll just make an early dinner." Fumi added.
"Aw... fine." Ichie pouted.
"So... what's there to still talk about?"
"Anything interesting going on at school?" Tamao asked the three visitors.
"We're doing a play we wrote!" Shiori stated happily.
"Oh? How is that going?" Fumi asked.
"It's difficult. I think it's because the two new edels aren't quite in sync with how we do things yet." Yachiyo said.
"How is it going with them? Any problems?"
"No. They're both really nice and very cooperative. If there's been disagreements they're very willing to talk it over instead of immediately yelling."
"That's good."
"How is everything going with your girlfriends?" Rui asked.
"Well... it's been busy for both of them. Michiru hasn't really had much time to call recently..." Shiori frowned.
"Yeah. Work is tough." Mei Fan nodded.
"It's been a month since we've talked..." Yachiyo mumbled quietly.
"Akira is that busy?"
"Yeah... she doesn't get much free time."
"That must suck for both of you."
"It does."
"Hopefully soon things will settle down."
"Oh yeah, they mentioned looking for houses now." Mei Fan said, "So they may be moving soon too."
"Finally getting out on their own then."
"Seems like it."
"What are your plans for when you graduate?"
"I'll be moving in with Akira. Or if they're still at Michiru's parents' home, then I'll go there." Yachiyo stated.
"Right... you are on your own..."
It was not a topic Yachiyo liked to discuss very much. It was always a painful reminder of everything they lost. It was never fun remembering their family hated them. Unfortunately there was nothing they could do about it.
"My parents want me to go home for a while. They've been supportive of me here, but I feel like they want me to go back and not return. It's hard..."
Mei Fan was having some issues. She knew it was hard for her family to not have her around. But she had a life here now. She didn't want to give that up. She also didn't want to hurt her family. It was tough to try and get to a compromise.
She couldn't visit too often. That would just be too much strain on her. But her family really wanted her to see them as much as possible. And that meant in person. Over the phone wasn't enough for them.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"I hope so..." Mei Fan sighed.
"Have you figured anything out yet, Shiori?"
Shiori shook her head, "No. I'm not sure yet."
"You have some more time."
"Yeah..."
"Well, how about we try and find a movie to watch to pass the time?"
"Who gets to pick the movie?" Ichie asked.
"Why not have a vote on it?"
"That sounds fair."
"Let me see what we have." Tamao got up and left the room.
"Fumi? I want to know how chaotic you think it is living here." Yachiyo randomly said.
"You think I'm the one complaining the most?" Fumi questioned, "Actually that would be Rui."
Rui squeaked as everyone looked at her, "U-um..."
"Rui's our mom now~ She's always yelling at everyone for doing crazy stuff." Yuyuko stated.
"You've been replaced, Fumi." Mei Fan laughed.
"I have not. It used to be Tamao who was like that. Not me." Fumi huffed in her defense.
"Sure."
They all shut up as Tamao returned. She had a few different movies they could choose from.
"How should we do this...?"
"Ooh! I know!" Ichie jumped up and grabbed a box from a nearby bookshelf, "We each put a little rock next to the one we want to watch and whatever has the most rocks gets chosen."
"Should I even ask why you have a box filled with rocks in your house?" Yachiyo said.
"Ichie likes to collect anything she sees outdoors that catches her eyes. Tends to be rocks a lot." Yuyuko said.
"I see." None of them really understood it at all, but they weren't going to say much more on the topic.
"Alright! Pick a rock and let's begin!"