Two Months After November

by Anticipate

Yui is hosting a January Christmas party and everyone is invited! The only problems are that nobody is prepared, Azusa hasn't agreed to come yet, the house is a mess, and the weather outside is threatening to keep everyone snowed in! Will HTT manage to make some memories together with entrance exams still looming over everyone's heads? Takes place after The Month of November.

5 hours ago

Yui Hirasawa wouldn't sleep. No matter what Ui had tried over the past three days, no application of conventional logic she could muster was compelling enough to convince her airheaded older sister to settle down long enough to listen to her. She had tried explaining that Christmas and New Year's being over meant that everyone was likely too busy with preparations for the coming semester and entrance exams to meet up. This had been shot down when Yui instantly responded by contacting everyone to get them to agree to meet up two days before school started, even strait-laced Azusa. Her next line of defense had been calling on the looming entrance exams and Yui's dismal grade prospects, but Yui's response to this had been to stay up until ungodly hours of the night studying. Not even for guitar practice had Ui ever seen Yui possessed such that Ui would wake up for early morning cleaning to find her sister diligently completing math problems on the kotatsu. Ui's final resort of commenting on how lonely Gita seemed now that his master was busy with a multitude of other preparations had completely backfired. Every morning now featured a house swelling with deafening yet admittedly well-done renditions of Ho-kago Tea Time's music. Winter break was supposed to be her time to reconnect with Yui after a tumultuous end to the semester, yet Yui had committed to histrionic devotion to anything other than interacting with her sister. This wouldn't have been such a bad thing at face value. In fact, Ui encouraged the new autonomy her sister was finding as she prepared to step out into the larger world and seize her destiny for herself. The only problem was that her sister was still utterly failing at everything that she couldn't do while holding an instrument.

"Ui! Fire! It's on fire!" The senior cried out as she stared in awe at the frying pan in front of her.

"So it is, Onee-chan," Ui responded with all the enthusiasm of a fast-food employee on the night shift. "Go work on decorations for a while, I'll put it out."

In retrospect Ui should probably have put her foot down when Yui had asked to handle the preparations for their meal today. Perhaps she could have been firmer in insisting that Yui not try to throw a party for the friends she hadn't seen since school let out for the year, but her moronic bleeding heart wouldn't let her interfere in Yui's life when it came to Azusa again. The dogmatism she'd once tried to exert had been thoroughly beat out of her by the past few months. This left only subdued compliance in its wake, which Yui was taking advantage of intentionally or otherwise. Yui had initially wanted to gather her band together for Christmas, but everyone except Ritsu had made plans already. Not wanting to have to spend an entire day with just the biggest troublemakers in the band at her house, Ui had convinced Yui to shoot for New Year's instead by implying that Azusa might have a chance of being there. Ui had hoped that this forestalling of the party would be enough to delay it in perpetuity, but Yui had reared her stubborn streak in the worst way possible and Ui was left figuring out how to prevent a disaster from occurring when Yui and Azusa encountered each other again.

Though they'd spoken on the phone a few times, Ui hadn't seen Azusa in person since she'd moved out of town. It wasn't exactly quiet around school with Jun to fill in most of the gaps, but she still missed having another voice to balance out Jun's antics. It just didn't feel right using her own anymore. Breaking her out of this reverie was the fire Yui had started sparking up again. Having learned from her mistakes, Ui had already prepared a fire extinguisher and taught Yui how to use it in case she ever decided to have an idea when Ui wasn't home. Once the fire was put out, Ui turned her attention to her older sister, who had lost herself in preparing decorations for the event.

Part of Yui suddenly becoming a busybody also meant that she would try to start five preparatory events and then fail to complete any of them, leaving her younger sister to pick up the slack. The pile of mostly wrong math worksheets complemented the novels Yui had started and stopped writing in English after a page or two rather well, but Ui doubted anyone else would appreciate the decorations. The only constant over this past month besides studying for entrance exams and playing guitar had been trying to set up a party with her friends, which had devolved into frantic preparations despite her not getting a straight answer from Azusa about her attendance. The more things change, the more they stay the same. I wonder if Azusa-chan coming back will do anything to help her calm down. It still didn't sit well with Ui that she needed to rely on Azusa to do anything with regards to her sister, but she'd learned over time that she needed to work on transforming her more unhealthy thoughts into something more positive. Azusa was her friend. She made Yui happy. As long as those things were true, she had nothing to worry about. Except the fact that she hasn't really committed to coming yet. In response to this thought, the phone rang.

Before Yui could immediately forget what she was doing again, Ui picked up the phone, warning Yui with a look to keep her in place. "Hirasawa residence, Ui speaking."

"Oh, Ui-chan," Azusa's voice came through the receiver, sounding a bit uncertain. "How are you? How was your Christmas?" Ui could tell that Azusa had been hoping to hear Yui's voice, making the junior wonder why she didn't just call Yui directly.

"Not bad," Ui answered nonchalantly. "Mother and father stopped by for a few days. We got some nice presents. Onee-chan was happy. What about you?"

"I can't complain," Azusa responded with the same amount of detachment in her voice. "It was nice to at least try to do things the way we used to for a change, but that's not why I called. I wanted to see if you were still planning on gathering everyone tonight."

Ui glanced over to where Yui was losing a wrestling match with the paper streamers she was trying to unfurl. "Uh, yes, presuming we get everything ready. Will you be able to join us? Onee-chan is really hoping to see you."

"Do you think I can come? Will it distract my senpais from their studies?"

Ui had to resist rolling her eyes. Sometimes her friend's uncertainty about herself made her want to scream for how much she'd been forced to hurt Azusa over it. "Of course. Really, Onee-chan would love to see you. Don't worry so much. It's not like they were going to study anyways. I'll make sure they make up for it later."

A sigh of relief came from Azusa's end. "That's great to hear. I'll take the train and get there by this afternoon then. Would you mind meeting me there? It's a bit of a walk and I heard the inclement weather might make things difficult. If I had more of an advance warning, I would have gotten my parents to take me, but they're busy today." If this bothered Azusa, Ui couldn't tell over the phone, but she wasn't about to pry.

Ui opened her mouth to agree only to notice that Yui was eyeing the kitchen again. Sensing danger, Ui shook her head pointlessly. "Well, I have to make sure Onee-chan doesn't destroy anything before you all get here, but I'll make sure somebody comes by to pick you up. Is that alright?"

A brief pause was heard, no doubt as Azusa made a note of her new commitment. "Got it. See you later!" The click on the other end of the line finalized Ui's commitment to suffering.

It was an odd way to describe her seeing her friend again, but there was no other way she could go about summing it up. Despite apologizing, she'd still managed to leave her friend behind on an awkward note after the concert. Jun wouldn't talk about it freely even when they were alone, leaving Ui to stew with her thoughts. Yui was no help. When Azusa was brought up, all it did was eventually cause the senior to contact the object of her affection until said object got annoyed and blocked her number for the night. This lasted until Yui started calling the home phone of Azusa's new house, which Azusa only noticed after Yui had spent an hour gabbing with Azusa's father Takumi about something that vaguely resembled guitar techniques. From then on, Azusa was reachable 24 hours a day and their communication had tapered off into the trickle that persisted over winter break. It would be nice to have her here in person to deal with this though. The hurricane that had passed through the kitchen was now slumped into the kotatsu, the flurry of activity finally starting to tire her out. "Uiiii… Food…" Yui complained over her grumbling stomach.

"And what exactly am I supposed to make when half of our provisions are on the floor?" Ui asked rhetorically as she lightly rapped her knuckle on Yui's head. "I know this is important, but there has to be a home for everyone to gather at for there to be any sort of celebration you know."

"I know that," Yui scoffed, laying out flat on the floor. "I just wanna show everyone how much stronger I've gotten over the break. Especially Azu-nyan. Maybe then she'll stop worrying and think about herself for once."

The sentiment struck Ui as odd. A month ago, Yui couldn't have cared less if Azusa's life goal was to take over the country. Either she had actually found it within herself to mature or Ui was only just now seeing it properly. These options remained equally likely as Ui navigated the mess of broken eggs and clashing spice scents to reach a broom. "Why don't you help me clean up then? We can reset everything after that, make some lunch, and go from there. There's plenty of time before anyone's due to arrive."

Yui perked up instantly at this suggestion. "Really? That's a great idea, Ui! I'll go get ready!" It hadn't really been an invitation for Yui to seclude herself, but her sister did just that, darting upstairs to do whatever preparatory steps were necessary in order to be mentally sound enough to clean up her own mess.

"The more things change," Ui muttered as she started sweeping, pretending she wasn't smiling to herself.

If she was being completely honest, Ui had no qualms with being shouldered with the brunt of the housework. Yui was occupied enough with studying for entrance exams, and before that the jobs had been hers to handle anyways. Through that arrangement she'd boiled the art of cleaning down to a science. Personal experience had taught her the optimal positioning, order, and even outfit to deal with messes. Maid outfits were a no-go. She'd only relied on them when she was at her lowest point, when she felt like there was no way out except through performance-enhancing clothes. They were the tools of cowards. A true busybody wore simple garments, armed with an apron and nothing else to face the elements. Frilly dresses, long socks, cute headbands, they were all crutches that the true busybody rejected in favor of raw devotion to the craft.

The floors always came last. No matter what else she did, Ui had learned that one had to start from the top and work her way down, dealing with any mess she tracked around at the end of the cleaning session. Once the counter had been cleared of debris and the pots left to soak for the moment, she could set about polishing the equipment and moving anything salvageable Yui had managed to make into the fridge. This was followed by dusting everything off before the floors could finally be swept and mopped. By the time Ui was done, the better part of an hour had passed and it only just occurred to her that her sister hadn't returned. A sense of concern interrupted the robotic cleaner's thoughts as she turned her attention upstairs. Though she hadn't noticed it until now, there was music coming from what had to be Yui's room. Setting her broom aside, she slowly paced over to the stairs, closing her eyes and letting herself be guided by Yui's sound. The stairs evened out into a slope under her feet, becoming a gentle hill of grass that tickled her ankles as morning dew shone like the guiding lights for a plane to indicate her destination. As she reached the crest of the hill, her sister was seen sitting on the grass, Gita in hand. They were playing some permutation of U&I, though Ui didn't understand music well enough to accurately describe what was being done. All she could be certain of was that her sister was content in this moment, and that by extension meant that she could be content. "It's not just about you," Yui commented idly as she detected her sister's approach. "I'm in this song too, you know."

"Of course, Onee-chan," Ui replied simply, not wanting to have to return to her house just yet. "That's the name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that," Yui agreed, her room reappearing around Ui as Yui rose to her feet. "But I guess I should save this for later. We have stuff to do, right?"

There was a longing in Ui's heart to claw her way back to that hill. She didn't totally understand what her sister was trying to do when she made music, but it was the only time since Azusa had left that she could tell her sister was truly at ease. To know that she was the reason these moments ended made the old wounds in her heart flare up all over again. But it wasn't her job as the younger sister to cater to Yui's whims. After all, she wasn't alone anymore, and she couldn't let herself or Yui be lost in that world forever. "We've had stuff to do, Onee-chan," Ui corrected. "We have to finish the decorations, finish making food, finish the list of activities, gather materials for said activities, lament how we should have done this weeks ago, eat lunch, and someone has to pick up Azusa-chan now, and-" Ui trailed off as she realized that she had lost her sister at the mention of lunch, Yui's unlit room pairing well with the lost expression on her sister's face.

Sighing, Ui turned back to the door. "Why don't we go eat then we can figure out what to do?" she suggested. "I'm sure I can get something whipped up quickly."

Contrary to Ui's expectations, Yui didn't immediately jump on the offer. Instead, she delicately put Gita away with the care a mother showed for her child before walking over to Ui's side. Ui remained still, letting her sister's newfound self-control realize its goals in the hope that her prayer for calm was finally being answered. "I'm sorry I don't spend much time with you or Gita in the club," Yui apologized genuinely. "I haven't been fulfilling my goal to be a better older sister so far this year."

"Onee-chan, you don't need to apologize for that. We- I know you're busy studying for your entrance exams, and I want you to be able to do your best on them."

"It's not that," Yui denied, looking away and shoving her hands into her jean pockets. "Well, it is that, but it's not why I'm sorry. I think the only reason I've been able to focus on this is because it gives me something to think about besides Azu-nyan being gone. Does that make me a bad person?"

Ui took her time answering this question. The absence of HTT's fifth member was sorely felt even when the entire band was absent. Jun and Sawako at least would likely attest to this if asked. Ton's opinion was still up in the air, but he was most inclined to agree with whoever fed him the most, which startlingly happened to be Sawako of late. "I get not wanting to face up to it," Ui admitted. "But if that's what makes you want to focus on entrance exams, I think it's okay, at least for now. Maybe that's wrong, but that's how I feel." Perhaps anyone else would have failed to notice the effort it took Ui to come to that sort of conclusion in front of her sister, but Yui's wide eyes took in every detail of her sister's countenance.

"Yeah. Okay, Ui. Let's get some lunch then." Yui decided, offering her sister her hand.

Without hesitating, Ui accepted the offer, letting Yui lead her to their semi-prepared kitchen. As they walked, Ui wasn't thinking about how they still had a lot of cleaning to do, how there was exactly zero chance that they were going to be ready for the party by the time everyone showed up, or how because of this she'd have to get someone else to pick up Azusa. The only thing running through her mind was that the callouses on Yui's hands felt a bit smaller to her somehow.

---

2 hours ago

Tsumugi closed her phone gingerly, as if that noise in itself was a crime too heinous to commit in a place like this. She'd tired of counting the frills on her dress and the tiles on the floor in this room years ago. How many times was it that she'd been left waiting in this hall outside of her father's study? The number stretched beyond what her memory could fathom, and yet every instance played out in exactly the same way. She was trying to play a piece that would inevitably draw a mistake from her, spurn her from her goal before she could so much as turn the first page of the music book. Yet she continued to play along, continued to throw herself into the lion's den. The reason had shifted violently over the years like a buoy rocking in the waves during a hurricane. No matter where she was pointing, she only had the base of herself to work with, stuck dueling with the water under her no matter how violent things got. Today would be no different, yet in her heart of hearts she ached badly enough for that to be false that she didn't so much as hesitate when the door opened. "They're ready, Ms. Kotobuki," a servant informed her redundantly as she strode into the room, heels clacking on the tile.

Inside the opulent office, adorned wall to wall with books nobody had read and several black leather seats, were two people Tsumugi rarely saw in the same place at the same time. Her mother and father were seated across from each other at her father's massive marble desk that ate up nearly a third of the length of the room. When she entered, her mother smiled warmly at her while her father remained as impassive as ever. A chair had been prepared for her next to her mother that Tsumugi accepted without question. As soon as she was seated her father began. "What have you to report?"

"There will be no issue with my personal studies," Tsumugi asserted confidently. "I have already turned my thoughts to the upcoming merger. Based on the information you've provided me, I-"

"That information is days old," Mr. Kotobuki interrupted, withdrawing a few files from a nearby oak cabinet. "Here's the latest report on the prospective earnings of this company precluding our intervention. If you're going to make a recommendation, base it off of this."

Tsumugi paused for ten seconds exactly, just long enough to glance through the paper and identify the changes from her provided research without raising suspicion of her abilities. "We're to acquire this company but completely scrub the branding," Tsumugi responded. "This disqualifies the need to purchase further manufacturing plants in our domain while allowing us to avoid undesirable press associated with them. Vertical integration will likely not raise the JFTC's suspicions given our primary services are not applicable to this domain. It could be likened to growing a new tree rather than adding another branch to our existing conglomerate. Therefore, the changes in prospective earnings will be made a non-issue."

Mr. Kotobuki's eyebrows twitched. Whether this was a good or a bad sign Tsumugi could never tell. It only meant that he was thinking about something deeply. "Intriguing. Your evaluations are getting better. Susan?"

"I would consider it passable and not to the standards of our employees just yet," Mrs. Kotobuki chimed in. "But your progress is admirable, honey."

This was not the response that Tsumugi was hoping for, but to ask for more would be a deeply consequential mistake. She'd spent much of the last month testing the boundaries she'd spent years stumbling into, looking for any sort of weak point she could exploit. If her parents wanted to raise a Kotobuki, this was the one arena where Tsumugi remained willing to rise to meet their challenge. When it came to these meetings, however, there was no room for experimentation. Mr. Kotobuki rose from his seat, rolling his shoulders as he towered over his family. "I suppose it will pass for the year's progress. I expect more thorough work next time. See that you meet those demands and remember why you need to strive to do better."

Tsumugi said nothing, instead bowing and rising to her feet in a single fluid motion. These platitudes were her father's way of giving her his blessing to do as she pleased for the immediate future. Her mother said nothing, only smiling the same empty smile of someone who had nothing left to fuel the fire that had once burned brightly within her. It was a shame she never took an interest in music or another hobby to stoke the passion that had kept Tsumugi's own fingers dancing with the ivory keys for so long. The heiress quickly excused herself with another bow, fleeing the room gracefully and only pausing to collect herself when she was well out of earshot of that room. It was a miracle that nobody had heard her heart beating out of her chest. Had her father not approved of her winter break's work, she would have likely spent most of the day going over exactly what she did wrong and why it was wrong. Today, that was unacceptable.

It had to be because her father knew that she had such an important motivation to be available today that he had scheduled this impromptu meeting of their family. Her mother hadn't been by the house in years and she hadn't gotten so much as a friendly wave when they'd seen each other again. At least Azusa's mother knew that you had to act like you cared to maintain sympathy. The merger was just the latest in a long line of suspicious moves the Kotobuki conglomerate had been making, but Tsumugi refused to consider the implications a moment longer than she had to. Shoving these thoughts aside, Tsumugi pulled out her phone. Just before she'd gone in, Ui had mentioned something about needing to pick Azusa up. This was a task Tsumugi could certainly accomplish, but it would require pulling a few more strings than she was traditionally comfortable pulling. She was lucky enough to be allowed out as things stood. The alternative was changing out of her formal dress and going to meet Azusa on foot at the train station, but that would take far too long. Tsumugi's only choice then was to call for backup. The senior quickly penned a message to her closest bandmate.

Ricchan, Azusa-chan needs someone to come pick her up at the train station. She has agreed to join us at Yui-chan's home this afternoon. Unfortunately, I have been indisposed with personal matters and will be unable to complete this task. Can you retrieve her?

Regards,

Mugi

Smiling to herself at another successfully completed mission, Tsumugi headed for the limo to make her way to the Hirasawa household. By the sound of things, Ui would need all the help she could get to get their reunion off the ground. She could already hear Ritsu complaining about how it had hardly been a month while Mio mentioned that their entrance exams were right around the corner. It was a lovely melody. More importantly, Tsumugi wasn't about to head out to Yui's place anything but prepared this time. She'd packed from her room several fully charged video cameras to catch any sort of juicy activity the guitarists of her band decided to get up to when they thought nobody was looking. When she'd whipped out the video camera after their November performance she'd had it confiscated in favor of living in the moment, but that had just hardened her resolve to immortalize the love she felt for her band members. Of course she'd share the memories she recorded at some point, but getting permission to obtain them could wait until after she was sure enough time had passed that they'd be okay with it. "It's just to make sure everything is going well," Tsumugi lied to herself as she finished smoothing out her dress. "Be friendly. You're doing great. Everyone will stay together."

As she spoke to herself, one of the butlers sheepishly approached her. "Ah, Kotobuki-sama, it seems that we are having some trouble with the engine to the limo. It was left outside in this weather for too long, so we likely won't be able to get moving for an hour or so. A thousand apologies."

The news shattered Tsumugi's good mood like a rock through a windshield. Her first instinct was to snap at the messenger delivering her the unwelcome news, but she held her tongue. If she started berating other people for her problems, it would prove that she hadn't learned anything at all. Instead, she bowed once to the butler. "In that case, I'll make my way there on foot. Please be prepared to come retrieve me if and when I call," she requested, turning on her heel and making her way back into the mansion before someone could protest.

It wasn't like Tsumugi expected anyone to say anything to her at this point. She was more of the house's master than her father, constantly running around from meeting to meeting without bothering to spend time making use of the fortune he'd amassed. With a sigh, Tsumugi returned to her unlocked room. Much as the cold didn't bother her, she didn't think it would be wise to traverse the town in a full dress without a heated limo to escort her. Slipping out of her business outfit, Tsumugi exchanged it for a more seasonal puffy jacket and deep green dress that went all the way down to her ankles. It wasn't the most fashionable thing in the world, but it got the job done and would keep her warm on her long walk. With her wardrobe sorted, there was no time to waste.

Tsumugi wouldn't be able to make it to the train station before Azusa's arrival on foot, meaning that she'd definitely be late, but there was no helping that, and she'd already been delayed by her meeting anyways. The final part of Tsumugi's outfit was a set of headphones connected to her personal music player. It didn't sound quite the same when she wasn't playing it herself, but filling her head with her band's songs gave her the strength she needed to brave the cold. Several butlers saw her off as she exited the house that she exchanged a few warm words with. They'd learned not to try and stop her after the fiftieth attempt to leave on her own. Walking to the train station would only be marginally faster than waiting for her ride to be prepared, but the certainty of forward progress combined with the voices of her band were far more preferable to the uncertainty of car trouble. Thanks to HTT, she wasn't walking down bitter snowy roads, she was exploring unknown lands with her band at her side, traversing unexplored jungles and boundless deserts bolstered by her friends and their music. Tsumugi practically skipped out the front gate as she turned toward the train station and Yui's house. There was no doubt that Ui would need her help as soon as she arrived, and she'd spent too much time away from her friends as it was. I'm coming everyone! Please, wait for me!

---

1 hour ago

Ritsu Tainaka wasn't feeling like herself. Because of this, she'd successfully completed four pages of her study notebook in the span of an hour and a half without so much as a glance at her phone. Somehow, against all the forces of nature combined and the collective might of the cosmos weighing down on her, she'd figured out how to successfully study without getting distracted. The death of Ritsu Tainaka was a sad one to experience at this particular time, as it meant she had to perish alone, stripped of her title, her forsaken love, and even her protégé, left frozen in the winter cold without any family around to speak of. Never mind that she'd spoken to them this morning, or that they were currently all downstairs watching something Ritsu would probably find interesting on tv. The fact was that Ritsu was dead, and no sojourn downstairs to spend time with her family would ever disprove that. She'd prided herself on never changing, only to somehow end up being the one left holding the bag over and over. If that was how things had to be, she might as well show everyone up until they stopped relying on her to save the day every time. "Can't wait to get smarter than Mio. We'll see how she likes being the one left behind." Even as she voiced her thoughts Ritsu regretted them.

The band's drummer stretched out her limbs, freeing them from their cross-legged position on the ground to expand her reach as far as possible across the room. There were no more lands to conquer. She wouldn't be able to put off going to Yui's party any longer. Had she been provided more than two day's worth of time to prepare herself to see the entire band together in something other than a Mio-controlled study session so soon, she would have organized a party herself, but Yui had a way of ensuring that the least convenient option was selected with infallibility. "What's the worst that could happen? You seen Nakano again and she's disappointed in you? What else is new? Mio's got a boyfriend? That'd be too hilarious for me to be concerned. Yui or Mugi's messing things up? That would be nice." Fighting battles on the behalf of the band had proven far easier than doing battle with her attention span.

And yet, Ritsu couldn't argue with the results. Though she wasn't at Mio or Tsumugi's levels yet, she'd risen far above the average for at least one of the subjects compared to what she was told was the statistical standard for their desired university. One out of four wasn't exactly going to win her the day, but she had to start somewhere in the precious few weeks they had before entrance exams finally arrived. It didn't help that reality in the form of Yui Hirasawa was staring her directly in the face. The senior, despite being the largest airhead Ritsu had ever known, was startlingly competent when she wanted to be. It had been Mio's idea to trade study books every few days to grade each other's answers and make suggestions for improvements. Ritsu had only agreed to get free answers from Tsumugi and Mio, but even she had to admit that going at the problems from this angle had its benefits. These benefits did not appear when she graded Yui's book and found that, amidst the various doodles of her and the rest of their band and a few torn out pages Mio had wanted to keep, Yui was steadily catching up to Ritsu's level in grades and was terrifyingly close to surpassing her. If Ritsu didn't get into college, fine, whatever. If Yui got into college and Ritsu didn't, she'd have to skip town and live as a drifter, abandoning the name Ritsu Tainaka and all the shattered dreams associated with it for the rest of her life. For the sake of HTT, that couldn't happen. Heaving a sigh, Ritsu turned back to her study book. There was no point in mulling over things any longer. She had a party to go to, and she certainly wouldn't get there sitting around here.

The wind howled outside to remind Ritsu that she wouldn't be allowed safe passage to her destination much longer. Slipping on some warmer clothes, the drummer considered her options. She'd bought a gift for the white elephant exchange Yui had announced, obviously, but the longer it sat around her room the more she wondered if she'd actually made the right decision. Previous gifts had been mostly directed at causing Mio to freak out, giving Ritsu very little experience at understanding what went into a thoughtful gift. Her friends were just too different for the drummer to prepare something generic that they were all equally likely to enjoy, so she was forced to hedge her bets. Just as she was thinking about who she wouldn't want to receive her gift, her phone blared to life from that very person.

As she glared at the text message assaulting her eyes, Ritsu smirked to herself. It was just her luck that she was being put on Nakano duty on the ugliest day of the year. That wasn't saying much given the year just started, but someone had to hold the mantle until an uglier day came along to take it. It was a good thing Ritsu had better things to be doing than dealing with menial band chores today, namely finding ways to get out of menial band chores. After forwarding the text to Mio under the guise of being busy studying, Ritsu sat down again at her desk. It wasn't like she had any intention of continuing her work for the day, but her decision now had trapped her in her room until Mio and presumably Azusa came to free her. Mio was probably thinking of an angry text to respond to her childhood friend, but Ritsu had no intention of listening. Giving Mio the silent treatment was a shockingly effective way to spur her into action, and the activity would be good for both the bassist and Ritsu anyways. Learning to relax was a good new year's resolution for everyone, herself included. Glancing down at Yui's name scribbled into the paper, Ritsu found herself involuntarily smiling. Even when things were weird, she still found herself missing her friends, wanting to run back to them. It might not have been running away, but the last few months had taught Ritsu that she wasn't Ritsu when she wasn't running somewhere. There was nothing wrong with keeping Ritsu alive a little longer if it led to something interesting like bringing the Nakano and the Hirasawa back together, especially if she didn't have to do it herself.

---

55 minutes ago

Limbo was an affectionate term for being bored out of one's mind, and being bored out of one's mind was an affectionate term for whatever Mio was feeling right now. The senior had exhausted all of her study material for the week a week ago, practiced bass until her fingers bled, played nearly every board game in her cabinet with her parents, and still the light on her phone insisted that it had only been 24 hours since she last checked it. The drive to be busy had been so powerful within the bassist that she had failed to stop and consider if there was a purpose behind all that purposeful activity, a goal in particular she was working towards. It was a stupid question to ask in the moment. She worked because she wanted to get into the same college as everyone. She played bass because she enjoyed learning and improving on her skills to keep up with everyone. She played games with her family because it was fun and because she wouldn't have time to do it as much once she went to college. Everything had a perfectly logical reasoning for happening, but once the threshold of Mio's ability to concentrate on any one activity had been well exceeded, the senior was left paralyzed with no desire strong enough to compel her into action.

As a result, Mio found herself lying face down on her bed, begging for the embrace of sleep at the ripe evening time of around 2 PM. It was an unusual feeling for her. Ever since the band had disbanded for the year, she'd had significantly less to do with herself and significantly more problems trying to fill the gap. Her go-to person for dealing with the desirable issue of too much free time was using her own free time to actually study. While Mio applauded that effort, it hung her out to dry when it came to her personal life activities. Yui was in a comparable situation to Ritsu and Tsumugi seemed to be getting pulled away by her father's work needs more and more often despite her protests to the contrary. In a way, it was fulfilling the prophecy that Azusa had laid out in her music to them in their final concert, a warning that they couldn't just go back to that clubroom either. Mio kicked herself for not realizing it at the time. "But you're not thinking about anything like that, are you Ritsu? Mugi? Yui?"

Nobody came to tell Mio she was right. This was the largest failing of the education system for her; it built up unreasonable expectations that everything she said and did had a right way and a wrong way to do it. The senior managed to drag herself out of bed, admonishing the her of two minutes ago that if she fell asleep now she'd certainly miss the party that was possibly happening. Yui had thrown everything together on such short notice it was a wonder that everyone was both available and willing to show up so soon after New Years, and with a totally seasonally appropriate white elephant gift to boot. Yui had insisted that it would just be the five of them and Ui, but Mio had already mentally prepared herself for uninvited guests to crash the party.

Mio paced over to her window and opened it a crack, letting the harsh winter air chill her from her head to her toes. Even with the heat of her home turned up beyond reason, all it took was one little leak to reduce the temperature in her room by several degrees instantly. Looking out the window, Mio could see a fresh coat of snow being laid down on top of the layers that had been building up for most of the past week. Much as she enjoyed a white Christmas, when it was too cold for her to even walk over to Ritsu's house to give her obligatory holiday greetings, there was a clear problem. Fortunately, things had cleared up a little bit since then, but Mio was already looking forward to taking the fastest route possible to Yui's house. Had her mother's car not been stuck in the garage by frost, the whole process would have been much easier, but Mio had decided not to be one to complain this year. Her phone blared to life just as Mio was contemplating how early was too early to show up to a party, revealing a forwarded message from Tsumugi and a message from Ritsu.

Yo, Mio, just got word from the others that you're on Nakano duty at the train station. Make sure she gets picked up soon, okay? I don't know when she's supposed to get here and stuff but she needs someone to get her through this weather and I have important work to do. Good luck!

Ritsu

Mio's fist clenched involuntarily. She knew very well what was happening and that she was powerless to stop it. No doubt this responsibility had fallen into everyone's lap before it was promptly shoved into the next person's pile of problems. While she had expected this behavior from Ritsu, it bothered her that Tsumugi and Yui were both unable to fill the shoes of escort for their kouhai. Yui of all people should have jumped at the opportunity, but Mio put that puzzle aside for now in favor of attacking her childhood friend.

You think I'm not super busy too?! You can't just tell me to do that without a car or knowing when or if she's coming! Did she even confirm?

It took Ritsu several minutes to respond. Mio spend that time pacing the room, her seething anger building up heat that was immediately cooled of as soon as she passed by her window.

Sorry, I got what I know from Mugi and you know her. Just asked Yui again. Apparently she's due in less than an hour, might be planning on spending the night, but that doesn't have anything to do with picking her up. Can you handle it? If not I might be able to work something out.

R

To give up was human. To persist was Mio's job. For this reason her response to Ritsu was succinct.

You owe me.

The response was swift.

She's due soon. I owe you.

And suddenly Mio was alive again. Lethargy had no place in a life dictated by those who ran far faster than Mio could ever sprint. The control she purported over a given situation was given to her exclusively by the circumstances others forced her into. She excelled in school because there were sets of rules she could follow, and she performed well at the bass because the others pushed her into a role she couldn't stumble her way into by herself. A thought crossed Mio's mind as she went looking for her jacket. In one of the few times she'd been to the clubroom over the past month a topic that nobody had really felt like addressing had come up. Azusa's chair remained where it was, but it sat empty or was occupied by one of her friends. The only thing that remained of her was the cat-shaped mug Yui and Tsumugi stubbornly insisted on filling for her every teatime despite the former kouhai not being there. If they were going to hold a party, it only made sense that their guest feel like she was being taken care of properly.

A moment was spared to check the time. If Azusa came by two trains from now as Mio predicted she would, she'd arrive in the hour or so Ritsu claimed she was. School was about a twenty-minute walk and the station was on the way to the school, meaning that going back was much faster than going to the station from home. If she moved at a leisurely pace, she'd get there with time to spare. All according to plan. With the destination laid out for her, the senior was able to take purposeful action for the first time that day, and the effort wasn't wasted.

With a goodbye and a promise to be back before it got too dark, Mio officially finished her evacuation in a record number of minutes. The familiar path to school posed no trouble for the bassist. Her eyes remained fixed on the shifting streetlights in front of her while her mind surged past them, blazing down the path she would take while incorporating the information constantly coming in about her surroundings to calculate an optimal path. Avoid people and animals, shoot for crossings that have the fastest lights, take a moment to admire scenery she never could because Ritsu always dragged her along another path. The chill of winter only hit Mio as the front gate of Sakuragaoka High came into view. She shivered, noticing that in her earnestness to remain busy she'd failed to consider that the school might be shut down for the holidays. Fortunately for her, this was not the case, as even now teachers and students buzzed around the school like impatient bumblebees waiting for the rest of the hive to return with the experiences of freedom on their backs to make the honey of knowledge that fed their queen who-

Mio slapped her cheeks, the sting of cold hands meeting a colder face snapping her out of her daydream. She was here to do a job, no matter how mundane. After entering the school and checking in with the security guard, Mio made a beeline for the third floor where the Light Music Club's clubroom awaited. Her audacious mind had the gall to think for a split second that she might be late for something as her hand met the handle. She was arriving after a long day of classes capped off by cleaning duty. Ritsu had already made a mess of her drum kit trying to set it up, leading to Yui and Tsumugi making tea while they waited for the club president to get her life together. Azusa had protested this until Yui waterboarded her with tea, coercing the junior into sitting down and exchanging disingenuous sullen looks with Ton. When Ritsu noticed that tea was being served without her permission it became her calling in life to test the tea to ensure it was up to Light Music Club standards. Nothing was accomplished in the clubroom that day, even when Mio finally arrived to yell at them. Gripping the door handle tightly, a nostalgic smile absorbed Mio's features. It was just a room, and yet Mio couldn't separate it from what it had done for her and her friends these past three years.

"You gonna go in, senpai?"

Mio jumped five meters in the air, only avoiding passing out because she had maintained a death grip on the door handle. Whirling around, she met the eyes of Jun Suzuki, her junior and fellow member of the Light Music Club. The younger bassist's eyes were just as wide as her senpai's, clearly not having expected Mio's violent reaction. "Shoot, sorry Mio-senpai. I was doing my best not to startle you, but I'm kinda in a hurry here."

Realizing that Jun was waiting to enter the clubroom as well, Mio coughed into her hand and opened the door. "O-of course! I was just testing to see if it was locked before I opened the door. Wouldn't want to damage it, right?"

Jun tilted her head. "Does it take that long to check on a door? You know what, don't answer that, I get it. If you'll excuse me." Before Mio could even think about entering the room, Jun darted inside and flipped the lights on. "GET OUT HERE, YOU SNEAKY BROAD! I KNOW YOU'RE IN HERE SOMEWHERE!"

The howl of rage startled Mio just as badly as Jun's appearance, but having it not directed at her let her somewhat maintain her cool. She tried to take a step into the clubroom, but Jun hushed her senpai with a finger to her lips, the junior crouching low to the ground as she attempted to hear something. The sound of breathing and the room's heater was the only noise in the clubroom for several seconds. Eventually, Jun swore under her breath. "Damn, she's not here. Sorry to bother you, Mio-senpai. I'll be going now,"

"Wait," Mio commanded, stepping into the room now that an opportunity to control the pace of the conversation had finally presented itself. "What's going on? Who are you looking for?"

"Nobody you would know or need to know." Jun answered vaguely. "Just some delinquent who Nodoka-senpai roped me into watching over while she did some tasks for the student council. You know she's busy doing her entrance exam prep on top of Ui's sister's work and all. Ne, if you happen to see a girl who dresses worse than Ritsu somehow and has ugly red hair, give me a ring, yeah?"

Mio found this description to be rather amusing as it brought a red-headed Ritsu to mind, but she held back her fantasies for the moment. "Sure. You know the Light Music Club is holding a get together at Yui's house a bit later today. Do you have time to come?"

Jun was shaking her head before Mio even finished speaking. "I'd love to, really. Ui went and invited me and everything, but I told her I was busy with this and to send everyone my regards. That reminds me, did you get my Christmas card, senpai? I put a lot of effort into it this year!"

Mio smiled, recalling the unexpected season's greetings she'd found in the mail four days before Christmas. "Yes, thank you. I'm sure the band appreciated theirs as well."

Jun blushed slightly, looking away. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm sure they did." The junior's eyes said there was more to that story, but she didn't decide to elaborate and Mio wasn't going to push the junior who was still finding her place at the table in front of them. "Anyways, what brings you here, since I'm back to square one with searching anyways?" Even as she said this Jun was poking around in the room's cabinets and closets like her foe was the world's leading hide and seek champion.

The plan Mio had devised was perfect until she tried to put it into words for someone else. She adjusted the strap on her school bag nervously as she attempted to come up with a good way to explain that she'd gone this far out of her way for a cup. "I heard you were here and wanted to stop by," Mio lied, drawing on the first excuse she could think of.

This wasn't anywhere close to the reasoning Jun had expected. The bassist's eyes shone in a way that made Mio feel terribly guilty. "For real? Why?"

It was hard to look at the Light Music Club's shining future without sunglasses on. Mio averted her eyes to where Ton's tank would have been had Tsumugi not taken him home for the winter. "Well, like I said, we were having a party and I wanted to make sure you were aware that you were invited personally. I'd have done it over the phone but… my battery is dead and I couldn't ask one of the others to tell you!" Completely satisfied with her lie, Mio smiled knowingly at her kouhai.

There was a terrifying moment where it looked like Jun didn't believe a single word Mio was saying and was about to tell her as such before she nodded in complacency. "Well, uh, thanks, Mio-senpai! If it means that much to you I might try and find the time to swing by. Shit, if I'm doing that I really need to finish up here sooner rather than later. Okay, I'll definitely see you later, okay?" Without waiting for a response, Jun darted out of the clubroom to track down whoever she was hunting.

Mio was left alone in the clubroom. A familiar song that had worn her strings down, fraying them to the point that she had feared they might snap on her as the days leading up to their final performance had moved solemnly forward. But the band persisted, even as the kouhai they'd lifted up spread her wings and flew away without them. It would be rude of Mio to not give her a place to come land. Within a moment, Mio's target was located in the tea cabinet right where Yui always put it and Mio was on her way to the train station again. Even if everything else changed, Mio very much doubted her kouhai would ever allow herself to be late.

---

The Present

Rage blinded Azusa's vision as the timeline of the last 24 hours ran through her head again. On whose authority had she been sent out into the freezing winter cold to contact her senpais just days before the semester kicked off again? She was supposed to be spending this time building connections at her new school, fostering bonds that could help her survive another full year in the education system, yet the girls she thought she'd left behind had revealed the red string her heart was still attached to, tugging on it to drag their kouhai back home for some farfetched idea of a Christmas party weeks after the actual event. She was lucky she'd been able to find something for the gift exchange on short notice, and her senpais were extremely lucky that Azusa had nothing better to do than cater to their every whim.

No, it's not like that. I already promised them it wouldn't be like that. If I let them think it's like that then it'll be like nothing changed. They're probably just looking for an excuse to slack off after studying for entrance exams so diligently. Maybe it's okay to have just a little faith in them at this time of year.

This thought gave way to anxiety as the train Azusa was riding on came to a stop at a familiar station. It was the same one Tsumugi used to get to her mansion home, though Azusa had never seen anything of the sort on the line. She hadn't really considered just how far-reaching this train line was, and she wasn't about to let Yui know that connecting with her was just a simple day trip away. Whatever had happened before she left, she couldn't in her right mind claim to be prepared for whatever Yui thought couples were supposed to do beyond fawning over each other at every opportunity. With bubbling hopes and worries filling her mind, Azusa stepped off the train platform and back into the hometown she'd only come to consider as such once she left it. People bustled about around her, the student shouldering her bag closer to her body. She hadn't brought her guitar specifically because she didn't want to make anything that happened today about her. As far as she could tell, she hadn't even really confirmed that she was coming with anyone besides Ui. Since moving out she'd had sporadic contact with her band, though Yui and Jun were dark spots she wasn't expecting. Yui and her had spoken, of course, but their connection had faltered without Yui being there to attempt to make it physically. It had bothered Azusa more than she would ever admit and had played no small part in helping her move her feet forward off the train station. This subconscious reason was why Azusa was slightly disappointed when the first person she recognized sported long dark hair rather than a messy brown bob. Disappointment melted away when the two locked eyes. "Mio-senpai!" Azusa cried out, charging through the crowds to get to her former senpai.

"Azusa, you made it!" Mio smiled, the two sharing a brief hug and forgetting the world around them existed for a moment. "How have you been, how was your trip?!"

"It was fine, senpai. I'm sorry to make you come out here for my sake. The weather is hardly fitting for a party."

Mio shook her head, already leading them away from the crowds of people and towards the station exit. "Don't worry about it, I was happy to go once I heard you were coming. Everyone's going to be really excited to see you."

The thought of being charged by an overly-enthusiastic Yui and Tsumugi ran through Azusa's head and made her shiver. "A normal amount of excitement hopefully," she deflected as they stepped out into the world properly.

The light snowfall that had begun as Azusa was whisked away by the train had grown into a steady canter. Mio looked up at the sky in concern. "It's a bit of a ways to Yui's place. We might be better off getting a ride from Ritsu."

"Um, senpai, I don't think that's a good-"

"Ritsu's parents, I mean."

"Ah, never mind. I agree, senpai."

Mio smiled warmly. "You don't need to call me senpai, Azusa. We don't go to the same school anymore, right?"

Azusa blushed and looked away. "Don't say that. It's barely been a month. You all are always going to be my senpais to me."

"And Yui?"

She hadn't been back for three minutes and she'd already been assaulted in her most sensitive subject. Azusa's blush grew even more fierce. Instead of trying to hide her face, however, she instead wheeled on Mio. "That has nothing to do with anything we have places to go okay?" Azusa sort of asked, changing the subject with all the delicacy of a trained demolitions expert.

Thoroughly amused with herself at Azusa's expense, Mio nodded. "Of course. Come on, Azusa. Let's get over there before the baka leaves without us."

Sighing as she found herself getting swept away just by the presence of one of her senpais, Azusa trailed after Mio into the falling snow. Her initial misstep was quickly forgotten as the duo got lost in discussion about what they'd been up to since seeing each other last. Azusa recounted stories about her new school while Mio discussed the admittedly uneventful details of her alma mater's life since November had ended. Aside from Ritsu trying to sell Ton in exchange for an extra heater more than twice, things had remained mostly uneventful. Ui and Jun had joined the group in the band room for teatime, but given that they'd ingratiated themselves with most of the band already, Azusa had expected this development. Ui was apparently cordial with everyone despite their differences, which Mio insisted was because of Azusa against her contrary protests. On the other hand, Jun was unabashedly herself, leading to clashes with Ritsu that Mio found oddly amusing. Azusa could have made plenty of comments about the poorly-kept secret that was Jun's admiration for Mio driving that particular dynamic, but she chose to allow her senpai to speak. Given that Mio was the only truly serious member of the seniors, Azusa figured she probably had plenty to vent about. Knowing that her place had been filled was a bittersweet feeling that made it hard to speak properly anyways. As they approached Ritsu's house, Mio pulled out her phone. "I texted her, but she didn't respond. If this is a bust I suppose we can ask my parents, but they'll be upset if I tell them we need to -AUGH!" Mio cried out as Ritsu sprang out at her from a nearby bush, an uncanny-looking Santa Claus mask on her face.

"Give me all your cookies!" Ritsu demanded, holding a moderately sharp candy cane in her gloved hand.

Azusa tilted her head as Mio got her bearings to take in the sudden appearance of their friend. "How long have you been in that bush?" was all she could think to ask.

"Long enough to consider sacrificing a digit or three," Ritsu admitted as she lifted the mask. "More importantly, I wanted to see my awesome kouhai as soon as possible. How you doing, kid?" Ritsu had time to ruffle Azusa's pigtailed hair for all of two seconds before Mio recovered from her shock and slugged Ritsu in the back of the shoulder.

"How many times have I told you not to do that?!"

"I dunno, how many times have you fallen for it?"

For some reason this was the wrong answer. It took several deep breaths and some calming words from Azusa to bring Mio's anger under control. "Since you got the text, I'm assuming that means we can get a ride?" she presumed.

Ritsu nodded, thumbing towards the car sitting in her driveway. "She's ready to go. On the way you can tell me all about this new school of yours, Nakano. I tell you, I didn't appreciate how good the kouhais were in our club until we got two new ones. Something something worth of water and all that. That's gonna be on the test, isn't it Mio?"

"As if you'd know," the bassist grumbled, still sore from being jumped out at.

Azusa found herself struggling for breath. It wasn't because of the cold air around her or because she was physically tired. Rather, the atmosphere of being around her senpais had already left her caught up in their pace. She'd learned some important things in the month or so she'd been gone. Making friends wasn't that difficult for her. The necessary education for fostering connections had been imparted onto her by her mother long before it had become a lifeline for them to cling on to. The difference now was that she actively chose to dissociate herself from others. After everything her band had been through it felt superficial to simply start again elsewhere. So the last month had been quiet. Muttan had done his best to fill those gaps in, but his bubble of safety had been popped by one Yui Hirasawa in a way Azusa couldn't shake off anymore. Even when she wasn't around, Azusa detected hints of her senpai's unorthodox playing style in her fingering as she attempted to practice. It was a reminder that she was alone and that such a fact was impossible at the same time. Now, she'd been shoved headfirst back into the world she'd buried herself in for two years, and the shock to her system was still trying to catch up. Perhaps she really wasn't ready to make friends or be normal anymore. And if she wasn't doing all she could in that regard, could she really say she'd gotten stronger, that it was okay to be here? "Nakano? Don't die on me, kid, Mio can't afford a lawyer." Ritsu waved a hand in front of Azusa's face rudely.

Blinking, Azusa shook the falling snow from her head. "Sorry, I'm fine. We should go, yes."

Azusa refused to elaborate on her thoughts until they were already in the car, and even then she remained purposefully vague. This led to no small amount of teasing from Ritsu about the oldest person in the house they were heading to that Azusa didn't entertain. The open secret that Azusa had opened a door with Yui that she hadn't planned on opening for anyone anytime soon wouldn't be the focus of this visit. It wasn't as if she should be expecting Yui to behave any differently, so she had to remain impassive as well. Instead, Azusa redirected her conversations to school. Yes, she'd gotten acclimated without any issues. Yes, she was still playing guitar. Yes, the new school had a Light Music Club. No, she hadn't betrayed them for another band and even if she did they had no right to tell her she couldn't. No, she hadn't approached the club.

"Why not?" Mio asked, genuinely curious. "Don't say it's out of respect for us, please."

Azusa shook her head, fingers running along one of the hems of her bag. "Nothing like that. I just… think it's a lot of effort for people I won't have the chance to get to know that well when I have entrance exams coming up soon, you know? I've moved around enough times to know when I'd just be asking to get hurt by making friends."

A snappy remark was what Azusa had expected to hear at this claim, or some form of understanding and sympathy. Instead, she got a vacant look from Ritsu and an inscrutable face from Mio. The drummer turned around from the passenger's seat, making sure to break the law as flagrantly as possible to shoot Azusa an expression Azusa could most liken to a disappointed parent. "That's not the Nakano I raised. Where's the go-getter energy, girl? If you don't open yourself up to getting hurt, you won't be able to feel anything before too long, and I've been there. It sucks. Ask Mio."

Mio said nothing, maintaining her expression as she looked to the window. "See? Total agreement. Don't let Yui hear you say that. She's got enough on her plate without having to worry that her kouhai is being anti-social."

"Does that mean she's failing the mock exams?" Azusa fretted, already recalling her battle plans to avoid bringing up topics of grades until Yui was full enough on food to tolerate them.

"On the contrary, her improvement has been exponential," Mio revealed. "I assume what the baka is saying is that she doesn't want to slow down Yui's progress."

Somehow Azusa wasn't as pleased to hear this news as she thought she would be. Yui was moving forward without her. That was to be expected, but facing reality was never the same as hearing about it through an emotionless tone over the phone. "That's good to hear," she lied with a half-smile. "What else has been going on since I've been gone?"

Ritsu took this opportunity to monopolize the conversation for the rest of the trip to the Hirasawa household. By the time Azusa was stepping out into the snow once more, she'd learned the details of everything that the band had eaten since she'd left down to the calorie count of each cupcake and how the wrappers were cockled. It made her head spin, but in a positive way brought on by nostalgia. Mio led the trio to Yui's front door as Ritsu waved her father off and Azusa realized that she wasn't ready to see Yui again.

Azusa had felt the senior's onerous presence so much more minutely than her other senpais that it hadn't even sunk in how long they'd spent apart. The feelings that had been suppressed for so long started to surge forward, the kouhai battling with herself to remain in control. Azusa's emotions couldn't be allowed to ruin the image of effective progress she was already struggling to put forward today. It would only prove that she'd completely failed to grow up. Mio managed to just barely ring the doorbell before the door opened to reveal Ui. The younger sister looked terrible; her hair was matted down by what looked like bits of flour that also covered her apron. Said hair had been let down, and Azusa could tell that Mio and Ritsu thought they were staring at Yui for a second by the way their faces contorted in disappointment then confusion. "Azusa-chan, everyone, welcome!" Ui greeted cordially. "I apologize for the mess, we've had a bit of trouble setting everything up. Please, come in. Onee-chan, Azusa-chan and the others are here!"

As they entered the room, thumping could be heard coming from upstairs, but rather than heading toward them, the thumping seemed to grow further away. Azusa's mind was more focused on her old friend in front of her, the person she'd actually had the most contact with since leaving Sakuragaoka behind. Despite their differences over Yui, Ui had proven herself to at least be able to maintain friendly terms over the phone, which was more than she could say for her other friend. Stepping into the house, Azusa exchanged a quick hug with Ui. "It's good to see you, Ui-chan. You look awful."

Ui grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. To be honest, Onee-chan kinda forced this on me last-minute. It's been all I can do to get everything ready in time."

"Now that sounds like our lead guitarist," Ritsu commented, joining Azusa inside the house. "Sorry to intrude, Ui. Is Mugi here yet?"

Azusa was pleasantly surprised that Ritsu and Mio weren't actively antagonizing Ui, but she guessed that a month was a bit long to hold so petty a grudge, even if it was for her sake. "No, she said she was running late due to car trouble."

"Even the rich have problems, huh?" Mio muttered to herself. "Yui, come down here and talk to your kouhai!" It was surprising that Mio was the one who uttered that call to action, but Azusa was grateful she didn't have to do it herself.

"She's not going to respond," Ui commented as she led the way up the stairs. "She's been bouncing off the walls all week."

"I'm not responding to that!" Yui agreed from the third floor of the house. "I'm indecent!"

A collective sigh left the band as they entered the second floor of the house. Despite Ui's appearance, most of the floor was relatively tidy. Simple Christmas decorations that definitely hadn't been put away just a few days ago hung on the walls and several plates of food occupied the kotatsu in the center of the living room. Azusa glanced toward the kitchen and immediately wished she hadn't. Only in pictures of warzones in her history books has she seen messes of this sort of magnitude. "I can't apologize enough," Ui bowed. "I promise I could have fixed this if I had just a bit more time."

Ritsu shook her head condescendingly. "What a shock, nothing is working out. Kid, go get the host. Mio, on me. If Mugi sees this we'll lose the whole evening to cleaning." Mio agreed without protest, Ui giving Azusa an apologetic smile before joining the group in the kitchen to hide the wake of Yui's destructive path.

It didn't surprised Azusa that she was left holding the most important job, but it did disappoint her. Something should have changed in the last month since she'd been in this house, right? Is that why Yui hadn't sought her out like she claimed she was going to? The answers to her questions were waiting just a few steps away, yet Azusa felt strangely tired. All the energy abandoned her body as the path in front of her suddenly grew long and arduous, like she was told to walk barefoot on broken glass. The thing that caused her to step forward was the faint sound of music that suddenly started coming from the stairs in front of her. It was familiar and unfamiliar, as if Yui had taken one of their songs and shifted the key for no other reason than to prove that she could. The sound just one level above noise pulled Azusa toward it until she found herself standing at Yui's cracked open door. The kouhai mustered the wherewithal to knock as she pushed the door open gingerly. "Yui-senpai, I'm coming in," she announced, her voice hitching slightly on the word senpai.

She shouldn't be nervous. It was just Yui, after all. Of everyone, Yui was the last person you should ever feel self-conscious around. The only person who really understood that was Yui, and her life mission had been to spread the good news no matter how much Azusa had ignored this advice. The lights were on, revealing Yui sitting on her bed, Gita in hand. She was running through a rendition of U&I that Azusa didn't recognize, and Azusa didn't dare interrupt her further as she finished the piece. It didn't quite scratch the itch that had been bugging Azusa in the way that hearing anything their band had created did. Rather, it aggravated it, like she was bringing Azusa right to the edge of what she wanted before holding her back from diving in. She remained quiet until Yui finished playing and looked up at Azusa with a quiet smile on her face. "What do you think?" she asked.

Azusa shook her head. The song had distracted her from the dirty clothes strewn about the ground that had suggested what Yui was doing just a moment before, and obtaining that knowledge sidetracked her traitorous mind for an instant. "It's not very good. Maybe with the right parts backing it up you could turn it into a good alternative version."

Yui bit her lip and sighed. "Yeah, I think so too. But everyone's too busy studying to try creating anything new." She set Gita aside and rose to her feet, caressing the strings warmly as she did so.

"You know, we usually have the opposite problem with you when it comes to practice. Shouldn't you be studying too anyways?"

The band's lead guitarist pouted as she crossed the room to her desk. "Mou, Azu-nyan, you should have a bit more respect for me than that. I can almost do half as good as Ricchan now. We'll pass our exams." Conviction for anything but food was a rare thing to hear from Yui's mouth, but Azusa didn't complain.

"I should hope so."

There was an awkward silence in the room. Azusa had a multitude of questions swimming around her head. Why hadn't Yui tried to contact her more since she left? Was she having second thoughts? Did she actually want Azusa to leave? The direction of the speculations became decidedly dark as Azusa stood there staring at her senpai. "Why?" Azusa finally asked when Yui remained tacit.

"Why what?"

Azusa folded her arms. "You know what I'm asking. Why didn't you try to reach out more? I barely heard from you since I left."

Yui tilted her head. "Isn't that what you wanted? To get stronger or something and come back? I was never sure how to address it, so I ended up not doing much. Sorry about that."

Rubbing one arm awkwardly, Azusa looked away. "Well, yeah, but-"

"Then it sounds like we understand each other," Yui interrupted, making her way to the door. "You came to get me, right? Thanks. I kinda messed up the kitchen and I didn't want to have to face the music for it. Guess that was immature of me, huh? I'll go fix it." Before Azusa could so much as protest, Yui was marching out the door and downstairs, hollering about how she was so glad to see her friends.

Nothing about that interaction made sense to Azusa. She had practically been given whiplash by how many times Yui had changed the direction of the conversation, leaving her head spinning. When the world recentered, she found herself staring at the abandoned guitar on Yui's unmade bed. "Did you do this?" Azusa asked, for once glad that the guitar couldn't answer her.

There wasn't time to ruminate on her possible failings. If she was to prove that she had actually improved herself, she needed to be an active participant in this party without making it about her, not some watcher from afar. After centering herself, she made her way downstairs to the second floor where the others were busying themselves in the kitchen. In short, it was a sordid affair that made Azusa want to run sobbing back into Gita's arms. Mio and Ritsu were fighting over who should be in charge of sweeping the floor while Yui and Ui were struggling to contain the bag of flour that Yui had just spilled all over the counter. "Give it, Mio! This is the best job for me, got it?"

"We can't sweep yet! Look what Yui just did! We're not helping fix the problem if we don't take care of the stuff that's making the mess!"

"Onee-chan, please, just go sit down and let me-"

"No, Ui, I can do this! Let me help everyone!"

Azusa reacted without thinking. Getting involved in either debate was suicide, so she focused her efforts on preserving the integrity of everything that was already set up. She formed a physical wall between the kitchen and living room, picking up scraps of failed cooking that had come flying from the kitchen to prevent the mostly intact living room from falling apart. Her efforts were noble, but there was little she could do to stem the flow of debris coming from the kitchen. Before long, she would be overwhelmed. Not even her voice could pierce the storm of chaos that was engulfing the very air around her as white powder started to fill her lungs. It looked like their reunion would be punctuated by a trip to the hospital at this rate. "Someone… help…" Azusa prayed aloud as her vision began to dip in and out.

"YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!" Came a voice from the stairs in response to Azusa's prayers.

Instantly all the noise on the floor ceased, five people turning their attention to a single person standing at the top of the stairs. Tsumugi stood proudly before them, green dress somehow billowing in the wind under her jacket despite them being indoors. "Mio-chan, Ricchan, Ui-chan, take care of the counters. Ricchan picks up trash and Mio-chan picks up things that can be put away. Yui-chan, sweep the living room and make your way into the kitchen when you're done. Azusa-chan, go find all the cleaners you can and bring them here. I'll deal with everything else."

Not a single complaint was heard from anyone. At Tsumugi's command, everyone got right to work like this was the signal they'd been waiting for the entire time. Mio and Ritsu instantly stopped fighting, Yui quit complaining that she wasn't doing enough, and Azusa acted with direction that her previous work has sorely been lacking. Within half of an hour, the entire kitchen looked like it had never been used in human history. The six girls stood back admiring their handiwork, forgetting the attempts at setting up a party for a moment to bask in their accomplishment. "Never thought I'd be able to see myself in that sink again," Yui commented around sips of water. "You showed up at the perfect time, Mugi-chan."

Tsumugi nodded politely, the only person among them who hadn't broken a sweat the entire time. "Of course, Yui-chan. I'm only sorry I couldn't be here sooner. I had some car trouble that prevented me from getting here on time. That is also why I couldn't be present to receive you at the train station, Azusa-chan. You have my apologies for that as well."

Azusa shook her head immediately. "Oh no, you don't need to apologize for that at all, senpai! We're grateful for your help! I'm sorry I couldn't be more useful."

"Well with that sorted, how about we actually do what we came here to do?" Ritsu suggested.

At this, everyone's eyes turned to Yui. Yui stared back blankly. "Something on my face?"

"This is your party. What did you want us to do first?" Azusa asked, withholding irritation for the moment in case Yui actually had by some miracle thought this through.

Yui's mind was working overtime. It was of the opinion that it had already been overtaxed by the struggles of the day and to summon it for critical thinking at this point was a crime that constituted the highest punishment the land could offer. Smoke leaked from her ears as Yui fretted over thinking about what was supposed to come next. In situations like this, there was rarely ever more than a singular answer. "Food!" Yui exclaimed, pointing to the table. "Gotta eat it now before it gets cold or warm depending on what it is go!"

"Works for me," Ritsu agreed, already sitting down at the table. "Thank you for the food. Let's eat!"

Mio badly wanted to say something to her friend about her manners, but Tsumugi beat her to it by joining Ritsu at the table. "I think Yui's logic is sound," she concurred. "Ui-chan, do you have any recommendations? It all looks delicious."

Mio and Azusa exchanged a look before shrugging. To go against the will of the free spirits in their band was an exercise in futility they'd like to think they'd learned well enough to avoid by now. As everyone sat down to eat, time began to blur for Azusa. Words were lost in a haze of catching up with everyone and talking about where she'd been and where they'd been and how much had and hadn't changed in the month or so since they'd missed each other. Yui remained mostly as quiet as her sister for the majority of the exchanges, though Azusa could easily blame that on the food that was quickly disappearing from the table. Despite it being January already, the Hirasawas had decorated the room as if Christmas was right around the corner with paper snowflakes and a small tree with red and green ornaments. Having her cat mug returned to her courtesy of Mio was the detail that pushed things from feeling nostalgic to feeling like she'd never left in the first place. Being so far removed from the intended holiday reminded Azusa of home, and that comforted her.

Some time later, when the food was eaten and Azusa was just starting to wish she didn't ever have to leave the table she was at, Yui clapped her hands together, suddenly bursting into life. "Right! White elephant gift exchange time!" she exclaimed, reaching behind the couch to withdraw a shockingly well-wrapped gift. "Did you guys all bring something?"

"You were serious about that? It's January," Ritsu complained, though she withdrew a gift from her own bag when Mio threw her a look.

Azusa sighed as she moved to retrieve her own gift. She'd been given less than a day's notice about this event, meaning she'd had to scramble to find something around the house that nobody would miss at the last minute. Fortunately, her family was made up of musicians that collected paraphernalia that would be interesting to musicians. Unfortunately, that family had recently taken a new interest in their hobby that had led to more accurate categorization and record-keeping when it came to said paraphernalia. The best Azusa had been able to get away with permanently borrowing was an old book on guitar theory. She frankly didn't know who could possibly want such an antiquated gift, but perhaps Mio or Yui would be able to get some use out of it. All she could hope for was that the others had brough gifts of similar quality. The point of this kind of exchange was to keep things cheap and fun, right? Horror stories from the gift exchange the band had participated in from before she joined up had floated down to her when Sawako wasn't around, but surely they had to be exaggerated. As everyone sat down again, gifts in hand, Ui pulled out a hat with folded pieces of paper in it. "To keep things more fair than last time, we decided to put names in a hat. Give your gift to the person whose name you draw," Ui instructed, passing the hat to her sister first.

Once everyone had drawn a name, they opened it at the same time. Azusa suppressed a grimace when she saw Ui's name written in her handwriting. "Can we draw again? I got Ritsu," Mio announced, holding up her piece of paper.

"Well, someone has to get the short end of the stick," Yui snarked. "Unlike me. I got Azu-nyan!" Yui scooted closer to Azusa as if she expected her kouhai to praise her, prompting Azusa to give her a half-hearted thumbs up to mask the concern she had over what Yui's present might be.

"Um, I appear to have drawn myself," Tsumugi revealed, showing her paper to everyone. "Should we do another drawing?"

"No!" Yui protested. "Just trade with someone!" The vitriol in Yui's voice was odd given the circumstances, but Azusa wasn't about to join her given what her present was.

Ui bit her lip, torn between pleasing her guests and appeasing her sister. "Maybe we should have done Sawa-chan-sensei's stupid musical chairs thing after all," Ritsu commented. "If we're voting, I definitely think we should keep things how they are and have Mugi swap with Nakano or something."

Realizing what would happen if she gave her gift to someone who didn't even play guitar, Azusa immediately shook her head. "No, that won't be possible. I vote she swaps with someone else," Azusa denied.

This led to several tilted heads, but nobody complained. "If that's the case, then she can just swap with-"

Ui's suggestion was cut off by Yui jumping to her feet. "Why don't we just let Mugi keep the gift she bought!" the senior exclaimed like this was somehow a good idea.

"That defeats the purpose, private," Ritsu rejected with a shake of her head. "Clearly, the best solution is to-" All of the harmony in the room evaporated as the group descended into argument over the best way to resolve the extremely resolvable conundrum in front of them.

Ritsu was right in the middle of explaining her suggestion of ritual combat to make their decision when a loud knock at the door stopped the argument. Ui and Yui exchanged a look. "I wasn't expecting any more guests. Did anyone invite someone?" Ui questioned.

Before anyone could answer that the knocking at the door came down harder than before. Not wanting to keep their impatient guest waiting, Ui rose and slipped her slippers back on before scurrying downstairs. Yui and the others followed, curious about the new development. Everyone paused at the top of the stairs, waiting in mixed amounts of anticipation for the new arrival. "Oh, it's you, Jun-chan," Ui sighed in relief as she opened the door. "I thought you couldn't-"

"I lied to Sawa-chan that I got someone else to fill in for me," Jun interrupted. "I'm not intruding, am I?"

"Jun-chan!" Yui exclaimed, taking the lead down the stairs to greet the junior. "You came after all! I was sad you couldn't make it. Ne, did you know Azusa-chan is here? Have you seen her since she moved? Come say hi!" Jun was dragged inside by the exuberant senior, nearly causing her to drop her school bag.

Azusa doubted Jun would complain much, given she was still wearing her school uniform, but Jun and Azusa were both focused on each other as Ui closed the door behind them. "'Sup?" Jun greeted with a wave.

"'Sup?" Azusa repeated in disbelief. "You ghost me for a month and then all you have to say now is 'sup'?"

"Who ghosted who first?" Jun responded casually as she took her shoes off. "I'm here, aren't I? Got a present and everything. If you don't want me here just say so."

"I invited her," Mio announced, stepping forward to defend the junior. "We ran into each other at school and I extended the invitation. She's in the club too, isn't she?"

Jun nodded gratefully. "And I deeply appreciate that, Mio-senpai, really." Everyone's eyes turned to Azusa.

At what point had approving of inviting people become her responsibility? Azusa shuffled one way and another on her feet as the spotlight of attention blinded her vision. To have assumed that this endeavor would be a simple dinner party was her own grievous mistake. That's not the way these things are supposed to be. I'm the one who's making everything complicated. Azusa descended the stairs and met Jun face-to-face. "I missed you," she admitted, holding Jun's questioning look with no small amount of mental effort. "I should have made more of an effort to stay connected."

Jun blushed, her aloof composure disappearing. "M-me too. I just… didn't know what to say when you left so suddenly."

"Me either."

"Wait, you think they're gonna kiss?"

A book from a nearby shelf was hurled in Ritsu's direction. "Don't shoot the messenger!" Ritsu cried as she retreated from her furious kouhais to the safety of the kotatsu.

The two kouhais had reached for the weapon at the same time, but Jun had gotten there just a hair faster. Both girls exchanged a look and chuckled as they realized they'd tried to do the exact same thing. "Wanna come upstairs? We're doing the white elephant thing," Azusa gestured toward the upstairs.

Jun smiled. "Perfect. Guess I didn't waste my money on the way here then." The junior reached into her school bag and withdrew a small gift box. "Did you decide who gets what?"

"Wait, this is perfect!" Ui realized as they all ascended the stairs again. "Now Jun-chan can trade with Mugi-chan and everyone will get a different present!"

"Works for me," Jun shrugged, passing her gift to Tsumugi as they approached the kotatsu where Ritsu was nursing a bruise on her arm. "Feeling okay, senpai?"

"Come sit next to me and I'll show you exactly how I'm feeling," Ritsu groused as Mio sat down next to her instead. "Let's do this already, the anticipation is literally killing me." The gifts had been arranged by Ritsu according to who had drawn whose name, meaning that the drummer had been rooting around in everyone's bags.

Deciding to ignore this fact, Ui motioned to Ritsu. "By all means, senpai, you go first then."

Grinning, Ritsu tore into Ui's gift like a starving animal. The end result of this act of carnage was what appeared to be a study guide of some sort. "I feel sort of attacked," Ritsu admitted as she flipped through the book. "We have something similar to this al…ready…" the ungrateful drummer trailed off as she noticed that all of the answers to the book had been filled out, along with specific notes on how each problem could be solved.

There was a moment of tacit understanding that passed between Ui and Ritsu. It wasn't in the best interests of either of them for Ritsu to fail the upcoming entrance exam. Thus, Ui had seen fit to provide Ritsu and probably Yui with her own version of a private tutor. Closing the book before Mio or Tsumugi could object, Ritsu bowed to her kouhai. "Thank you, Ui-senpai. I will make excellent use of this."

"I know you will," Ui smiled in that kind yet faintly unnerving way she did when her machinations came together. "I'll go next then." She announced, opening Azusa's hastily wrapped gift before Azusa could warn her not to get her hopes up.

"Ah, it seems we were both thinking along the lines of literature. Did you get this for me because you knew I'm learning guitar, Azusa-chan? That was very thoughtful of you." Ui lifted the book out of its wrapping and flipped through it with demonstrable interest.

No matter what Azusa said in this situation, it would sound wrong. To claim that she'd gotten it specifically for Ui would make it seem like she didn't care about her senpais, and to claim otherwise would indicate that she hadn't put much thought into the gift at all. There wasn't really a winning scenario, leading Azusa to simply shrug. "I guess I just got lucky, huh?" She attempted a faint laugh that didn't really catch on with anyone.

Had knowledge that Azusa's invitation to this party been last second not been known to everyone, she might have caught more flak for her actions. Instead, everyone except Yui nodded in silent understanding before Yui raised her hand. "I wanna go now! Super unwrapping technique go!" This technique turned out to be pulling a guitar pick out of one's pocket and using it to somehow slice the wrapping on a gift open.

Azusa didn't think guitar picks were supposed to be anywhere near that sharp, meaning that Yui had either been taking worse care of her equipment than she initially thought or she was actively planning to murder someone. The second option wouldn't even be on the table had Azusa not seen first-hand what Yui could do with a pick to a guitar. A decision hadn't been made by the time Yui actually opened the present to reveal a stuffed cat not entirely unlike the one Tsumugi had gifted Azusa not too long ago. Mio went crimson as Yui pulled it out and inspected it carefully. "I remembered seeing it a while ago and couldn't help myself. I thought one of you might want one too, so-"

"It's perfect!" Yui cooed, hugging the cat tightly. "Just like Azu-nyan!"

"I'm right here, you know," Azusa added before she could stop herself.

Yui's response to this comment was to grin wildly and crawl over to her kouhai, who shrank back a little in defense. "I know, Azu-nyan. Are you feeling a bit lonely over here? Need some attention from your senpai?" As Yui went in for a hug, Azusa tried in vain to defend herself from Yui's assault.

"Yui, not right now, we're in the middle of something!" Azusa protested, getting into a sumo match just to keep herself seated and upright.

Fortunately for everyone involved, Yui saw fit to relent eventually. "Aw, fine, be that way, Azu-nyan. We'll talk about it later."

Azusa sighed at the knowing looks she was receiving from everyone, Tsumugi in particular. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'm sure you're all glad to have the Yui magnet back."

"I cannot deny that it does provide great entertainment," Tsumugi conceded as she picked up the present Jun had brought.

Contrary to everyone else, Jun's present was clearly still contained in the brown cardboard box it had been purchased in. The sticky tape from the price tag had been ripped off, leaving only the residue behind to prove it had been there. "If I'd planned ahead better, I would have thought to bring something nicer. So uh, apologies, Moog," Jun spoke as Tsumugi pulled the white tissue paper out of the box to reveal what appeared to be a sponge with a face on it.

Jun winced. "Well, this is probably better for people who actually do their own cleaning, but it's a sponge that's really good at getting dirt and food off of stuff. I have one at home and it's really helpful, but I guess-"

"It's perfect!" Tsumugi exclaimed, holding the sponge up to the sky like it was some sort of national treasure. "I've always wanted to try one of these since I saw it at the hardware store a long time ago. You've made all my dreams come true, Jun-san!"

"I have? I mean, of course I have!" Jun boasted, suddenly puffing out her chest. "I'll take my thank you card and cash in the mail."

After this turn of events things proceeded relatively smoothly until Mio's turn arrived. Azusa had opened a wonderful set of guitar picks that she suspected Yui had planned for her to obtain through collusion with Ui and Jun received a small tea set that was clearly way too expensive for someone like her. Mio had held off on opening her present, having been offput by the way Ritsu had pitched the nature of her gift. By the time everyone's eyes were on her, it was way too late to suggest swapping with anyone. "Come on, it can't be any worse than last year," Ritsu egged her friend on.

"Don't remind me of last year," Mio groaned, recalling how Ritsu had given her a giant rubber spider before placing a new one in a random location in her house every time she threw it away. Several perfectly good vases had lost their lives in the ensuing months of debilitating paranoia. "Let's just get this over with."

Opening the gift, Mio tilted her head as she pulled out what appeared to be some sort of dvd. "Let me guess, a horror movie?" She presumed.

Ritsu shook her head, grinning. "Nope. That right there is the edited version of our recording from a few months ago. I took the time to learn how to add some effects and intros and stuff to spruce it up. I think you'll all be really impressed by the results."

There was silence in the room for a time as everyone absorbed just how valuable the disk in Mio's hands had become. Even Yui was staring at the disk like it held more value to her than the food that rested in her stomach. This fascinating achievement was not lost on Ui or Jun either, the two exchanging a look as they realized what Ritsu had accomplished was in no small part thanks to them as well. "I can't take this on behalf of everyone," Mio finally spoke, setting the disc down gingerly. "Did you make copies at least?"

"The studio has the recording, so we can make more if we want to," Ritsu waved off. "Just take it, Mio. It was your idea in the first place to get our sound out there, wasn't it?"

That Ritsu remembered this and had logic for the recipient of the gift she'd given out was more than enough to convince Azusa that the game had been completely rigged from the beginning. This hardly mattered in the moment though, not when it seemed to have made everyone so happy. "Thank you, Ritsu," Mio spoke with genuine affection in her tone.

Ritsu scoffed, rubbing her cheek with a finger in embarrassment. "Well, don't get too chuffed about it. I was gonna give it to you all when school started but this feels more appropriate."

"This calls for a celebration as HTT! Ui! Cake!" Yui declared, ruining any reverence Azusa could have given to this moment and their achievement.

"I made cake for later, but-" Ui wasn't able to finish talking before Yui had gone rooting around in the fridge for Christmas cake several weeks late.

The moment should have lasted forever, but Azusa couldn't forget the promises that had led her to leave this house in the first place. Once everyone had their fill of food and fun, Azusa started to think about how she would get home. Ideally she'd never have to leave her senpais again, but that wasn't going to happen, and if she didn't find it within herself to put up that degree of separation between her and them then she'd just end up getting sucked into the same old routines without ever changing. That couldn't be allowed to continue any more. Checking the time revealed that she had about an hour before the last trains ran. That meant she'd get about thirty minutes until she had to go. This plan would have worked out just fine had everyone's phones not gone off at the same time. Everyone took a look to reveal that all the train lines had shut down due to the inclement weather. "I know it was snowing, but has it actually gotten that bad?" Mio asked aloud, the group turning their attention to the nearby sliding door to the patio.

To everyone's shock, they couldn't even see the end of the patio. The distractions of revelry and merriment had caused everyone to miss the snow piling up outside until it was several inches deep. "We're not going to be able to ride the trains, let alone walk in this," Ritsu complained. "Guess we're stuck for a while."

"It says that the weather is supposed to clear up tomorrow morning," Tsumugi announced. "My family is fine with me staying the night."

"You already checked?" Azusa asked, sweat dropping at the speed at which Tsumugi had adapted to their new situation. "Well, I should probably let my parents know as well. Good thing school isn't in."

Ritsu and Mio got up to do the same thing while Ui dragged Yui off to prepare guest accommodations for the night and set their house up to survive the sudden storm. Though Azusa was a bit upset about the adjustment to her plans, she couldn't help but privately celebrate the chance to spend a bit more time with her friends, so long as her phone call went well. Taking a deep breath as she paused at the bottom of the stairs for privacy, Azusa called her dad. The phone rang twice before someone picked up. "Hey, kiddo. Let me guess, weather problems?"

"Hi dad. Yeah, they shut down the train lines. I think I might have to spend the night at Yui's place. Is that alright?"

"Sure, sure. Just let us know when you're ready to come home tomorrow and we'll pick you up. Tomorrow's a day off and all, so it's fine."

Azusa breathed a sigh of relief. "Um, great, thanks. Sorry to cause problems like this."

"No, no, don't worry about it, Azusa. These things happen. Just let us know if anything happens and we'll be over there come hell or high snowfall."

Azusa didn't have the easiest time believing this at face value, but her father sounded unusually convicted given the circumstances. "Alright. Is mom okay with it too?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Uh, yeah, she's totally down for it. Or rather, she will be once I let her know. She's really busy, um, decorating the house right now, but I'll let her know as soon as it's convenient. You just focus on yourself, got it? For the Nakano clan and all that."

It finally dawned on Azusa the compromise her father was making. If her mother found out now that she was spending the night with a band she probably didn't entirely approve of in the first place, she'd risk everything just to get out there and drag her home unless it was physically impossible for her to make it there. This was clearly the best way around this problem, and further proof that Azusa's apple didn't fall far from her father's tree. "I understand. I hope you find the right time to let her know. Thank you for your sacrifice."

There was chuckling on the other end of the line. "You don't need to get that dramatic, but I appreciate it. Talk to you later, kiddo. Love you." With that, Mr. Nakano hung up.

Azusa smiled at her phone before she put it away. "You too."

It seemed as though at least some things had changed for the better in the past month or two, even if she had a hard time seeing it sometimes. All that was left to do now was figure out how to while away the evening hours, the first problem Azusa felt eager to solve today. As she returned upstairs, Azusa realized that her senpais were several steps ahead of her. The kotatsu was now populated with a bottle that had been emptied earlier in the evening and most of the girls sans Ritsu, Tsumugi and Jun. Fancy drinks of a non-alcoholic-according-to-Ui variety had been poured out for everyone. In the background Ritsu and Tsumugi were trying and failing to get Yui's old CD player to work. Ui was insisting that they were in the middle of trying to get a replacement, but this hadn't stopped Ritsu from making the effort quite yet. "Did you get approval?" Ui asked as Azusa approached.

The junior nodded as she sat in between Ui and Mio. "Yeah, my dad was cool with it. What about you, Mio-senpai?"

Mio nodded. "I stay over at Ritsu's a lot, so they didn't have a problem with it. They preferred this to trying to go home in that storm. Ritsu got approval too, she's just busy trying to make that piece of junk work." As she spoke, the faint sounds of arguing could be heard upstairs, sounding like Jun was yelling at someone.

"Doesn't sound like Jun-chan is having an easy time," Yui noted as Ritsu and Tsumugi finally gave up. "Think we should go help her?"

"What do you want to say?" Azusa asked, turning a doubtful look towards Yui. "It's like Mio-senpai said. The safest thing for us to do is stay put for the moment. No getting around that."

"Jun-chan will be fine," Ui agreed. "In the meantime, what are we going to do about this?" Ui indicated the suspicious bottle in the middle of the room.

Mio shook her head and groaned. "Just throw it away and tell Ritsu we lost it. Last time she wanted to play spin the bottle I ended up having to call her senpai for a whole night. We're better off playing a real game."

"If that's how you truly feel, then prepare yourself!" Ritsu announced, jumping back into the room with her bag on her shoulder. "Having accepted feedback from any and all available sources, we here at Ritsu corp. ltd. Co. inc. have developed the ultimate in emergency entertainment. Behold!" The drummer pulled out a completely ordinary deck of cards.

"I liked the last reveal better," Yui critiqued, a hand finding her chin. "Oh wait, do these play music too?"

Ritsu narrowed her eyes at the lukewarm reception. "No, no they don't. More importantly, they carry with them a specific set of rules. In this game of skill that I personally developed and modelled after the outdated King's game, the winner of each hand gets to assign the loser a punishment until everyone else quits and you win. It's a heart-pounding thriller of excitement that never fails to put a smile on at least one person's face by the end! How can anyone resist?"

"Forgive me, but are you not just suggesting that we play cards with a punishment game?" Tsumugi questioned with a raised hand.

"It's so simple that people can understand it immediately, and that's what brings out the true genius in its design!" Ritsu continued, no longer deterred by how she was being received. "If you all understand, then let's get right into it!"

Before anyone could argue, the bottle was tossed aside and Ritsu had shoved her way between Tsumugi and Mio back to the kotatsu to start dealing cards. In the time it took for her to set everything up, Jun returned looking like she'd just come back from a war to announce that she was allowed to spend the night. Though Azusa wanted to ask questions, Ritsu was currently keeping the room's attention in a stranglehold with her fierce devotion to this game she claimed to have invented. Azusa supposed she couldn't be bothered to ruin everyone's fun by dropping out first. She had a reputation to uphold as the most strait-laced among them besides Mio, after all. Oh no, is this how she suckers people in to doing what she wants? Ritsu-senpai and Yui are more similar than I ever gave them credit for. This sentiment clouded Azusa's mind as the first hand of Old Maid was played out, but she was not the worst performer. This honor went to Tsumugi of all people as Ritsu claimed victory with the clear advantage of knowing how her dumb game worked better than anyone else and being able to change the rules to suit her needs.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Tsumugi didn't appear upset in the slightest that she'd been bested. Instead, she was overenthusiastic to the point that Azusa suspected whether this was part of her plan the entire time. Ritsu rubbed her hands together in anticipation as she grinned evilly at Tsumugi. "Alright, Mugi. As the winner, I command you to tell Mio a story scary enough to make her scream!"

"Nope!" Mio vetoed, crossing her hands in front of her. "No targeting! You have to come up with something specific to the person who lost, otherwise it defeats the purpose."

"I agree," Jun chimed in in a completely expected turn of events. "It does defeat the purpose if you attack one person so they can't enjoy the game or have a chance."

Grumbling about how she was the one who was supposed to decided what was and wasn't the objective of the game, Ritsu nevertheless rethought her strategy. "Okay, so it seems like it's going to be that kind of game. In that case, Mugi has to give me a back massage for the next two hands."

Tsumugi's eager smile faded as she crossed her arms. "I can do that, but it doesn't sound like much of a punishment," she noted. "If you wanted a massage, you just needed to ask."

Ritsu shook her head and wagged her finger with a tsk. "You have a lot to learn, Mugi. In games like these you have to start off slowly in order to build up to the crazy stuff. If you start off with wild requests then the game never goes anywhere, you see?"

Suddenly in complete understanding, Tsumugi nodded. "Ah, okay! One back rub, coming up!" She moved around the kotatsu to get behind Ritsu.

"Are we allowing people to be out for multiple rounds like this?" Mio questioned, still eyeing Ritsu suspiciously. "It still seems kind of like-"

"It's fine!" Yui insisted. "Besides, it's only a few hands. We can just make that the limit, okay?"

Nobody raised a voice in opposition to Yui's proposal. Ritsu took this as a win and gathered the cards triumphantly. "Alright, then I'll just- ack! Pain!" Ritsu cried out as Tsumugi kneaded far harder than she probably should have on Ritsu's lumbar region. "Mugi, why would you-ow do this to-ow me?!"

"If I don't apply at least this much pressure it won't be a massage," Tsumugi explained calmly as she continued to assault her friend. "You have a lot of tension in your back, Ricchan. Have you been slouching recently?"

Ritsu was unable to answer this as her posture caved in against Tsumugi's relentless advance. Mio smirked as she picked up the cards her friend had dropped. "Never mind, I'm okay with this too. Let's continue."

With Tsumugi out, the next round proceeded slightly faster than the previous one, with Azusa happening to get out first and Ui getting stuck with the old maid. Part of the reason for this likely had to do with Ritsu essentially being unable to play due to Tsumugi's influence and Ui feeling bad for her, but Azusa wasn't about to question it so long as she wasn't the one stuck getting punished. Ui looked to her friend with innocent expectation that made Azusa want to avert her eyes. She hadn't considered that winning would put this much pressure to perform on her. With no time left and everyone but Ritsu staring expectantly, Azusa's base desires took over. "Okay, I order you to please refill my drink," Azusa requested, holding out the cat mug Mio had retrieved for her.

Even Yui's eyes dimmed at the blandness that was Azusa's request. "Lame," Jun judged, giving Azusa a thumbs down. "You could have at least made her do a handstand first or something."

"I thought we were supposed to start off with small stuff!" Azusa defended, folding her arms. "If you think you're so much better at this, then we'll see how good your order is!"

This challenge was not lost on Jun, who took the request as a personal task to ensure Azusa lost the next round. With Ritsu and Tsumugi essentially out of the running and Ui gone preparing drinks, it was all the easier for Jun to corner her prey and leave her holding the old maid at the end while she stood victorious. Ui returned just in time to see Jun cackling in victory. "What was that about coming up with an exciting punishment?" Jun grinned as Azusa sighed.

"Just get it over with," Azusa requested. "And if it's weird I'm not going to do it."

"THANK GOD!" Ritsu declared as Tsumugi finished punching Ritsu in the back. "I thought I was gonna die."

"I didn't get to make as much progress as I would have liked," Tsumugi confessed as she returned to her seat. "Perhaps we could schedule a more in-depth session later, Ricchan?"

Ritsu stared at Tsumugi like she'd slapped her. She rose to her feet to protest with a posture that was significantly better than Azusa had ever seen from the delinquent. "Are you crazy? I can't believe you… you actually made my back way more limber." The drummer stretched herself out as she realized just how flexible she'd become from a few minutes of work. "Damn, maybe there is something to this form of torture. Good work, Mugi."

Tsumugi blushed heavily. "I learned from the best."

"Yeah, yeah, very heartwarming. More importantly, I have a punishment to give out," Jun interrupted to Azusa's dismay. "And as the winner, I order the loser Azusa to bring me her favorite thing from Yui's room."

It took a moment for everyone to understand what exactly Jun was asking for. "You say that like I know everything in her room. That's an invasion of privacy," Azusa denied.

"Nah, it's fine," Yui waved off, heartlessly condemning her kouhai to her fate. "I don't keep my government secrets in there anymore. You can rummage around as much as you want, Azu-nyan. My house is your house." Everyone stared blankly at the senior, trying to figure out if she was attempting to make a joke or not.

When it became apparent that Yui was serious, Azusa sighed. Of all the requests that Jun could have made, this was a relatively tame one. So tame in fact, that Azusa found it within herself to shake her head as she left the warmth of the kotatsu. "Whatever. You're proving my point though," she reminded the junior as she made her way to the stairs.

"That depends on what you bring back!" Jun called after her.

Only as she reached Yui's room and opened the door did Azusa really think about what Jun was asking her to do. She was dating Yui Hirasawa. That wasn't strictly technically in any sort of way completely true, but in words she and Yui had agreed to a relationship of that kind. In the month or so since she'd left, however, nothing had really happened. If anything, they'd just grown further apart by the distance between them and the various distractions keeping both of them from keeping in contact. Azusa had fully expected Yui to be the instigator in their next encounter, but her phone had remained silent sans the occasional vicissitude in the form of a check-in call. Perhaps Yui had felt the same way, and this was what prevented them from connecting, like with Jun? But if that was the case, then her decision here would likely be heavily scrutinized. There was no good out for this scenario. She'd have to pick something that would indicate that she was still interested in Yui without displaying that she was hopelessly missing her. That should have been simple, but as Azusa looked around, nothing leapt out to her.

The stuffed animals that normally lined one wall of Yui's room had vanished. Her bed was made, though the sheets were rumpled from where Yui and Geeta had sat on it. Her desk was full of study materials and her shelves were packed with various manga that Azusa had either read or had no interest in. She might have been able to get away with bringing one of those down had Jun not been the one who made that request specifically. She'd read most of the books on Yui's shelf and knew very well Azusa's distaste for Jun borrowing those books when they were supposed to be hanging out, so a manga was out. "Why is it that the first time I want your room to be messy it's just dirty clothes everywhere?" Azusa complained as she rooted around for something to pick up.

Every second that passed was another indication that she was taking this too seriously, another mistake to add on to the pile. Searching Yui's secret snack drawer and under her bed yielded similarly useless results. As she was preparing to despair, Azusa's eyes fell on Yui's corkboard. The pictures she remembered from her previous trip to Yui's house were still there, but a new picture now joined them. In the middle of the board was a photo taken by Sawako of the band's last performance. Azusa wasn't sure which song they were playing, but seeing all of them standing up on stage and smiling reaffirmed everything Azusa had been questioning since she left. With decisive action, Azusa carefully removed the photo and retreated downstairs to her waiting friends. As she presented the picture, a collective nod went around the seniors. "Can't argue with that," Ritsu noted, inspecting the picture. "Say what you will about Sawa-chan, she knows how to take a good photo."

"Good choice, Azu-nyan," Yui complemented, managing to get two pats onto Azusa's head before she shrank away.

"Eh, guess I should have been more specific," Jun shrugged. "Time to go again, right?"

Yui's picture was placed where it wouldn't get damaged and the game continued. Contrary to the expectations set by Jun, the punishments failed to be more exciting than doing some mundane chore for the benefit of the winner or talking about an obscure event that had happened in childhood. This was perfectly fine with Azusa, who was more than happy to just spend time with her friends without having to think about what was going on outside the front door. Eventually, however, fatigue began to set in, even for the most rambunctious of their party. Noticing this, Ui collected the cards. "Perhaps it's best we stop here for now. We should get to bed before the weather gets any worse." The howling wind outside agreed with Ui's sentiment.

"What about sleeping arrangements?" Mio asked. "Can we use your parent's bed-"

"It's locked," Yui answered before Mio could finish speaking. "I'm… not allowed in there when they're not around."

There was no explanation offered for this odd rule, but nobody questioned it as the focus was shifted to the rooms that were available. "With that in mind, it makes sense to me that we have two people sharing each bedroom and the remaining three can use the couch here. Normally I'd suggest the floor, but I think that it's a bit too cold. We should have as many people off the ground as possible."

"Won't that leave two people on the ground in your rooms?" Ritsu pointed out, stifling a yawn.

"No, we have sleeping bags for one just in case something like this happened," Ui explained, definitely not throwing a pointed look at the person who might have stolen her bed on a previous visit.

"I will take the floor of the living room," Tsumugi volunteered before Azusa could raise her hand to do the exact same thing. "And Ricchan, I'm going to have to ask you to sleep on the floor of Ui's room for your punishment."

Ritsu raised her eyebrows, suddenly waking up. "Wait, what? When did that become a thing?"

"When you lost four rounds in a row and declared in a near-drunken stupor that Mugi should just roll the punishments over into one big thing after you kept coming up with reasons you couldn't accommodate her requests," Mio explained helpfully. "Sounds fair enough to me, especially since Mugi is volunteering to take the floor too."

Ritsu grumbled about this, but didn't challenge the decision, either because she was too tired to do so or because she didn't fully understand what she was signing up for. "Lucky for you my back feels amazing, otherwise I'd really bend it out of shape letting you have it," the drummer muttered as she reached for another drink that was alcoholic in effects on Ritsu only.

With those spots decided, the remaining three girls were left in a silent competition for the coveted two spots on the couch. Sensing the animosity silently brewing, Mio sighed. "I can take the floor if-"

"No, senpai," Jun denied. "I'd much rather you spend the night with me on the couch. There's a bunch of bass techniques I-"

"So I have to spend the night on the floor with Yui?" Azusa interrupted. "I'd like to sleep tonight, thank you. You're welcome to take the floor if you want."

Yui had a pout on her face as the juniors argued over who would be stuck with her for the night. Ui patted her sister on the shoulder but didn't do anything to stop the argument as it continued for several heated minutes. "You're the one who's all lovey-dovey with her, so you should sleep with her!" Jun argued.

"And that's exactly why she won't let me sleep if we're in the same room!" Azusa fired back. "If you can't see that, you're a bigger moron than I thought!"

"Who are you calling a moron?"

"You, you-"

"Enough!" Ritsu declared, standing up to hold everyone's attention despite her steps being unsteady. "No friendship fouls in this house tonight. If you're unable to settle this like women, then settle it on the field of old maid. Loser gets the floor with Yui."

"Fine then!" Jun scoffed, snatching the cards from the table. "Get in on this, Mio-senpai."

"I have to play?" Mio pointed to herself in surprise, though she allowed a hand to be dealt in for her with Azusa.

What followed was perhaps the most intense game of cards in Azusa's young life. Never before had she been subjected to the full brunt of psychological torment that was Jun Suzuki in its unadulterated form. Her hands moved like her cards in her hand were constantly shuffling yet weren't at the same time. Cards that looked like they were sticking out oddly in her hand were there and gone in an instant. If she was cheating, there was no way Azusa could have caught her. Even bringing in Mio turned out to be part of Jun's grand scheme, as the mostly disinterested senior served as a grounding for Jun's trickery. Whenever Azusa thought she was getting a read on her opponent, she was forced to look away to contend with Mio. By the time she looked back, Jun had switched her strategies up again and Azusa was back at square one. It was no surprise, then, that Azusa found herself holding the old maid as Jun set her final pair down. "Never challenge meeee!" Jun roared, beating her chest in triumph.

"Where was that during the real game?" Ritsu scoffed, though she seemed quite pleased with herself that her plan had worked. "It's settled. Nakano is bunking with her soulmate. Time to sleep now, yeah?"

Azusa badly wanted to protest, but even she was beginning to feel the effects of fatigue brought on by a tumultuous evening, however fun it had been. She nodded in acquiescence with the results, causing Jun to puff her chest out a bit more as the group gathered their things to prepare for bed. Except for Tsumugi, who had of course brought a pair of pajamas in the case that this exact event happened, nobody had prepared adequately to spend the night, so Azusa and Jun ended up borrowing pajamas from Ui while Mio and Ritsu did the same with Yui. Nothing was a perfect fit, but Azusa wasn't about to try sleeping in jeans that were somehow still cold and wet from snow they'd left behind hours ago. Before they changed, however, Ui had them take care of several tasks in preparation for a potential freeze. Mio and Ritsu opened the sink cabinets and started drips around the house to prevent the pipes from freezing while Yui prepared everyone's bedding and ensured that all the doors were closed. Ui, Jun, Tsumugi, and Azusa were left with the unenviable job of moving the snow off of the balcony to prevent it from becoming too heavy. With only a single snow shovel between them, it was the job of Ui and Tsumugi to shovel while Jun and Azusa kept the snow off of them and held everything together. Despite the risks of the job, Ui's parents had been very clear about the further risks associated with not completing this task, meaning that they had no choice.

Only as she stepped out into the cold did it really hit Azusa what she'd agreed to. She'd barely spoken to Yui in a month and now they were sharing a room. This thought was a distraction from the cold assaulting her entire body as Tsumugi and Ui began shoveling their way to the other end of the balcony. Azusa and Jun started on the railings of the balcony, brushing snow away and moving generally as quickly as possible to reduce the time they had to spend contracting hypothermia. "Whose stupid idea was this?!" Jun complained as she kicked some snow to the ground below. "I demand to speak with Mother Nature!"

"You can complain all you want after we're done and inside," Azusa snapped back. "You're the reason we got stuck with this job by starting an argument so the least you can do is help me take care of this so we can go inside."

Jun scoffed. "Oh, so it's my fault that you're in this situation, is it? Poor Azusa, always playing the victim card, always the prey of circumstance and the cruel winds of fate. Guess moving didn't do anything to fix that lackadaisical attitude of yours, huh?"

Azusa was about to snap back immediately, but she held off long enough to collect her thoughts as she brushed more snow to the ground below. "I know I don't make the right decision most of the time, that a lot of what happened was my fault. But I apologized, didn't I? I said I'd try to improve."

Jun shook her head, flinging snow to the ground more violently than before. "You're not the damn victim is my point. There are no victims. Just talk to me normally for once, would you?"

The request that Jun was making made no sense to Azusa. Cold nipped at her fingers, threating to pull her skin off her bones and reminding her that she couldn't escape the present moment. Her initial reintroduction to Jun had been an opening for the chorus that was this conversation. Now that she was here, Azusa wished she could go back to the first measure to find whatever it was she missed that led them here. "What do you mean? Is this why you never reached out? I'm talking to you now, aren't I?"

"No, you're dancing around me like a whimsical forest fairy. It's never either of our faults, nobody is allowed to be wrong, and Azusa is always on the moral high ground. These are the rules governing all our interactions lately and I'm sick of it. It's like you're trying to fight me on this when all I really wanted was to have my friend around me, play in a band, make songs together. Just when I think that she's finally coming around to that idea, she up and screws right off into the wild blue yonder and I'm left holding the bag. So yeah, maybe I'm not happy with how things ended up, Azusa. Sorry if that shatters your happy ending, but I couldn't face you again because I knew I would ruin what you thought was the best and only outcome for everything. Sorry for having a heart that isn't made of steel." The vigorous motions of the bassist's hands on the fence had rubbed all the snow clean off of it, leaving her to run her hands over frigid wood and nearly give herself blisters.

It would have been easy for Azusa to say she was surprised, that this came out of nowhere. After all, there was nothing she could have realistically done about moving that would have been able to grant Jun's desires. But that wasn't necessarily true. She'd made sure to burn that bridge nice and clean in how she interacted with her senpais, that much was clear. Of her friends, Jun was always the first one in her corner, but that last day of November, she'd been the one who hadn't come back to thank her. "Thank you, Jun," Azusa finally spoke, ignoring the cold and her job to put a hand on Jun's shoulder that was shaken off.

"What the hell are you thanking me for? Were you listening to a word I said?"

"Every word. And you're right. I knew, deep down, what this was going to do to us. It's just the way things are when you move away. But I've been so distracted with maintaining relationships with my senpais that I neglected both you and Ui. For that, I'm sorry, but more importantly, I'm grateful that you were willing to put up with me, not just in November, but for the last two years. I'll find a way to make it up to you, okay?"

Contrary to her first attempt, these words sat with more weight on Azusa's friend. She allowed snow to continue building up around her as she stared at her friend like she wasn't real. "You mean that?" Jun asked, pausing in her task as well. "For real. No bullshit?"

Azusa nodded, feeling more convicted than she had since she arrived. "Yeah. I'm not going to shy away from myself anymore."

At this declaration, Jun sniffled and broke into a toothy grin. "Perfect. Lucky for you I'm an idiot too. 20 bucks and we call it even. Pay me next time you come to town, yeah?"

The deal's implications were not lost on Azusa. "Perfect. You too, Ui. We had our differences, but I owe a lot to you too."

Tsumugi and Ui, who had just finished shoveling the snow and pretending not to hang on every word that was being said, turned to face Azusa. "You don't need to thank me or apologize, Azusa-chan. I was in the wrong. It took you, Jun-chan, Mugi-chan, and the others to help me see that, but I want to improve myself too. No matter what happens next, we're always going to be friends."

It was a comforting thought that warmed Azusa's heart enough to remind her that the rest of her was freezing. "Right. Are we done here then? It'd be nice to get out of the snow now."

Ui took a look around the patio, and after an agonizing combination of thoughtful nods and indiscernible motions on the ground with her foot, Ui started for the door. "Looks like it'll hold until tomorrow. Let's get inside."

Azusa had never been happier to leave the outside world behind. This relief existed for all of two seconds before she was trapped in a glomp from her senior. "Save the Azu-nyan-sicle!" Yui cried, her room temperature body doing its best to warm up the freezing girl.

Had Yui tried this at any other time of day she'd probably be lying on the floor bleeding, but right now Azusa would take any source of warmth she could get. She allowed Yui to wrap a blanket around her and lead her upstairs to start getting ready for bed, her mind in a haze that prevented her from seeing how embarrassing her situation was or the death glares she was getting from Ui. By the time she had disappeared upstairs, Jun was ready to distract her mind as well. "I'm gonna go find Mio-senpai to get us situated too," Jun announced, leaving Ui and Tsumugi to discuss whatever those two liked to discuss.

It wasn't as if Jun had a problem with Ui getting close to Tsumugi. Of all the seniors, she was the one Jun liked the most besides Mio, and Ui had enough problems getting along with non—Yui humanoids as it was to be picky anyways. What irked Jun was that nobody seemed to appreciate the work she did to keep the dysfunctional train running when the passengers kept trying to jump off the train cars. Azusa's appreciation had helped, but it wasn't lost on the junior that she was the only one alone as she made her way to the first floor where Mio presumably was. At least joining the club had let her get closer to the bassist she idolized, even if said bassist was primarily focused on entrance exams at the moment. As she approached, the sound of hushed whispers caused her to slow down. Peering out from the bottom of the stairs, Jun saw Ritsu and Mio standing at the entrance to a closet that presumably held the spare blankets for their impromptu sleepover. "- be good enough. Just trust me on this. Or don't, who cares. This is what's happening."

"But at the rate you two are improving, it won't be-"

"We'll make it work. Or get lucky. Besides, maybe you should be worried about your own-"

"Baka, the last thing we need is one of your stupid pencil gimmicks. The only way we're all going to take the next step forward is together. I… I don't want to have to do this alone."

Jun stifled a gasp of surprise. She hadn't heard Mio sound this vulnerable before. Ritsu sighed. "Let me remind you that you're very capable of doing this alone. And let me also remind you that I'm doing every damn thing I can to make it there with you. At this point, all you can do is give everything you can and have faith. But no matter what happens, we're going to keep moving forward. Trust me on this, okay?"

"You make it hard to trust anything you say."

"Aw, come on, Mio. Didn't you ever hear about the boy who cried wolf?"

"You mean the story about how habitual liars are untrustworthy?"

"No, it's about how the intelligent wolf takes advantage of his situation to profit as much as possible. We're the wolves, Mio. It's time we started acting like it."

"You're an idiot."

"Give me a month and I'll prove you wrong. Yui too. She's improving faster than any of us."

"Don't remind me. I'm going to have to redouble my efforts just to keep up with an airhead."

A soft chuckle was shared between the girls. "Come on. Let's get back. And really, don't worry about me, okay?"

"You know I can't do that, baka."

Realizing that the duo was probably about to start heading her way, Jun needed to move. Unfortunately, she found herself rooted to the spot. Her heart had been tightening without her knowledge as Mio spoke. The way she conversed with Ritsu was just so natural compared to how she spoke to her or anyone else. That's because to Mio, Jun was just anyone else. To everyone, she was just a side character. The potential lone exception had moved, and her other best friend was starting to branch off on her own. "Always a bridesmaid…" she muttered to herself in directionless frustration.

"Jun-chan? You alright?" Mio asked, having finally noticed the girl loitering at the stairs.

Jumping a full meter in the air, Jun put on her most everything is okay smile. "Ah, Mio-senpai, I was just looking for you. We finished shoveling, so we should be ready to turn in once everyone has blankets and gets changed again. Need any help?"

"There's always more things to move upstairs," Ritsu chimed in, thumbing toward the floor. "Grab whatever's on the ground, kid."

Jun didn't like taking orders from Ritsu, but she wouldn't disagree with Mio watching. Instead, she nodded and started pitching in. Within a few minutes, everyone had their sleeping arrangements and had said their goodnights to those sleeping in different rooms. Though she was certainly excited to be sleeping so close to Mio, Jun still felt like she'd really failed to accomplish anything meaningful as she sat down on the couch. Tsumugi had already laid out and placed herself on the blankets covering the floor. Jun couldn't imagine it was particularly comfortable, but Tsumugi didn't complain at all. Rather, she seemed to take some sort of perverse pleasure in the discomfort associated with her new sleeping conditions. This was the only thought Jun spared for Tsumugi, focusing instead on herself and the senior sitting up on the couch. "You concerned?" Jun asked, the silence that had taken over the room since the lights went out becoming too much for her.

In the moonlight from the balcony, Mio blinked. "Am I keeping you up, Jun-chan? My apologies. Perhaps I'm still a bit wound up from the game."

"Or about the entrance exams," Jun guessed, deciding to go right for the throat.

Though Mio made a noise that sounded like a wince, she didn't verbally deny the accusations. Jun had expected Mio to continue the conversation, spout some sort of reassurance to placate her junior that everything was fine, but such platitudes turned out to be too expensive for this conversation. Instead, blankets rustled beneath them and Tsumugi's head popped up from behind the kotatsu. "You shouldn't worry, Mio-chan. Yui-chan and Ricchan will be ready. Ui-chan and I will ensure this is the case."

"You wasted no time getting buddy-buddy with our new kouhai," Mio noted in a tone that could be interpreted as accusatory.

"We were partners before we were senpai and kouhai," Tsumugi responded simply. "I can maintain that relationship without exonerating her of her previous actions."

"Then you're stronger than I am, I guess," Mio whispered, laying down on the couch.

Tsumugi continued to stare as Mio turned over to avoid looking at anything. Jun couldn't really see her face due to the poor lighting, but there was a lingering air of sadness in the air that felt suffocatingly familiar to the junior. The urge to intervene was rising up within her. She'd fought too damn hard keeping Azusa's life together for her to leave everything stuck in this limbo forever. But she'd tried the direct approach before and after Azusa left, and they still found themselves sitting around a table making comments just passive enough to avoid sparking a fight. It was through these conversations that Jun had learned just how long Mio could hold a grudge. "It'd be nice to play together sometime after entrance exams," Jun spoke aloud, the first words above a whisper since the lights went off piercing the taboo tacitly placed on the living room.

Mio turned over again to look at Jun's silhouette. "That's a good idea, Jun-chan. I've missed being able to practice recently."

It was an empty promise, spoken like it was a given fact that was going to happen even if nothing had been said. This approach had failed. But Jun didn't want to sit still and take this. "Mio-senpai, Mugi-senpai… can I ask you something?"

Mio and Tsumugi exchanged a look with each other. "Yes?" They answered in unison.

A deep breath. Perhaps the moment would extend on forever if she never spoke. A fantastical thought. "Are you guys friends?"

It was a question that should have been easy enough to answer, yet both girls hesitated, caught off guard. "Yes?" They responded again in unison. "What makes you ask?" Mio continued.

Jun looked at the ceiling. "Some days it feels like we're just together by convenience. Ui and I are just filling in gaps for Azusa so you guys don't go flying off the rails and fail entrance exams. I mean, I signed up for that, don't get me wrong, but it bothers me that we don't act like anything more than a weird club sometimes."

Jun had expected this statement to ruin whatever peace she'd been trying to find with the club, but Tsumugi responded quickly to shatter this delusion. "Friends fight, go through rough patches, and make up," she explained. "We adapt to that in different ways, make changes, learn. Nobody's path to absolution is wrong if they keep moving forward. That includes you, Jun-chan."

"Does it?" Jun scoffed, leaning back against the couch. "Well, good for me."

"She's right," Mio continued, sitting up. "Mugi and I have our differences, but she's still a dear friend. As are you, Jun-chan. It bothers me to hear that you don't feel that way."

Realizing herself, Jun waved a hand in front of her face. "No no, Mio-senpai, that's not what I meant! I just-"

"Feel like you're alone?" Tsumugi finished, a knowing smile probably on her face. "Everyone does. If you want to stop feeling alone, you have to let people in, and letting people in opens you up to getting hurt. Azusa-chan hurt you, didn't she?"

Jun didn't want to admit to that. It should have been obvious enough from her behavior without having to say it out loud. Yet the silence in the room impressed upon her, demanding the words escape her mouth with or without her consent. "Fine. Yeah," Jun admitted. "She hurt all of us by leaving, but me most of all. I don't want to forgive her for it, but I basically already have. I'm a damn fool."

"Being here doesn't mean you're a fool," Mio corrected. "You're here for a reason, and that reason is yours. When you want to talk about it, we'll listen. I know we don't know each other as well as everyone else, but I want you to know I'm open to changing that when you are. No matter how long you end up spending here, we want you to fit at home, right Mugi?"

"Absolutely, Mio-chan. You're one of us, Jun-chan."

Jun mulled over this for a moment. She was beginning to burn up, a fire that had lit in her heart at their words spreading all over her body despite her mind's protests. "I… call me Jun then," she spoke, unsure of what else to say.

"Jun?" Mio echoed. "Sure, but I'd ask that you do the same for me, if you'd be willing."

"Mio. Moog." Jun echoed, testing out how things felt on her tongue. It shouldn't have made a significant difference, yet Jun's heart felt lighter. Perhaps she had been the one who was putting those walls up after all. It was still mostly Azusa's fault, but she couldn't help but allow herself to be happy about her new development for a moment. "Alright. Mio! Moog!" She repeated herself, louder and with more confidence.

"Alright! That's the spirit, Jun-sa- um, Jun!" Mio exclaimed, getting excited herself. "As soon as entrance exams are over, we'll-"

"SHUT UP!" Came Ritsu's voice from upstairs, prompting the trio to silence themselves immediately. "We can screw around all you want tomorrow morning."

Cranky Ritsu wasn't what Jun had been expecting to hear in that moment, but as she exchanged looks with Tsumugi and Mio, they all broke into stifled giggles. "Sorry!" Mio called up, barely holding back her laughter.

The trio all retreated under their blankets, still barely controlling their mirth as the fatigue of the day finally settled into the room. Jun and Mio began to converse in hushed whispers about what Ritsu could only assume was about either her or bassists while Tsumugi fiddled with something on her phone and chimed in quietly where appropriate. Ritsu observed this phenomenon, a smile trying to force its way on to her face as she stared out at the people who had ruined her chance at sleep. She was happy that they were getting along, but they had chosen the worst possible moment to do it. Now she was going to be stuck wide awake with the one person she didn't want to share a room with in the house. The way down was about as enticing as the door cracked open behind her.

Once more, Ritsu stood motionless at a crossroads. This was no good. Decision-making wasn't her forte. Those sorts of things should be left to people who either overthought everything down to the last minutia or the people who refused to consider things to the point that the decision might as well not exist in the first place. The Ritsu middle ground left her stalling between confronting Mio and the others directly and returning to Ui's room. She couldn't see a right answer, or rather she didn't want to look past the snowfall to see the girl waiting for her there. "Damn it… this is your fault, baka." Ritsu grumbled, turning back to Ui's room without elaborating on who she was talking about to herself.

As she slipped through the barely-open door, she was greeted with a pair of eyes staring at her in the relative darkness illuminated only by the barely-showing moonlight outside. The last time Ritsu had been in this room Ui hadn't been in a very approachable mood. Determining whether anything had changed was apparently a task that had been allocated to the person least interested in doing it. "It's not a bad thing if they're getting along," Ui commented, following Ritsu with her eyes as the drummer plopped down onto her sleeping bag.

"You know, I was thinking something similar when I heard the dulcet tones of a steamy make-out session coming from your sister's room." Ritsu responded with a chuckle.

Sadly, this didn't inspire Ui to go darting into her sister's room, though she did stiffen up for the instant it took her brain to process that Ritsu was lying. "Very funny," the younger sister retorted. "Mugi would have told me if she noticed that happening."

Generally this was the point where Ritsu's opponent would make a futile attempt to jab at her personality or shortcomings. Ritsu would then brilliantly riposte with a clever comment that would both expose the hypocrisy behind her foe's words while simultaneously making them look like they were motivated by insecurity with their own lives. Ui didn't read the script, and thus she remained silent as Ritsu leaned back, head resting on her hands. Only the gently motion of the fan turning above them existed to interrupt their intense quiet game bout. Ritsu's nose twitched as she detected the scent of an air freshener stinking up the room. She'd noticed it as soon as she entered the Hirasawa household, but only after they'd removed the mess in the kitchen that had been overpowering everything else had the scent of whatever some corporate guy thought a tropical island smelled like been allowed to permeate the house so thickly. Nobody else had commented on it, and Ritsu would have done something if she wasn't too busy being upset about being stuck with Ui. The only benefit of the stench was that it distracted her from how awkward the air in the room was. "Are you still mad at me?" Ui asked aloud without looking at Ritsu.

The pretense of niceties Ritsu had mustered for herself didn't need to be maintained. As far as Ui was concerned, Ritsu could have found a way to fall asleep by now. She was even more inclined to pursue this option by the fact that pulling teeth would probably be more fun than talking about this with Ui. Instead of doing the logical thing, however, Ritsu's mouth started running without her permission. "It's too much work being mad at someone for that long. Maybe Mio can pull it off, but I can't. Ask any of them."

"I… thanks, Ritsu-senpai."

"Don't get me wrong," Ritsu corrected, raising a finger in the air to point at an insignificant point on the ceiling. "I didn't say I forgave you. You get the difference, right? I'm not in the mood to be a club president tonight. Or ever."

The duvet to Ritsu's right shuffled around. Ui's face poked out from the top of the bed, regarding Ritsu curiously. "Are you upset about Mio-senpai?"

Instead of kindly telling Ui to shove her stupid face into her pillow until she stopped moving, Ritsu let her hand fall limp into her lap as she rested one foot on her bent knee. "I've always got something to be upset about. Like I said, no point in letting it stick to you for longer than it has to if you're not planning on doing anything about it. Or there's nothing to be done, I guess."

Ui's head disappeared for a moment. When it came back, she was smiling softly. "You're smarter than you let on, aren't you?"

"Not smart enough to avoid this conversation, apparently," Ritsu scoffed, but she didn't break eye contact with Ui. "While I've got you here, tell me about that gift. Were you targeting me specifically with that?"

Instantly Ui shook her head. "Oh, no, not at all. While you and Onee-chan might make better use of it, I know you all are splitting your study material, so I figured anyone who got a hold of it would be able to make use of it."

"Well, we appreciate it," Ritsu thanked, surprising herself with how much she meant it.

That was supposed to be the end of Ritsu's impromptu conversation, but Ui didn't retreat. Instead, she sat up cross-legged, looking down at Ritsu with her stuffed turtle clutched against her body. "I think her being around you all is what's best for her," Ui admitted. "And I think her being around me in the long run is bad for her. The problem is I don't know who I am without her."

"What makes you think you have to be who you are without her?" Ritsu asked curiously. "Just because you can't be with someone exactly how you want doesn't make you not you. That person helped make you who you are, whether you're with them or not. It's up to you what happens to that person from now on. Not saying it won't hurt, but we're free to do as we please, for better or for worse."

"You… yeah. I understand, Ritsu-senpai. Thanks for trying to cheer me up." It didn't matter if that was true or not to Ritsu so long as it brought their conversation to a close.

A moment of solidarity was exchanged between Ui and Ritsu in that instant under the cover of darkness. That hadn't been Ritsu's intention. She wasn't sure why being here had loosened her lips so easily. Perhaps it was the reverie going on downstairs, or the potential development of the future happing just across the hall. It was so easy for Ritsu to stop playing to the beat of this room. Her soul echoed off of unfamiliar walls, bouncing into her friend's room to listen to forbidden secrets between close friends she'd never be privy to. It moved downstairs to witness the bonding she'd excluded herself from. Inevitably she returned here, to this present moment, and her answer came to her. "It's the damn air in here," Ritsu announced. "I don't need some asshole's interpretation of Hawaii to sleep, damn it."

At this declaration, Ui gasped. "Oh, of course! I forgot to turn the air fresheners off of high. I can turn them down-"

"Forget it," Ritsu waved off, already resigning herself to her sleeping bag. "Just agree with me that this scent sucks."

"But Onee-chan picked it out herself."

"Then we're in agreement, aren't we?"

There was a silence punctuated by the rustling of the duvet. Ritsu found herself smirking at the indecision that Ui was likely going through broken only by the response she got. "Yeah, I guess we are."

It was as this silence overcame the younger sister's room that conversation finally started up in the older sister's room again. The second Azusa had returned from the bathroom she'd noticed that Yui had moved her former kouhai's sleeping bag up to share a bed with her. When Azusa attempted to put it back, Yui had attempted to drag her into the comfort of her mattress, which was why Yui was currently sitting on her knees in shame while Azusa held a paper fan she'd put together from Yui's unused notebook pages. Skills like these would never show up on her resume, but they were essential for life with the Hirasawas nonetheless. "I didn't want to have to go through with this charade, but I'm going to have to set the ground rules again," Azusa declared firmly. "Rule number one: No touching or hugging unless I say so. I shouldn't have to keep telling you this, senpai. Rule two: see rule one. Do I make myself clear?"

Yui raised a hand, waiting to be called on. The call of sleep prompted Azusa to play along so long as it meant she got to go horizontal faster. "Why?" Yui asked.

If her jaw could reach the floor it would have been there. Instead, Azusa settled for pinching her brow. "Really? You just tried to tackle me. Do I actually have to explain this to you Yui?"

"But I thought people who date did that stuff all the time," Yui protested, leaning back on the balls of her feet. "It's not fair, Azu-nyan. We've been together for over a month and we haven't done anything."

Azusa was about to reprimand Yui by reminding her exactly whose fault it was that nothing had been accomplished for the past month before she paused. Was it really entirely Yui's fault? Why had she come here in the first place, not just to see her senpais again on such short notice, but to go as far as to allow herself to be put into a situation where she was alone with Yui? Was she really still standing in the exact place she'd been a month ago? Sighing, Azusa sank into a cross-legged position, hands resting on her knees as she met Yui at eye level. "What did you want to do?" Azusa asked, already dreading the answer.

In response, Yui scooted over to sit next to Azusa. The two remained awkwardly shoulder to shoulder for a moment as Yui adjusted herself before the senior managed to get into a comfortable position where Yui was sitting behind her, with Yui gently letting Azusa sink backwards into her senpai. Compared to Yui's more violent methods of inducing a hug, this was downright pleasant. The subtle stroking of Azusa's head was a welcome addition as well. Azusa was only doing this to humor Yui, though, and any enjoyment she got out of the deal was just a nice bonus. "I wanted to spend more time together," Yui admitted. "I wanted us to do a lot more stuff, spend a bunch of days watching the seasons change from the clubroom window. But I have exams to study for. You had to move. It feels like everything ended before it really had a chance to begin, you know? So I guess I just wanted to spend some fun times with you and everyone like we used to."

Azusa sat up a little, trying to maintain her focus as Yui continued scrambling her mind with head pats. "If that's all you wanted, then we should have done that more than well enough today, right?"

Another pause. Yui's hand stalled, processing what she'd been saying. "I lied, Azu-nyan."

"About?"

"What I just said. I wanted something else, too. But I know it's not what you want, so I haven't said anything."

Azusa's heart started to beat faster. She had a dreadful suspicion about where this was going, but she hadn't even started to mentally prepare herself for what Yui was probably about to request. "Yui, I-"

"I wanted you to call me first," Yui interrupted, prompting Azusa to turn and look at her senpai.

Azusa was startled to see that tears had formed in Yui's eyes. "You're mean, Azu-nyan. You know I couldn't call you or initiate anything with how things were left. If I did, then I was the one bothering both of us. It had to be you that opened things up, but you never did. I only threw this party because I wanted to see you again. Even if you rejected my offer, it would have been nice just to hear your voice. Why didn't you ever talk to me, Azu-nyan? Why did I have to be the one to reach out every time?"

To have the very same thing she'd just accused Jun of thrown back at her confused Azusa for a moment. "What about you, Yui? What about your entrance exams? You and I both know that you'd get distracted if I was here. You need to be able to focus and-"

"I beat Mio-chan," Yui interrupted once more, holding Azusa more fiercely.

"You what?"

"In our most recent round of practice exams. It was only in one subject because that's the one I was focusing on, but I beat Mio-chan. I didn't practice guitar for a whole week."

"I… the others didn't even mention that. Yui, how did you pull that off?"

"I did it because I didn't want anyone to worry about me," Yui explained. "Only Mio-chan knows so far. I was going to surprise you with that if I couldn't get you to come, but you came anyways. That made me happy, Azu-nyan."

Azusa wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't expected the change she'd been worried about to appear in quite so dramatic a fashion. Thinking about it now, Mio's behavior made more sense given what Yui had accomplished. If Yui suddenly started performing better than Azusa consistently, the kouhai would have taken it as a sign that she needed to step up her game too. "I'm glad you're doing your best, Yui," Azusa murmured. "More than I can say for me, I guess."

"What are you talking about? You're the one who left to face the future first," Yui argued.

At this claim Azusa forced herself to sit up on her own again so she could look at her former senpai on even ground. "Maybe, but I'm not doing anything about it. Going to that new school just doesn't feel right. I know I'm supposed to be trying to make friends and stuff but something is stopping me from actively pursuing it. It feels pointless."

Yui put a finger to her chin. "Well, it only makes sense. You haven't been there that long, ne? If you just give it a bit more time, then-"

"I don't want to give it more time," Azusa interrupted, clenching her fists to grasp the intangible darkness around her as an anchor. "It's not that simple."

"Sure it is. Just be Azu-nyan."

"I can't do that."

"If you can't, then who can?"

The question met Azusa along with the bright, curious eyes of her innocent senpai. Yui genuinely didn't understand how Azusa could be having difficulties with this. Of course, someone like Yui who naturally drew people to her wouldn't be able to fathom the difficulties associated with being someone who thought things through for more than 5 seconds. But Yui had problems too. Azusa always forgot that among trying to sort herself out, and she hurt others in the process. If she was really stronger, then a line had to be drawn in the sand somewhere. "I mean, I can, but it's hard. It's draining, and I don't feel like I'm really benefiting from it. Is it so wrong to want to just exist here?"

The kouhai wasn't immediately answered as she turned her gaze up to the stars glimmering in between black storm clouds from the long thin rectangle that was Yui's window. They were still further away than she could possibly reach, even when one of them was right next to her. She'd given up trying to understand why that was a long time ago, but it still caused her heart to ache. "I don't like how things are now either," Yui pointed out, matching Azusa's gaze direction. "But we're going to find better things soon, so we might as well try to enjoy where we're at right now and know that our future is worth pursuing. Don't you agree?"

The future Yui was referring to was a nebulous concept that Azusa tried not to think about. It only raised questions she wasn't willing to answer and possibilities that scared her too much to consider. Yet the stars above her continued to shine, telling her that there was a correct path and that it was currently out of her reach. It made her not want to try, but that wasn't an option and she knew it. "Yeah," she answered in a non-committal tone. "But-"

"No, no buts," Yui cut her kouhai off again, raising a finger to her lips. "You're the one who chose this path, Azu-nyan. Don't give up now. Stick with it and we'll get there, okay?"

"But I came back. I'm still here, not changing, and I'm still reliant on all of you."

"Azu-nyan, you know that's not the case."

Azusa stamped a foot on the ground ineffectually given her seated position. "No, I don't. I don't know anything and it sucks. I couldn't even figure out what I was supposed to say to you and I ended up wasting almost a month. It shouldn't be okay to be able to just be here like this if I want to change."

"It's moments like these that make me want to change," Yui countered, pulling Azusa in a bit closer by grasping her shoulders before she could protest. "Because I want to be able to do the fun things I want. I have to be strong enough too, Azusa, strong like you."

Azusa couldn't answer that. Yui thought she was strong and Azusa didn't. It had become so natural that Azusa hadn't even really considered the implications of the relationship. This whole time since she'd left, she'd felt the ache of wanting to come back, to show up at Yui's doorstep all over again and promise that this time they'd find a way to make it work so they'd never be apart again. But Azusa didn't do that because Azusa was rational, and she knew that the best way to ensure she could have the things she wanted was to become strong enough to seize them for herself. The fact that she was here now could only mean one thing. Azusa leaned into Yui, wrapping her arms around her senpai in an apology hug. "Sorry," she muttered into Yui's chest.

Yui tilted her head, but she accepted the gesture without complaint. "For what?"

"For being dumb," Azusa muttered without much explanation.

Yui chuckled to herself in the way that annoyed and captured Azusa's attention in the same breath. "Me too, Azu-nyan. Let's be dumb together from now on, okay?"

There was no need to respond. The duo sat together, watching the snowfall compliment the stars as the world around them faded into nothing. The only things that were real in Azusa's world were Yui and the things they were looking at that were out of reach. Yui leaned her head on Azusa's shoulder, and only when it seemed like her senpai was starting to fall asleep did Azusa act. She wouldn't have minded staying here longer, but she wouldn't be able to tolerate waiting until morning for Yui to wake up. "Yui, stay up. Or get in your bed before you fall asleep," Azusa insisted, nudging her senpai gently.

"Mm, five more minutes, Azu-nyan," Yui insisted, trying to get back into an optimal sleeping position.

Sighing, Azusa withdrew herself, ending the moment by letting Yui tumble to the ground. Now more awake, Yui sat up with a pout. "Meanie. I would have moved."

"Doubt it," Azusa snarked. "But are we going to bed now or what?"

The prospect of going to bed didn't really appeal to either girl, but Azusa didn't have any other good suggestions given the situation. That was probably why she was considered a bad girlfriend and the subject of teasing from her senpais. It wasn't like she had been given a primer for this sort of task. Fortunately, there was always the inanity of Yui to pick up the slack in these situations. "Ne, Azu-nyan. Can you help me with some guitar stuff? I forgot it in order to study and I wanna remember while I have the chance."

Azusa raised an eyebrow. "Won't that make you forget what you just learned?"

Yui shook her head empathetically. "Probably not! But this feels right, doesn't it?"

Azusa wasn't sure she agreed with that, but Yui wasn't giving her any room to argue. Before she could really protest, Yui had plucked Gita from his stand and foisted him into Azusa's hands. The instrument responsible for watching over Yui regarded Azusa silently, as if gauging whether its new master had the skill necessary to wield it. "Yui, we'll wake up the whole house if we start playing now," Azusa denied, already making to hand the guitar back. "Why don't we-" Azusa's protest was cut off by Yui placing a single headphone in Azusa's ear.

"You don't need to play, just feel it out with me for a minute," Yui insisted, starting a song up for both of them to listen to.

"Everything that happened to get us to this point doesn't matter anymore. I want you to cut it away, let that part of you fall to the ground and focus on what I'm telling you right now. I'm speaking to you right now and the you you want to be, okay?"

Azusa started, the voice of Yui enveloping her as she stood at the entrance to the clubroom. Her feet carried her forward, and as she reached out to open the door, she noticed several other hands reaching out with her. Azusa was wearing the baby blue dress she'd worn for her last performance, her high school uniform, even her outfit from her first performance with the band. All of them reached out in tandem with her to open the door, channeling the Azusa of now to help them reach for their goal that day. This made Azusa hesitate. She was supposed to be coming as she currently was. Turning back behind her, she saw one version of herself that hadn't moved, waiting half a flight of stairs behind her. A younger Azusa in her middle school uniform was watching Azusa without a single hint of an expression on her face. Azusa's expression hardened, her other doubles shuffling impatiently behind her. Were it not for her father and her friends, would she be standing down there with herself right now? "I'll leave them behind then," Azusa decided, the phantoms of her past two years evaporating as she opened the clubroom door.

Though Azusa had expected more to happen when she made this declaration, the room didn't have anything other than its normal appearance as Azusa stepped into it. Yui sat on the familiar blue couch, practicing a version of Pure Pure Heart that Azusa was hearing for the first time. There was an air of calm about this version that wasn't in the original, promising more solace than its muse. Without much recourse, Azusa stepped forward. "What did you want me to hear about this?"

Yui looked up and smiled, having expected Azusa the whole time. "You came. I was hoping you would. We don't need to get right into business do we?"

Azusa scoffed, pacing over to the nearest window. She could see a hazy recollection of what the courtyard of Sakuragaoka High was supposed to look like, already starting to be corroded and overwritten by an inundation of new memories. Only the clubroom remained perfect and unsullied in her mind's eye. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what it is you're looking for," Azusa pointed out.

Yui shook her head, ever one step ahead of her kouhai when the guitar was in her hands. It was frustrating and intriguing given Yui's personality. "Azu-nyan, I missed you. Isn't it enough that we're here right now?"

While that was technically true, Azusa didn't like to waste time for the sake of wasting time. "I moved on from here, or at least I thought I did. I'm here because you asked me, though. If you want my help, let's have it," Azusa insisted, stepping forward as Yui continued to play.

"You're already helping, Azu-nyan," Yui explained cryptically. "A song's no good without someone to listen. Take a look."

Azusa looked out the window again where Yui had pointed with her guitar. Though the courtyard spread out before her hadn't changed, when she looked up, everything Azusa had been averting her eyes from became clear. She was graduating, she wasn't graduating, following in her parent's footsteps, leaving them behind forever, every possibility in her life was considered, discarded, made impossible and possible all in the same moment, a daydream that never ended. The possibilities connected themselves into constellations that illuminated the four bandmates Azusa had been watching from the beginning. She hadn't picked up the guitar because of them, but they were the reason she hadn't put it down again. "It's beautiful," Azusa muttered, a tear coming to her eye.

"Isn't it? And it's ours for the taking, always. We just need to listen, ne?" Yui had appeared at Azusa's side, a faraway look in her eyes as she focused on the same sight Azusa was seeing. "When you left, you were looking forward. As long as that never changes, you don't have to worry about visiting every now and again. We can even do it together."

For once Azusa felt like things were clear to her. The barriers she saw to her success were entirely self-created. If there was a real problem then all she had to do was shift her perspective, be willing to work all the harder at finding a solution that worked for everyone. It was so simple, in fact, that Azusa refused to believe the answer that was right in her face. "Does that mean this is okay?" she asked, looking back at the clubroom again. "Are we doing enough to make it okay to be here? I don't feel like I've gotten any stronger. If I had, wouldn't we not need to keep coming back?"

In response, Yui leaned on Azusa's shoulder once more. The lines of the clubroom began to blur, fading in and out between the clubroom and Yui's room as Azusa struggled to maintain a grip on what she was hearing. "Dunno. Maybe we're really not supposed to be allowed to be happy for free like this. But I thought about it a lot, and I think going after the future doesn't mean we have to be unhappy doing it. In fact, if we can't, I think it defeats the purpose a bit. What we listen to helps define us. Wouldn't you agree?"

Staring at the stars above them didn't give Azusa much of a recourse but to agree. So many times she'd seen this sight above her, craned her neck so often that it had nearly gotten stuck looking up. It was only natural then that she'd been unable to see things the way Yui did until now. There was no point searching for the right star path to follow above her when she had a star right next to her. She met Yui's slightly excited gaze. "You got smarter without my permission," Azusa pouted. "Why'd you wait until I left to start acting like a senpai?"

Yui snickered rudely. "Well, you know, I had to do it at some point. They're all counting on me. You are too, aren't you?"

Azusa motioned her head toward the front door. "Maybe. The Yui I like is the airhead, even if she drives me insane all the time. It'd be a shame if she got left out there too."

At this, Yui panicked, the shape of the room faltering significantly as Yui jostled in place. Though only lightly, Azusa was plucking at Gita's strings in time with the song she was hearing, adding an accompaniment that had never existed before and disrupting the narrative Yui had been building. "Wait, really? If that's the case, then I can not change too, Azu-nyan. I-" Yui was cut off by Azusa leaning over to plant a small kiss on her senpai's cheek, overwriting the lead guitar with a flourish that hadn't been in the original rhythm part. "Azusa, you, um, I, uh-" The senior that had no qualms with attempting to kiss her kouhai in public had been left lost for words, unable to maintain the integrity of the clubroom for a moment as she was caught completely off guard by Azusa's action.

A smile graced Azusa's lips at regaining some of control of the situation. It seemed like she hadn't fallen quite as far behind as she originally thought. "The Yui I learned to love is the one who never gave up on me, even when I was being stupid and rejecting her for no reason, even now. You don't have to make up an answer for my sake, Yui. I'll make sure to give you a chance to get me back soon," she promised as the clubroom faded away.

The two guitarists were sitting across from each other as the track finally came to an end. Azusa's fingers felt raw, her cheeks were on fire, yet she hadn't played a single note as far as she could remember. Yui was blushing too. What had happened in the last few minutes? Azusa wasn't completely sure. Yui scooted a bit closer to Azusa. The advance wasn't rejected. That Yui felt the need to be so cautious in her approach told Azusa more than her beating heart and the sweat forming on her brow could. It had taken a month of tumultuous events to get her to the point where she was willing to admit that she wanted to spend as much time as she could working with and being near the person right in front of her. Even after that, she'd spent the last few months spurning that luxury, believing herself unworthy of claiming it. "So, what do you think I can improve on?" Yui asked with innocence that rang hollow for the current mood of the room.

Azusa coughed to compose herself. Whatever happened, she would have plenty of time to figure it out herself so long as Yui was here. The questions of what needed to come next and whether she deserved to be here wouldn't be any more or less addressed if she sat here agonizing over them. Right now, the best thing she could do was help the two people in this room who needed her by being herself. That meant she was exactly where she needed to be. The kouhai closed the remaining distance between herself and her senpai, taking her slightly larger hands in her own to guide her to Gita. The emotions raging through Azusa that she couldn't put into words were imbued in this pretense of education, and for once Yui seemed to get the message by the way her slightly apprehensive posture relaxed. Azusa hadn't been the only one struggling to leave her baggage at the door, after all. It was time that she did something about that if she really wanted to move forward into the future with Yui at her side. "Right. Listen carefully, Yui. We're going to get this song right, even if it takes all night."