A/N - For the convenience of the reader, Matsumoto's dialogue will be clearly visible as long as every character involved in the conversation can understand here. If at least one character is unable to understand Matsumoto, then just as with the anime, her dialogue will be translated through someone else.

In regards to the rate of updates, there is no schedule. Whenever a new chapter is complete, it will be updated. Sometimes many chapters will be updated over just a few days, sometimes several days will pass without a chapter at all.

"Ultimately, if you were wrong about Akari being upset about something, isn't that a good thing?" Kyoko spoke as she leaned back in her chair, twirling her pen with a disinterested look on her face. A month had passed since the Reformed Amusement Club had held the 'King's Game Special Punishment Edition!' and in that time, they hadn't done anything else exciting, so Kyoko was starting to reach the limit of her tolerance for having her ideas rejected.

Every meeting since then had focused on what they should do next; but that topic had been put on hold when the only members to attend today's meeting had been Kyoko, Yui, and Ayano. The topic they were actually focusing on, at Ayano's insistence, was Akari.

It went without saying that if Kyoko really believed something was wrong with Akari, she would be more invested in the conversation, but over the past month; Akari had seemed just as cheerful as their middle school days, if not even moreso.

"I do think Kyoko's being just a bit too indifferent about the issue, but you can't deny that she's been looking a lot better recently. It's possible that the issue bothering her has been resolved, which would make sense when you consider everything." Chinatsu had been staying over at her house pretty frequently over the past month, so there was little chance she would've been able to hide such an issue from someone living with her.

"I suppose you might have a point…" Ayano did not seem entirely convinced by Yui's theory, but at the same time, she couldn't think of any reason to deny it.

"If we have to talk about Akari…" A grin spread across Kyoko's face as the legs of her chair reconnected with the ground, and she leaned forward, seizing an opportunity. "...then we should talk about how she acts when she's drunk."

"This again…" Yui let out an exasperated sigh as she shook her head, and then stiffened at the sound of something exploding off in the distance. "I still find it hard to believe Nishigaki-sensei transferred schools when Matsumoto-senpai graduated."

"But did she transfer because she's the only one who can tell what Matsumoto-senpai's saying…" Ayano responded as she looked in the direction of the explosion. "...or because Matsumoto-senpai willingly lets Nishigaki-sensei experiment on her?"

"Buu…" Both girls had taken advantage of the distraction to ignore Kyoko's proposed topic, a fact that the blond was less than pleased about as she started pouting. "Don't just ignore your beautiful girlfriend!"

"Actually, since we're on that topic anyway…" Yui seemed to hesitate for a moment before deciding to continue that thought process, a serious look on her face. "...are things really okay like this? Most people don't really approve this type of thing."

"Maybe they don't, but that doesn't really matter, does it?" Ayano answered almost immediately as she walked over to wrap her arms around Yui, leaning forward until her head was resting on her shoulder. "I'd say something like as long as we have each other that's enough, but we don't just have each other."

"She's right." Kyoko was quick to nuzzle up to Yui's other side, wrapping her arms around her waist with a confident smirk, not in the last bit uncomfortable with the awkward position she'd put herself in. "Because in addition to having each other, we have our friends, all of whom are happy just as long as we're happy. Even Chizuru approves, albeit begrudgingly."

"I suppose you're both right." She smiled as she let out an exaggerated sigh, glancing between the two girls clinging to either side of her. "You two really have rubbed off on one another. Kyoko's actually saying something intelligent, and Ayano's being overly optimistic. Not that that's a bad thing."

Silence fell over the room, interrupted only by the soft sounds of the trio exchanging kisses.

The literature club's room was nearly empty, aside from a blond with a very frustrated look on her face, who let out an exasperated sigh as she leaned back in her chair; several pages of blank manuscript pages spread out on the desk in front of her. "It's no use. I accepted the position of club president when Matsumoto-senpai turned it down, but it really should be her."

"...I really might end up being the last member of the club at this rate." The current club president of the literature club, Amano Azumi, had done her best to try and gather new members when the new school year had started; but after two months, they hadn't gotten even a single application. "I guess I should count myself lucky for the time being."

The only other member aside from Azumi was Matsumoto Rise, but she spent most of her time being dragged along by the club's advisor, Nishigaki-sensei; so pretty much all the responsibilities of the club fell to Azumi.

"At this rate, I'll never finish this story in time for the competition." She fell silent as she looked over the awards lined up along the wall of the clubroom. The school had taken first place every year for the past three years, and Azumi had promised her graduating senpais that she would definitely take first place for the club.

"But it's been two months and I still haven't made any progress." She just didn't have the same level of talent or skill as her former senpais. Everything she wrote seemed so blandly mediocre. She was well aware of the fact that it wasn't a good idea to compare herself to the writers she practically idolized, but she just couldn't stop herself.

"That principal is even more stubborn than the principal from that middle school." The president of the literature club was interrupted from her thoughts as a dirty Nishigaki-sensei stepped through the clubroom door, followed closely by a dirty Matsumoto. "She just doesn't understand that explosions are necessary to invention."

"How long are you banned from the science lab this time?" Azumi asked with a hint of worry on her face. Nishigaki-sensei wasn't the type to stop blowing things up just because she was banned from the science lab, she just started blowing up the literature club's room instead.

"Two weeks." She wasted no time in opening the cabinet that she had a box of supplies stored in, taking it out and setting it on the teacher's desk as she started to set up what looked like a chemistry set. "And over such a little explosion, too."

"If that was your definition of a little explosion, what do you classify as a large explosion?" Azumi let out an exasperated sigh as she stood up and walked over to Matsumoto, pulling out a handkerchief as she started to brush off the soot clinging to her clothes. "Matsumoto-senpai, I understand that you don't mind participating in Nishigaki-sensei's experiments, but you should at least put more effort into cleaning up afterwards."

"..." Thank you. The soft-spoken girl's lips moved in response to Azumi's concern, who was one of the few people aside from Nishigaki-sensei that could actually understand Matsumoto. Additionally, she didn't resist as Azumi cleaned the last remnants of the explosion off of her clothes. When Azumi was satisfied, Matsumoto walked over to the teacher's desk to glance in the box with a look of curiosity, reaching inside to grab something.

"..." Why do you have this? Her lips moved as she held up a photograph of four familiar looking children in the middle of a park.

"Hm?" Nishigaki-sensei paused what she was doing to glance at the photograph, a look of recognition spreading across her face. "Ah, I'd forgotten about that. Akaza-san gave it to me during her first year of middle school and asked me to dispose of it, but it seemed like such a waste, so I just kept it instead. I guess it ended up in my emergency supplies box when I transferred schools."

"..." Why?

"I don't know the exact details, but she was worried the picture might spark conflict in the Amusement Club."

"..." Isn't it just a photo of the four of them from when they were younger?

"That's all it is to us, but it's probably something more than that to them." As she spoke, she resumed her earlier motions as she lost interest in the photo, setting several flasks filled with chemicals down on the desk. "You could always ask them about it if you really wanted to. They're with the Manga Club now, right?"

"..." They call it the Reformed Amusement Club. It's only officially recognized as the Manga Club.

"Now that you mention it, I think I've heard that name before; and the children in the photo kinda resemble some of the members of that club." Azumi spoke as she looked at the picture herself, shooting a curious glance at Matsumoto. "Are they friends of yours, Matsumoto-senpai?"

"..." Most of them are probably closer to acquaintances than friends. Out of the group, Akari's the only one who can understand me. Ah, that's this one. She pointed to the redhead in the photo.

Both girls were so focused on the photo that they weren't paying attention to Nishigaki-sensei as she poured a vial of pink liquid into a bubbling flask of an ominous purple liquid.

The second explosion to rock the building that day was much stronger than the first, and the three girls in the Reformed Amusement Club could swear it was much closer than the first, too.

Chizuru sat back in her chair as she glanced at the time displayed in the bottom right of the computer screen, not seeming all that bothered by the day's second explosion. The younger of the Ikeda twins had been looking at information for different universities for a while now, and she still couldn't make a decision.

The high school the group had ended up enrolling in was part of an escalator system. As long as you graduated from this high school, you'd be accepted into the neighboring university irregardless of your grades, but Chizuru had plenty of options that were a lot better with her grades. Normally it wouldn't be a hard decision to make.

"Nee-chan…" The pair had always been together, and Chizuru had always assumed that they'd always be together; but Chitose had already decided to follow through with the escalator system when she graduated two years from now. Most of the girls in their group had come to the same conclusion, not wanting to be seperated from one another.

Himawari and Sakurako had amazingly decided they were both aiming for one of the nation's top universities, something that was probably easily achievable for Himawari, yet basically impossible for Sakurako; but they were serious, with Sakurako's grades having seen a drastic increase in quality since they originally decided on their goal.

Chizuru was the only one who seemed to have trouble deciding, and she wasn't quite sure why she was having so much trouble with it. She always had every intention of following her sister to whichever university she attended, but now that she had to seriously think about it, she found herself hesitating. Was it really okay to decide something so important for a reason like that?

"It probably isn't…" Yet the others had so easily decided on it for exactly that reason. She actually kind of admired that they could be so confident about something they had decided on purely because they didn't want to be separated from one another. "Maybe the fact that I'm having so much trouble coming to a decision means I've already made my decision, but I just haven't accepted it yet."

She was pretty sure that was exactly what it was.

After Nishigaki-sensei's latest explosion, she had been dragged off to the principal's office by a very upset Azumi. Matsumoto had tried to tag along too, but Azumi hadn't let her, insisting that she needed to clean herself off first. Having finished cleaning up, she had started in the direction of the principal's office, only to come to a stop in the entrance to what should've been an empty classroom.

"..." Akari? The redhead had been staring out the window of the classroom, but she turned to face Matsumoto as she spoke up.

"Ah, Matsumoto-senpai. It's been a little while since we last spoke, hasn't it?" Over the past three years, Matsumoto had not grown at all, so the height difference between her and Akari was nearly identical to the height difference between Matsumoto and Nishigaki-sensei.

"..." Is something on your mind? Isn't your club in session right now? Matsumoto's lips moved, her voice practically inaudible, yet Akari had no problems understanding what she was saying.

"Matsumoto-senpai, have you ever been in love?" Akari asked the question with curiosity clear in her eyes, accompanied by something else; as if trying to decide something.

"..." Secret. If it were possible, her voice became even quieter as she evaded Akari's gaze, her cheeks flushed a bright red. She started to respond in kind before she seemed to realize something, slipping a hand into her uniform's pocket to take out a photo, glancing at it as if to confirm something. "..." You're in love with Chinatsu-chan, right?

"Eh...? Is it that obvious?!" For a moment she seemed to panic, before Matsumoto quickly shook her head and held out the photo.

"..." Nana had this. It was only after you asked your question that I realized why you'd be so concerned about it. You weren't really worried about it causing a fight between the Amusement Club at all, were you? You were worried about Chinatsu-chan. Akari seemed surprised to see that photo again after so long, a nostalgic smile on her face as she took it from Matsumoto.

"Yeah, I was. Although, thinking about it calmly, I was worried over nothing. Even if Kyoko and Yui had seen this photo, it wouldn't have changed anything." She tucked the photo away into one of her own pockets, turning back to look out the window, a complicated expression on her face. "I confessed a few months ago, but unfortunately she couldn't return my feelings. I was in a lot of pain for what feel like an incredibly long time, but recently...things have changed."

"..." How?

"There was a part of me that was in denial for all that time, but recently I talked with Chinatsu about it, and with her help I was able to accept it." She fell silent for a moment, considering her next words very carefully, before continuing. "But we both decided that we weren't exactly content with the way things were, either. We ended up in an...odd...relationship."

"..." Odd? What does that mean?

"I'm not comfortable discussing it in too much detail, and even if I were, I promised I'd keep it a secret. I'm only telling you because I trust you to keep a secret and I needed to get it off my chest." Again, she paused, taking another moment to carefully consider her next words. "Let's just say...it's been pleasantly agonizing in an entirely unexpected way."

It only seemed to last a fraction of a second, but an unfamiliar look flashed in Akari's eyes as she said that, and before Matsumoto was even aware of what she was doing; she had taken a step backwards, suddenly inexplicably afraid of the younger girl.

"It's not that I'm unhappy with the relationship we ended up in, but…I want more." Akari didn't notice as Matsumoto unconsciously took another step back, visibly trembling in response to that unfamiliar tone in the redhead's voice.

Has Akari always had this terrifying side to her? Matsumoto couldn't help but think as she looked up at the all-too-unfamiliar face of her friend.

"Ah…" All at once Akari seemed to realize that she was letting that side of her personality show. "I got carried away...I'm truly sorry!" Matsumoto seemed to relax as her friend started to act like the person Matsumoto had believed her to be.

After that...I have a pretty decent idea of just what she meant by an 'odd' relationship. That was the only thought in Matsumoto's mind as Akari continued to apologize, despite Matsumoto's insistence that it wasn't necessary.

"Himawariiiiiiii, I don't understand!" Sakurako whined as she collapsed backwards, having finally reached her limit. "Why can't we just go to the escalator school with everyone else?!" Technically, since they were first years, they didn't really need to be all that worried about it right now either way; but if they really intended to go their first school of choice, Sakurako would never every last minute they had to improve her studying habits.

"Jeez." Himawari let out an exasperated sigh as she reached over to stroke Sakurako's hair, without a hint of the anger that she would've reacted with back in their time at middle school. "Weren't you the one who said the escalator school wasn't nearly good enough? I told you when I mentioned it before that we needed to start studying right away if you wanted to aim for a better school, but that the escalator school would be more than enough."

"But…!" Sakurako had a frustrated look on her face as she pulled away from Himawari, turning to stare at the wall as she mumbled something, just barely loud enough for Himawari to hear. "...I didn't want you to enroll in that school just because I was holding you back. You're intelligent enough to get accepted into your school of choice."

"If that's how you really feel, then we just have to keep studying. Even though it's exhausting, you can't just give up yet." Himawari slid closer to Sakurako, gently turning her so they were face to face as the blunette pressed her forehead against the blonde's, a soft smile on her face. "After all, I know you can do it when you try; and I believe in you."

"Dummy…" It came out in an even softer voice than before as Sakurako's cheeks flushed bright red, but she didn't pull away as Himawari closed the distance between them; the pair exchanging a quick kiss before Himawari pulled back.

"Now come on. We have to get through at least this much today." She waited for Sakurako to begrudgingly sit up again, before Himawari wrapped an arm around her and leaned over her shoulder to look at the problem she'd been struggling with. "Which part of the problem was causing you so much trouble?"

"This bit." Some of the tension in her body seemed to relax as she felt Himawari's warmth pressed against her, pointing out where she'd gotten lost in the calculations.

"You always have trouble with these." She let out a small sigh, but the smile on her face made it clear that she didn't really mind it. "First you have to stop making the same mistake here, alright? You're in the habit of getting too worked up whenever you see a decimal, and that causes you to make the same mistakes every time."

As the hours passed by, and they steadily started to make progress, Sakurako couldn't help but think back to their days in middle school, a small smile touching her lips. She really is the best when it comes to teaching me.

"Thanks for agreeing to hear me out." Chinatsu shifted uncomfortably as she glanced around Chitose's living room. They'd never been particularly close, so this was probably the first time she was turning to her for advice.

"Honestly, it's no trouble. Any friend of Kyoko's is a friend of mine." Chitose smiled warmly as she sat across from Chinatsu. "But I must admit, I'm surprised. I think this is probably the first time we've hung out alone together." When Chitose wasn't with Ayano, she was with Chizuru; and Chinatsu was always hanging out with Akari, so they rarely even had an opportunity to hang out with another.

"Yeah. Usually when something's bothering me, I'd discuss it with Akari-sama but…" The pinkette trailed off as she looked away, seemingly unaware of her slip-up. Chitose didn't seem particularly surprised as she adjusted her glasses, her lips forming a knowing smirk.

"Akari...sama?"

"No I...I meant...I just…" Chinatsu's face flushed bright red as she stuttered to come up with an excuse, before ultimately deciding to fall silent as she looked down at the floor. After everything that had happened over the past month, even just thinking about Akari was enough for that feeling of absolute helplessness to completely overwhelm the pinkette.

Akari had really gotten into her role as mistress, and she had done a fantastic job of teaching Chinatsu's body that it belonged to her and her alone. It had reached the point where Chinatsu couldn't possibly imagine herself with anyone other than Akari, and yet all the same, it was still purely physical. Chinatsu still didn't have any emotional feelings towards Akari.

It was almost like the universe was playing a cruel joke on Akari. Even when Chinatsu couldn't live without her, she still didn't feel that type of love for Akari.

"All teasing aside, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Since Yui, Kyoko, and Ayano had ended up in a relationship; Chitose had gotten a lot less selective with her fantasies. One of her nose bleeds could get set off by a fantasy involving anyone, and she had gotten into the habit of teasing people to lead them into situations that she could better fantasize over.

"Well...Akari-sama and I really are in that type of relationship." Having already slipped up, she continued to refer to Akari the way she would if they were in private.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"…No." She hesitated to say it at first, but it was clear her hesitation was out of embarrassment, not uncertainty. "The problem is that it isn't enough for Akari anymore." Chitose started to reach for her glasses, but Chinatsu grabbed her arm before she could reach the frames, narrowing her eyes into a glare. "Chitose, I'd really appreciate if you didn't do that right now."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Chitose gave an apologetic smile as she lowered her hands. "But what do you mean when you say it isn't enough for Akari? You aren't enough to satisfy her?" Chitose looked surprise to see the expression on Chinatsu's face. "Whoa. Based on that scary look, I'm guessing that's not it."

"The relationship we have is strictly that a mistress and her sub, and anything outside of that is off limits. Those are the conditions we both agreed to when this relationship began." Chinatsu dug her nails into her palm as she looked down, forcing herself to speak the next words. "Because I'd already rejected Akari-sama's confession. I didn't love her that way, and I still don't. She accepted that and still proposed the relationship we're in now."

"So when you say it isn't enough for her anymore…"

"Exactly. She wants more." The pinkette paused to consider those words before shaking her head. "No, not just more, she wants everything; and she's gradually started pressing the issue more and more frequently. At least for now, she isn't really forcing the issue, but I can tell she's starting to lose her patience; and if she really insists..." Her face flushed bright red yet again, but she begrudgingly finished her thought process. "...I'm...incapable of saying no to Akari-sama."

"I think I understand. Although…" Chitose closed her eyes, thinking back to all the time she'd spent with Akari over the past few years. "...it really is hard to believe. Even I have trouble visualizing someone like Akari as a mistress. Given how passive she usually acts, it's much easier to imagine her as the sub. Especially given how aggressive you usually are."

"You don't need to point it out…" She mumbled in embarrassment.

"But back to the initial issue, are you really that opposed to the idea of doing more with Akari?"

"I…" Chinatsu seemed to struggle with something, so Chitose spoke up again, interrupting her.

"The only reason you're hesitating is because you think it's not fair to Akari, right?"

"I don't know…"

"You aren't secretly in love with anyone else, are you?"

"Of course not."

"And you really do consent to the relationship the two of you have, right?"

"Right."

"Then isn't that enough?" Chinatsu finally looked up, surprised by what Chitose just said. "Maybe you can't return her feelings, but she knows that, and she still wants to do more with you. If you have another reason for being against it then that's one thing, but if your only reason is because it isn't fair to Akari, shouldn't Akari be the one to decide that?"

"I…"

"Let me put it another way." Chitose could tell that her words were starting to get through to Chinatsu. "Are you sure you're worried about being unfair to Akari? Isn't the truth that you're worried even after going on a date with her, you still won't fall in love with your mistress?"

"No! I'm worried that even after agreeing to a date...I still won't fall in love with my best friend. She's always worked so hard to support everyone else, always putting their feelings before her own, and she put up with so much all by herself. I want her to be happy because she's always done everything she can to make all of us happy. To make me happy." Chinatsu felt something warm on her cheeks, and realized she had started crying at some point. "If we start to act like a couple...and I still feel nothing...then I'll have to accept the fact that I'll probably never…" The words got caught in her throat, and rather than trying to force it out, she fell silent.

"I suppose I've said everything I can. This is a decision you need to make for yourself, after all. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Chitose took off her glasses and finally allowed herself to view the fantasy Chinatsu had interrupted earlier.

Needless to say, Chinatsu was too busy ensuring Chitose didn't die of blood loss to reach a decision that day.

"Tomorrow's my first day at Nanamori High School…" A female figure spoke to herself as she stood in front of a mirror, holding up her uniform to take another look at it. It had taken her quite some time to get approval for all of the special treatment she needed, considering her condition, but everything had finally been approved.

Even with her 'sunlight sensitivity', she'd finally be able to attend school like anyone else. She smiled as she hung up her uniform, turning back to the now blank mirror with a hopeful smile.