Miu kept the music note hairpins in her pocket. Her finger brushing the smooth plastic opened fresh wounds. The passing days would leave the patches of pain smaller and smaller, however.
At her regular cafeteria spot, she'd glance over her shoulder. The table behind her was empty. On her way out, she'd pass by Kaede's Ultimate Laboratory. The room was always dark, the silence deafening.
Week after week the absence settled into her routine. A day arrived where she didn't look over her shoulder at lunch or peek at the Pianist Lab.
Yet time never snatched away the stabbing loneliness.