Chapter Two

Tea at Your House

The five girls were in their clubroom, as they usually were afterschool. Talking about music, cakes and of course, why Yui was being silly as she always is. Mio and Ritsu had taken their usual seats and were arguing over their favourite cake.

"Mio, you're being so unfair." Ritsu huffed, wanting to tuck into the spongy cake right away. She inched her hand closer, hoping she could grab it without Mio noticing. A plan which, of course, would fail.

"Ritsu, you always get to pick before me, now that is unfair. Don't be so childish." Mio retorted, not minding as much about that cake but more about the cocky brunette's attitude. She sighed then dropped her shoulders slightly. "Fine, you can have it, I don't mind that much." Ritsu raised her eyebrows and grinned then slouched forward, grabbed the cake with her fork and shifted it to her plate. She shoved a huge mouthful and chewed loudly.

"Thanks Mio!" She spluttered out between bites and cut off a piece for Mio and dumped it on her plate. "You can have a piece too!"

"...Thank you." Mio sighed; she knew Ritsu thought she was being very charitable, so she didn't complain. She politely waited until Mugi had picked hers, and looking at Azusa and Yui, decided she might as well pick a cake before they even noticed they were there. She smiled at the two arguing over silly things and chuckled before she delicately ate her own cake. Mugi smiled at the delighted faces Mio and Ritsu made while eating, she was glad she chose this set again, it contained of their favourites, after all.

Yui and Azusa were still looking out of the window, watching the remaining students hurriedly leave school. Yui slouched against the window, making Azusa sigh.

"You shouldn't press your cheek against the window like that, Yui. You'll leave a mark on it." She complained, puffing her cheeks out and tilting her head to the side. Yui clumsily pulled her head away and smiled sheepishly.

"Then I can lean on you instead, Azu-Nyan!" Yui slung herself at Azusa before she could voice any complaints and grabbed her reddening cheeks, pulling lightly and grinning widely. Azusa squeezed her eyes shut at the contact and shoved Yui away feebly, her cheeks getting redder and redder by the second.

"Eat your cake, Yui." Azusa groaned. She looked away and mumbled something about Yui embarrassing her all the time and how she needed to calm down now and again. Not that she minded. Yui straightened up at the mention of her delicious snack and rushed back to the table to grab one of Mugi's wonderful cakes.
Mugi always brought the nicest cakes, Yui thought as she grabbed her favourite and sat down to happily munch on it. Azusa looked over at Yui chewing contently and beaming at Mugi. She looked away quickly as she felt her cheeks getting warm again.

It was silly how extreme she reacted towards Yui, she thought, it seemed like anything she did could bring her to a quivering embarrassed mess. She made her way to her designated seat and brought the last piece of cake to her plate. She twirled her silky black hair around her index finger as she leaned against her seat, looking at Yui fondly between outbursts of embarrassing warmth in her cheeks.

After several attempts at a successful practice session, the members of Houkago Teatime gave up for the day. Yui chattered away to Azusa while packing their instruments away in their black bags, while Mio, Ritsu and Mugi were trying to back their sensei out of making them wear her homemade attire for practice. After all, Sawako-Sensei's taste in clothing was rather exotic.

Mio was by far the most apposed, remembering the incident with a certain outfit made her frantically blush and complain to her sensei. Ritsu almost took sides with Sawako-Sensei, thinking about Mio going up on stage in Sawako's outfits made her laugh inwardly, though she would quickly side with Mio once mention of her outfit came around. Yui continued to bother Azusa while Sawako mentioned her name, her gaze fixed on only Azusa and her thoughts all pointed to her.

"Azu-Nyan! Stay over at my house tonight, please—!" She chimed, swaying her head side to side. Azusa blinked a few times before blushing mildly. A night at Yui-Sempai's house? That's way too embarrassing for me, she thought hurriedly, though it would be fun. Yui looked as if she was about to burst if she didn't get an answer soon.

"It's a little short notice..." Azusa mumbled, not wanting to see disappointment in Yui's eyes, she looked away quickly.

"Huh? Would that be a problem?" She piped up, curiosity filled her eyes and she tilted her head to the side comically. Azusa giggled and loosened up.

"I guess I could ask my mother anyway," She trailed off while Yui bounced around in the air.

"Azu-Nyan's coming over tonight!" She squealed and twirled around to see slightly shocked faces on the other band members. Mio smiled delicately and before Yui could do anything else, Azusa interrupted her again.

"I didn't promise anything yet!" Azusa hurried to Yui's side and rushed excuses for why she might not be able to stay over. Yui ignored her and continued to throw sleepover activity ideas in her face, all becoming more and more embarrassing to Azusa. She waved her hands around in an attempt to quieten Yui and save herself from further inquisitive looks from Mugi and Ritsu.

"—and marshmallows always taste nicer when you share them! Oh, what should we have for dinner? I want a hotpot! What about you Azu-Nyan?" Yui rushed from one idea to the next, never completing one train of thought properly. She was way too excited with the concept of an 'Azu-Nyan sleepover'.

Azusa's cheeks were bright red by now; she gave up trying to calm Yui and sat down with a sigh. She'd call her mother and ask to stay over right now, she thought. She rustled around in her bag, shoving books and notes out of the way until she grabbed her mobile phone. She dialled a familiar number and waited for the dial tone to stop and her mother to pick up.

"Hi, mum. Um, I know it's on short notice but could I stay over at Yui-Sempai's house tonight? I've finished all of my homework for the night..." She chattered away, convincing her mother to let her stay at her Sempai's house. She has never slept over at Yui's on her own; there had always been either Mugi, Mio or Ritsu there too. She stopped thinking about it and concentrated on talking to her Mother.

"Ah, thank you," Azusa smiled. "Yes, I'll be over shortly," She paused. "Yes, I'll pick up a bag too." Yui shuffled over to Azusa and peered over her shoulder. "Ok, I love you too. Bye!" Azusa flipped her phone back into her bag and jumped at Yui's outburst.

"Yes! Azu-Nyan can stay over! I'll thank your mum when we pick up your overnight bag." Yui exclaimed, picking up Azusa's hands in her own and jumping up and down excitedly. Azusa smiled while she was being shaken by her Sempai. Her thoughts concentrated on how Yui was going to embarrass her once they got to her house.

"Thank you, Mrs. Nakano, for lending Azu-Nyan's company tonight!" Yui declared, standing straight with a serious look in her eye. Azusa couldn't help but chuckle. Her mother motioned for them to come in while Azusa hurried upstairs.

"I'll only be a moment, Yui-Sempai!" She called before she hit the top step. Yui waved to her and looked around once she had gone. Azu-Nyan's house is so tidy! Yui couldn't help but wonder how much work it took to keep the room looking so clean. It was something she didn't think about very often.

She idly chattered with Mrs. Nakano while upstairs Azusa rushed around, looking for her favourite pair of pyjamas. She slung open her bottom drawer and shuffled around until she came across the soft texture she knew belonged to a certain pair. She pulled them out and folded them into her bag. She then dragged the clothes that spilled out back into the drawer and closed it quietly. She didn't want to keep Yui-Sempai waiting, but she didn't want to make an awful lot of noise either. She grabbed the clothes that she had placed on her bed this morning and walked briskly into the bathroom to get her toiletries and change into her casual clothing.

Downstairs, Yui had been making a good impression on Azusa's mother. She made her laugh when she talked about all of the fun times that her, Azusa, Mugi, Mio and Ritsu had after school. Mrs. Nakano has told Yui that she loved to hear that her daughter was having so much fun, and that she had a great friend who made her feel happy. Yui blushed and scratched her head.

"Azu-Nyan makes me happy! She's fun and puts up with me without complaining!" Yui carried on, her voice trailing upstairs to the landing. Azusa opened the bathroom door to hear Yui rattling on about her. She blushed furiously, and carried her school clothes and toiletries into her room and placed them in her bag. She zipped it up and checked she hadn't forgotten anything. After making sure, she slung the satchel-like bag over her shoulder and closed her door over slightly.

"—makes the best tea! And the best cakes too. She brings them in especially for us, but I could eat all of them myself. They're delicious!" Yui laughed loudly, Azusa giggled and Yui looked over the shoulder at her Kouhai descending the stairs. Yui grinned widely and stood up clumsily.

"Are you ready, Azu-Nyan?" She asked, grabbing her school bag from the seat next to her.

"Mhmm. Just about, I don't need anything, um, anything specific to take with me, do I?" Azusa asked, curious as to what kind of game Yui might make her play.

"Nope! Just you and your bag," Yui chirped, swaying her head slightly. Yui had a habit or acting very much at home wherever she went. Azusa didn't mind and thankfully, neither did her mother. Yui had a very friendly aura around her. She may be a little bit silly, well, very silly, but someone you can depend on nonetheless. Azusa blushed and looked down awkwardly. Yui was too busy saying her goodbyes to her mother to notice.

She told Yui to come over whenever she liked, and thanked her for inviting Azusa over. Yui had excitedly said that she would be over every day if she could, making Azusa's cheeks turn a deeper shade of red. They walked out of Azusa's house while talking about Mugi's cakes and Ui's cooking. Yui told Azusa that she called her before they left school and that she would make a hotpot for the three of them.

"Tonight is going to be a lot of fun, Azu-Nyan!" Yui sang; swinging her arms back and forth while she walked. Azusa smiled and averted her eyes to the road.

"I think so too, Yui-Sempai." Azusa mumbled. Yui grabbed Azusa's gloved hand and smiled sweetly under her scarf. Azusa's cheeks reddened as she returned the smile. She quickly looked ahead and frantically shouted at Yui.

"Yui-Sempai! Be careful, the lamppost –!"