Yuzu's name was still written on the nameplate by the apartment door. The breath in Harumi's throat caught upon seeing the loopy handwriting that was Yuzu's signature, alongside her mother's name and… Mei's.

After much internal deliberation, Harumi eventually found herself pacing restlessly in front of Yuzu's door. Or rather, the place Yuzu used to live in before- Harumi had to take a moment to prepare herself for her own thoughts- Before the accident that took her life.

"Damn it," Harumi muttered under her breath as she quickly wiped at her stinging eyes. Sometimes it felt like she had finally run out of tears, and then she would see something or hear something that'd remind her of Yuzu and her emotions threatened to suffocate her. Just yesterday she had sat down to eat and then she remembered the time Yuzu accidentally spilled an entire ice cream sundae on herself. Harumi had laughed so hard at her expense that day-

Harumi slapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a sudden sob. "I can't do this," she whispered into her trembling hand, turning her back and walking away from the door. She could barely contain herself, how on earth was she supposed to confront her dead best friend's sister?

One of the hardest parts about losing a friend, Harumi discovered, was returning to school and seeing everyone moving on with their lives. It was as if Yuzuchi had never been there, had never stumbled in as a shock of color and became the first genuine friend Harumi ever had. Her fellow classmates gave her a wide berth as if she would snap at any moment, and with damn good reason. Anytime she saw someone smiling or laughing, she felt an irrational hate poke at her with a hot stick. Every time she saw that particular empty desk she either wanted to grab someone and remind them of the girl who used to sit there, or just burst into tears. Her entire head hurt from the effort of resisting those urges and constantly clenching her jaw to hold it all in.

Hard times like these made her pull out her phone, made her instinctively text Yuzu to tell her about how much her day sucked and it was all Yuzu's fault. Texts that would never get a reply now, and after doing that a few times she very nearly smashed her phone against the nearest wall before texting an apology.

Her phone informed her that none of her messages had been read.

She didn't think she could possibly feel any more isolated in the world until she noticed Nene crying into her lunch instead of eating it, or Matsuri skipping classes to sit on the roof. Seeing her friends suffer made Harumi straighten up and roll up her sleeves. She made sure Nene ate her food and dragged Matsuri back to class. Giving everyone else a push forward gave her something to do, but bizarrely she felt as if her own life was at a stand still and wondered why.

That was when she noticed Mei could still sit up straight in her seat. The student council president continued taking notes in class. She continued reprimanding students in the hallways, in fact with more frequency than ever. Harumin observed the other girl in utter disbelief. Surely, Yuzu's death affected her too? She searched desperately for a trace of solidarity, but Mei seemed to ignore her existence completely.

It hurt. Harumi was certain Yuzu had been in love with this girl, and she couldn't even be bothered to grieve her step sister? The person who was the center of Yuzu's universe could still raise her hand and ask a question about the lesson? Harumi could barely comprehend the words on the chalkboard. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it. And over time it infuriated her more and more to the point she would spend class glaring at the back of Mei's head. How cold could one person possibly be?

Despite all her better judgement to distance herself, Harumi couldn't help the impulse of trying to reach out. Maybe she was desperate to connect with someone else who had been close to Yuzuchi, or maybe she was stupid with grief. Or maybe it was Matsuri's text goading her to do it, her messages having taken on an edge of cruelty in Yuzu's absence. Either way, one day Harumi caught the student council president striding past her in the hallway and decided to follow her.

"Hey prez." She almost missed Mei's tiny flinch at her greeting, falter in her stride stuttering her movement for only a moment before she continued walking.

"What is it?" Mei asked tersely without even looking at her. Harumi bristled as she easily matched strides with her. Her attitude used to be able to resist other people's animosity, like water off a duck's back, but these days her anger always seemed to be simmering under the surface ready to erupt. Especially at Mei's attitude when Yuzu was in the damn ground-

"I was just hoping we could talk."

"I'm a very busy person, Ms. Taniguchi. Any inquiries you have can be directed towards a teacher."

Ignoring a very clear dismissal of her, Harumi stubbornly persisted. "I was thinking the class could hold some sort of memorial for Yu-"

"No," Mei sharply cut her off. "We don't need a distraction from our studies."

The statement struck Harumi like an unexpected gut punch. "Are you serious?"

Mei wasn't looking at her. She just kept going like she was above it all and Harumi not only saw red, she drowned in it. "A memorial isn't a damn distraction, how could you even say that about Yuzuchi? Was that all she was to you?"

Mei stopped walking so suddenly Harumi nearly bumped into her. "Could you please not say her name?"

"What?"

Mei finally turned her head but avoided eye contact by staring over Harumi's shoulder. Her gaze looked lifeless and heavy with fatigue. "Just stop."

The skin around Harumi's neck was hot with the vitriol she spat. "You're unbelievable. Was it easy for you to move on? After Yuzu cared about you so much?"

She could actually see Mei shutting down. Whatever sign of life she had in her eyes dimmed further and her fists unclenched themselves to hang limply at her sides. Harumin must've gone mad because she actually wished Mei would look more hurt. That she'd express fucking SOMETHING!

"We're done here." With that Mei turned crisply on her heel and stalked away.

"Hey!" Harumi yelled after her, blood boiling. "Are you just going to pretend that she didn't fucking exist?" Harumi almost couldn't believe her eyes when Mei sped up, practically running away from her. "She deserves better than that!"

She nearly didn't notice that she was barreling over Himeko, who she was surprised to find struggling to hold her back. The small girl gave her a pleading look to leave Mei alone. Shaking, Harumi stepped back. She angrily wiped tears from her face and stormed the opposite direction, pushing through staring classmates. Mei made her feel even more miserably alone and she hated her for it.

The day after that Mei didn't show up to school. Or the day after that, nor the day after. For an entire week.

'Didn't know she cared' was Harumi's spared bitter thought towards the student president. She tried not to pay it any mind since she was in the process of attempting to move on with her life... But dammit, she was bothered. Like something was bringing Mei's name up in the back of her mind and pushing it to the forefront. She texted Yuzu: "you've infected me with your sister obsession."

She had never cared much for that particular Aihara, why should she now?

"Because Yuzu-chan cared," Matsuri said over their half-eaten lunch. They both seemed more interested in pushing the food around on their plates than actually eating. They shared more of an appetite for being equally miserable than eating. "Yuzu-chan cared a lot. She was a good person like that. Ignoring Mei would be like… Wasting Yuzu's kindness," Matsuri shared her theory with none of the smug satisfaction she usually carried with her. Just cold hard facts. "And you, Taniguchi-senpai, are too much of a mother to let it go."

"Will you come with me?" Harumi asked.

For the first time in days Harumi saw Matsuri smirk slightly. But it was a smirk that sent chills of concern down her spine. "No way."

"Why not? We're all in the same boat here."

"I won't forgive her." She stabbed her food with a fork. "If I see her, I might kill her." Her smile was empty. "And that would definitely waste Yuzu's kindness."

Their conversation haunted her. She tried to bat the thought away but it soon took over her head. Yuzu had cared about this girl so damn much. And if any part of Mei was human, she definitely cared about Yuzuchi. She couldn't dismiss the possibility that Mei was just freakishly good at hiding her suffering to the point she devolved into robot-like behavior.

The thought propelled Harumi to stand in front of what used to be Yuzu's door now, fretting over what the hell she was supposed to say. Before she could chicken out and after she got her tears under control, she pounded on the door and waited.

And waited. Probably a good minute or two went by as Harumi shuffled awkwardly in the hallway. Could it be that nobody was home? She had come all the way here, she didn't feel like giving up now. She lingered another moment before she played a little game of 'where would Yuzuchi hide a key?'. The game proved to be easy since she immediately found the key under a flower pot that had a sun doodled on it. She couldn't help but palm the key fondly. 'Yuzuchi would definitely want me to sneak into her house right now,' she reasoned rather reasonably.

Light from the hallway spilled slowly into the dark apartment. Harumi wondered again if no one was home, but a dreadful curiosity pulled her further inside despite her doubt. As she removed her shoes she noticed another pair at the door; probably Mei's. The place was a mess. Dishes were piled high in the sink and the trash hadn't been taken out. It looked lived-in yet lifeless at the same time. Harumi quietly made her way through the house in fear of disturbing anything. The bedroom door was ajar and Harumi hesitated. This was seriously creeping her out. Goosebumps popped up along her arms from a sudden chill and before she knew it she was inside the bedroom as if she had been pushed by an invisible force.

She'd only been here once before.

"Wait… do you share this bed? With the prez?" Harumi had asked incredulously. "Yikes! That's gotta be awkward!"

Yuzu had laughed, scratching the back of her neck bashfully. "Heh, yeah it can be awkward sometimes… but it's actually not so bad!"

Harumi was snapped out of her memory by movement in the corner of her vision. Startled out of her skin, Harumi yelped in fright and held her hands up in vague defense. What greeted her was a dark figure huddled next to a desk that Harumi thought was a ghost for a second before she focused her eyes. Sitting on the floor hugging her knees was Mei. She looked so small Harumi wouldn't have realized she was there if she hadn't raised her head to stare at Harumi with eyes that seemed hollow.

"Jesus, prez," Harumi hissed through her teeth. She kept her hands up, still spooked. "I didn't think you were home so I let myself in-"

"What do you want?" A cracked whisper, like a ghost herself. Her arms tightened around her knees, curling into herself. "Yu… She's- she's not here, so..." she weakly croaked. Her eyes trailed away, as if forgetting that Harumi was there already, trapped as she was in her own misery. The lump of utter resentment in Harumi's chest she had built up towards Mei eased as she took in the sight before her. She had suspected something bad but this was worse than she had imagined. Harumi slowly approached her.

"Where's your mom?" Harumi asked in a gentle voice. Mei's exhausted eyes slowly shuttered at the question and Harumi wondered how long she had been like this. She looked pale and thin, and the bed didn't look slept-in.

Mei's head shook a little. She still wasn't looking at Harumi. After a few seconds Harumi started to suspect that Mei hadn't heard her at all until the other girl cleared her throat. "She went with my father. I told her I would stay with Grandfather."

"But that was a lie," Harumi easily concluded with a tired sigh. Taking her hands was like touching a corpse and Harumi tried to rub some warmth into them. Damn her maternal instincts that pulled her here. "Let's get you cleaned up for now, alright? Can you stand?"

"Leave," Mei quietly demanded. Harumi easily ignored the weak command. She had never been that great at following student council orders anyway. Taking her hands, she attempted to lift the other girl to her feet. "Go away!" Mei's voice cracked as it went up in volume.

"Nice try, prez, but you're stuck with me." Her limbs were limp. It felt like if she pulled any harder, she'd pull her arms right off.

"There's no point," Mei hissed, reddened eyes watering whatever liquid she had left inside her. "This is my punishment."

"Oh shut up," Harumi snapped at her. "As if Yuzu would ever blame you for anything. Now get your ass up." This time when Harumi tried to heft her up Mei put up a fight. but she was weak so if was like trying to wrestle a tall sleepy toddler.

"Let me go!" Mei' pushed at her shoulders, determined to rot away, it seemed. "Please!"

With a growl and a shove, Harumi tossed Mei onto that stupid double bed, but Mei's grip on her shirt pulled her down as well, landing her in a pile of limbs. Being in the bed itself seemed to make Mei even more frantic, her streaming eyes flying wide as a scream bubbled in the back of her throat. She struggled, striking out at Harumi as she battled her demons.

Panicked, Harumi gathered the other girl in her arms and held her tightly. "Mei," she finally used the other gil's name, pleading with her to calm down. "You're not alone, Mei, I promise," she shushed in a soothing voice. By some miracle it was working and Mei gradually stilled in her arms. With Mei's face squished between her breasts and her hand stroking through her hair, Mei's exhaustion knocked her out hard. Her hand clutched limply at Harumi's shirt as she snored softly against Harumi's skin, and it was suddenly difficult to remember why she hated her so much.

The next morning brought with it a shuffling pale figure poking its dark head out of the bedroom to peek at Harumi searching the kitchen cabinets for a bottle of syrup.

"Hey," she waved awkwardly as Mei emerged from her den and stared at her. "I'm not exactly a cook like Yuzuchi was, but I found some frozen waffles, so- aha!" she finally found a bottle of maple syrup and placed it on the counter next to some half warm waffles. "You need to eat something."

Mei glared at her as if she had a million things to say to Harumi. "Get the hell out" was at the forefront, Harumi imagined. But at least they were conveying some sort of emotion, so it was a start. Her stomach conveyed even greater emotion with a grumble that shook the walls of the apartment. Mei actually grew a little color on her pale face and Harumi pretended not hear the sound. It took until Harumi turned away and pretended to clean the counter that Mei stiffly sat herself down and nibbled at a waffle. Harumi didn't expect her to say anything, let alone the words that ended up coming from Mei's mouth.

"You smell like her," Mei whispered. "Why?"

Harumi blinked in surprise, turning back to Mei. "I- um… I started wearing her favorite perfume after…" she trailed off, not having the energy to finish the thought.

"It helped me fall asleep," Mei admitted, still in a dusky voice that was like a quiet morning in itself. "Thank you."

Harumi smiled warmly at that. "You're welcome, Prez."

"Now get out."

"I don't think I will."

The following week, Mei stood at the front of the class early in the morning. She was still pale, but no longer translucent. When she announced in her clear student council president voice that the school would hold a special memorial service for Yuzu, Harumi placed her head down on the desk to hide her tears. The heavy weight on her shoulders was dispersing and it made them tremble with relief.

"You sure had your work cut out for you, Yuzuchi," she typed into her phone. Her finger hovered over the send key.