Hey guys, thanks for reading once again. :)
This chapter will mostly be a multi-faceted take on each character or pairing and how they're going to prepare for the impending onset of university life.
As for the person being left behind, there're… other issues.
I did say at the start that this fic wouldn't be as light and as fluffy as the original source material, since I'm trying to add some realism to it. It's not as dark as Adrena Veris' fic, No, Thank You!, which is a damn good read by the way.
This chapter is shorter than the others since it's somewhat of an interlude.
/
Interlude - The Next Stage
Cleaning up after her sister and her friends wasn't exactly what Ui envisioned for her Sunday morning activities, but nevertheless, she took it in stride. When she woke up at the crack of dawn, being the responsible imouto, the first thing that she did was check on her sister in her room. Opening the door as quietly as she could, Ui saw how her sister and her best-friend were cuddled up, the fleece blanket covering their lower bodies. It still didn't hide the fact that they were hugging each other while they were asleep, their lips within an inch of the other's. Ui smiled at the serene sight and closed the door, moving on downstairs to check on the other senpai and Sawako.
When her foot left the last step of the staircase, Ui paled momentarily before recovering her composure at the sight that greeted her in the dining room. Cans of beer and glasses were haphazardly scattered all over the table, and some of their contents had spilled onto the table. Ui emitted a long, deep sigh, going to the kitchen to get a tray so that she could clear all the debris of the night before from their dining room.
As she washed glasses and threw beer cans into a black trash bag, Ui was inwardly thankful that her parents were working abroad as consultants for French pharmaceutical companies. Had they seen the aftermath of the proposed graduation party, they could've possibly exploded in anger. Alternatively, they could just as likely say something along the lines of "Our Yui-chan's all grown up!"
Ui chuckled at how random her parents could be, and she was glad that her sister was the same. It wouldn't do if everyone in the family was exactly like her, and that weird combination of personalities is what made the two Hirasawa sisters. Making a mental note to take the trash bag to a trash can at the very end of the street later, she moved towards the living room, expecting to find the senpai and Sawako there.
She wasn't disappointed; seeing their sleeping faces, she inwardly gasped at the marvelous effects alcohol had on one's inhibitions. Ritsu, who normally teased Mio to no end, was sleeping beside Mio, their heads touching each other and their fingers intertwined.
"I wonder though, if Ritsu-senpai and Mio-senpai are lesbians or bisexual," wondered Ui aloud, her finger on her chin in thought. "If they were the latter, they'd just be like onee-chan."
Turning to the other two who had drunkedly made their way to their current position from the dining room a few hours ago, Ui saw that Mugi was sleeping peacefully, using Sawako's lap as a lap pillow, while the sensei had her arms spread across the back of the couch, her head tilted back and her mouth open.
Ui did her hardest to fight back her laughter and the temptation to take an incriminating picture of their beloved Yamanaka-sensei, but being the sensible person she was, she easily fought off the prankish tendencies. She took Ritsu's empty sake bottle from the small table and threw it into the black trash bag along with the cans of beer, making her way towards the trash can of one of their neighbors at the end of the street.
"Good morning Ui-chan," came the gentle voice of an old lady as Ui hoisted the trash bag into the bin.
"Good morning, obaa-chan," greeted Ui in kind, bowing. "It's a lovely Sunday morning, isn't it?"
"It is, it is," chuckled the old woman genially. "You're always so responsible; keep looking after Yui-chan while you still can."
Ui nodded and bid the lady goodbye, heading back towards her house thinking wryly that most of the people she knew were either lesbian or bisexual.
/
*thump*
Mio woke to the sound of a door slamming. The raven-haired bassist stood up and stretched, gently moving Ritsu's head so that she would be gently resting on the couch. Looking towards the source of the noise, she saw Yui's little sister Ui looking mortified at the way she had closed the door.
"M-Mio-senpai, good morning!" squealed Ui, bowing as she said so. "Sorry for waking you up!"
Mio smiled gently and walked over to Ui. She surveyed the living room that was now clean, and poked her head around the corner to look at the now clean dining room, which had been a messy place the night before.
Turning back to Ui, she pat the girl gently on the head and said,
"You're so responsible, Ui. I think Yui should learn from you."
"Actually, starting today, onee-chan wanted me to train her in doing household chores. Did she tell you that she'd be moving to an apartment near your school, senpai?" said Ui brightly.
Mio nodded thoughtfully.
"I do wonder if she'll be prepared for the rigors of living alone. Excuse me for a moment, I'll go wait Ritsu up now."
Ui nodded and went upstairs to wake Yui and Azusa up. When the imouto had ascended the stairs, Mio slumped on the couch beside the snoring Ritsu, clutching her head with her hands.
"D-dammit, my head really hurts! How much did I even have last night? To think I actually k-k-ki— "
Mio promptly buried her face in her hands as she recalled what she did to Ritsu last night.
"What's she going to think of me when she finds out that I'm not into just boys, but girls too? I… I don't think I could take it if she shunned me for being bisexual… I have to hide it at all costs from Ritsu, to protect what we have."
Opening her eyes slightly, she gazed at the other two people who were in the living room. Mugi was curled in a fetal position with her head resting on Sawako's lap. Her gaze went to Sawako's mouth which was wide open, her tongue lolling awkwardly to one side. Stifling a giggle, she felt the weight on the couch shift as Ritsu groggily sat up, rubbing her eyes. Looking to her right, she gave Mio a wry look before yawning, stretching her arms as far as they could reach. With the way Ritsu yawned, Mio was tempted to put her finger in the drummer's mouth, just for the reaction. Ultimately, she decided against it, not wanting to feel too touchy-feely with Ritsu after what she had done last night.
"Morning Ritsu," said Mio, standing up. "Clean after yourself, and go wake Mugi and Sawako-sensei up, so we can get out of Yui and Ui's hair."
Ritsu groggily nodded as she stood up and checked her cargo shorts for anything that was missing. To her dismay, she vaguely remembered emptying all the vodka the night before, or she thought she did. The memories too blurry for her to sift through, she stood up and decided to get herself a glass of water from the kitchen when she remembered what Mio did last night.
Surprisingly, Ritsu was calm about the whole ordeal, thinking the same train of thought she had last night. "For now, I can't let her find out about me. When the time is right…"
Leaning over across the table, she gently poked Mugi in her face, trying to wake the keyboardist up. As Mugi stirred, Ritsu stifled a laugh at how Mugi slept on Sawako's lap in a fetal position. "Those two seemed pretty close last night. I'm fairly sure something big happened, so whatever it was, I hope it was enough to keep Mugi alive without me, Mio, and Yui."
"Good morning Ricchan," yawned Mugi, stretching her arms haphazardly. Not realizing her position, one of her balled fists connected solidly with Sawako's right cheek.
The teacher immediately woke up, haphazardly standing up as Ritsu and Mugi cowered in fear at what Sawako might do.
"Who the fuck hit me in the face, huh?" shouted Sawako, livid, as she stared at both Ritsu and Mugi. "It had fuckingbetter not be you, Tainaka, if you value your life."
Ritsu squealed and hid behind Mugi on the far end of the couch. The keyboardist sighed and said,
"It was my fault, sensei. I stretched, not mindful of the possibility that I could hit you."
Mugi performed a traditional bow, lowering her forehead far enough to touch the couch she was kneeling on. Not breaking the pose, she continued to apologize the way her father had taught her when she felt Sawako's hand on her shoulder.
She looked up and saw Sawako looking at her with a fond look in her eyes.
"I could never get mad at you, Mugi-chan."
Sawako smiled at her and Mugi sat up, looking at Sawako in the same way.
"Er," said Ritsu, clearing her throat. "So, if it was me, I'd be dead…?"
Sawako turned towards Ritsu and grinned evilly,
"Spot on, Ricchan."
Ritsu gulped in fear as Sawako gestured for them to start tidying the couches and throw pillows up.
/
"Onee-chan, time to get up! Training starts today, remember?" called Ui as she gently opened the door to her older sister's room.
She was absolutely not prepared for what she saw. Yui was picking up clothing from the floor and hefting them onto her shoulder, while Azusa slept peacefully in her bed.
"Morning Ui!" said Yui cheerfully. "While Azu-nyan's still sleeping, I thought I'd get a head start on cleaning up my room. I'm all ready for housekeeping bootcamp today!"
"What about Azusa-chan then?" asked Ui, entering the room and picking up some more clothes alongside her sister.
"Let's ask if she wants to stay and help or go home and rest. I think the alcohol hit her pretty bad last night," said Yui in a serious tone. "Oh Ui, guess what? My head doesn't hurt at all!"
Ui smiled.
"Good for you, onee-chan, but don't use that as an excuse to go partying all the time in college, okay?"
"You're right after all…," pondered Yui as she dumped the clothes into a hamper in the hallway leading to the bathroom. "What would I do without you, Ui?"
"Anything that you set your mind to, onee-chan," said Ui seriously, looking at her sister in the eyes as she entered the room. "Remember, you learned how to play the guitar just so you could become part of the Light Music Club that Ritsu-senpai, Mio-senpai and Tsumugi-senpai formed. Think of life as something like that. If you give it your all, then nothing can stop you. A wise man once said that a person's greatest enemy is themselves. Don't be your own enemy, onee-chan."
"Ui, that's amazing! When did you get so philosophical?" chirped Yui as she tacklehugged Ui, sending both of them splayed on the bed near Azusa's legs. "Woah, that was close; good thing we didn't hit Azu-nyan."
"What's all the noise about?" came Azusa's sleepy voice as she stirred; rubbing her eyes with her hands while her obsidian hair clung to the pajamas she was wearing in various places.
"Good morning Azu-nyan!" squealed Yui, immediately getting off of Ui and cuddling up with Azusa, encapsulating her in a hug.
"Good morning Yui-senpai," said Azusa. "My back's feeling a little sore, but it's much, much better than it was 2 days ago."
"Azusa-chan, I'll be training onee-chan today," interrupted Ui, who stood up from her position on Yui's bed. "Are you going home or are you going to stay and watch?"
"I think I'll go home, Ui. I need to come up with something to recruit members for the club. If you can, think of something too and let's talk about it tomorrow, okay?" said Azusa as she broke free from Yui's embrace and got off the bed. "We need a drummer minimum; we can do without another keyboardist, actually."
Her thoughts jumped back to that day when she played a short song with both Ui and Jun; Ui at the piano and Jun on bass.
"I hope we get even one person to join, for our sakes," mumbled Ui as Azusa went to the bathroom to wash her face. "Azusa-chan doesn't know that some members of Mio-senpai's fan club aren't taken too well with her. I hope they don't give us any problems when we start recruiting."
/
"Thanks for everything, Ui!" called Ritsu as she and Mio waved goodbye to Yui, Ui, and Azusa at the door. "Remember: you'll make an awesome bride someday!"
"See you in a week, Yui!" called Mio.
As the two left, Yui, Ui, and Azusa retreated back to the living room, where Sawako was making sure that she hadn't left anything. Mugi was already ready to go, when Sawako realized that indeed, she had forgotten something.
"Oh damn, the unopened six-pack I brought last night. Ui-chan, gimme a minute; I'll go get it from your refrigerator," said Sawako as she went to the kitchen to retrieve her valuable cans of beer, Mugi chuckling at how the teacher nearly forgot her alcohol stash.
When Sawako returned, Mugi was at the door, bidding Yui, Azusa, and Ui goodbye.
"See you around, Yui-chan. Ui-chan, my deepest thanks for a wonderful party and meal last night."
"No problem, Tsumugi-senpai. Azusa-chan and I will do our best to keep the club alive. Sawako-sensei's behind us too!"
"That's right, and I'll be damned if we don't continue Houkago Tea Time's legacy," said Sawako, approaching the door. "Thanks for the hospitality you two. Yui-chan, do your best in college, okay? Make sure you and those two visit me and Azusa-chan in school."
"I will sensei, I will!" said Yui emphatically.
"See you tomorrow sensei," said Ui and Azusa in unison as the two of them headed towards Sawako's car.
Ui closed the door and turned to Azusa.
"So, are you really going or not?"
Azusa sighed and said,
"Read like an open book, huh? Alright, I'll be staying, but I'll need to focus more on recruitment ideas. Yui-senpai, I trust that you'll do your best so that you can look after yourself. A-and if it's not too much trouble, since I won't be seeing you anymore after today here… I'd like to um, visit your apartment every now and then."
The kouhai fidgeted awkwardly while Ui was trying her best to not laugh at her sister and her best friend. "Oh, if only Jun-chan could see this; she'd have a fit at how adorable Azusa-chan and onee-chan are right now."
Yui's eyes suddenly brimmed with tears as she replied,
"Oh Azu-nyan, I'd love to have you over. You can even sleep there if you like!"
Azusa's heart melted when she heard what her senpai had said. "The chance to sleep beside Yui-senpai in bed more often… Last night was the best night's sleep I've ever had in my entire life. What little time Yui-senpai and I still have, I'll take it and use this to increase it!"
"That's wonderful, senpai!" exclaimed Azusa happily, bouncing on her heels.
As Yui looked at Azusa, she was already imagining her cute kouhai with cat ears on her head, going "nyaa~" the way Sawako made her do so long ago.
Her consciousness blurred and her nasal capillaries burst, letting a thin stream of viscous blood flow through her nasal cavity.
"Senpai!"
As Hirasawa Yui crumpled onto the floor, dazed, the words that she last uttered before collapsing onto the arms of Nakano Azusa were,
"So… moe…"
/
The week passed by without much eventfulness on the part of Mio. Most of the days were spent with her parents prepping her up for her college life, telling her that these three years of college were only the beginning of her career as a future doctor, even referencing the famous quote by Neil Armstrong when he first stepped on the moon all those decades ago.
She was admittedly nervous about her upcoming college life; after all, who wouldn'tbe? Inwardly, she was grateful that she and Ritsu had already talked to Yui about their first-year classes. Since these were general education classes, it was possible for all three of them to end up in the same class, and they had enlisted their slots over the internet, ensuring that they'd be together in Sociology, College Algebra, and English.
On Ritsu's end, her parents were mostly worried for Satoshi's senior year of high school, now that Ritsu had graduated. Their only words for her were "don't get into trouble" and "just have fun, but try to keep your grades at a passing mark."
Sawako just continued to stick to her daily repertoire, and she was already tasked to choose students for her senior homeroom class. Immediately, she picked Nakano Azusa, Hirasawa Ui, and Suzuki Jun, as it would be easier for her to coordinate with them as their advisor to the Light Music Club. She hoped the three of them would be able to find at least one person though, with their own power. As a teacher, she technically wasn't allowed to do actual recruiting, so all her hopes for continuation were placed on the three girls.
Sawako also felt uncomfortable with some rumors she'd been hearing lately, since the third years had graduated. A lot of people were taken in by the Light Music Club, and some of them went as far as to declare that they were the only true Light Music Club. The implications of this student body thought were bad for the three successors, and her worst fears were confirmed that Friday when she heard a student tell her friend as she exited a bathroom that "Nakano only looked good because she was playing alongside Akiyama-senpai."
As a teacher, she couldn't publicly interfere, and she hoped that not everyone thought that the previous Light Music Club was too good to be ever replaced.
As for Mugi, she was preparing herself to move to the dormitory of Lillian University. [1] She'd already received the dorm acceptance letter from the dorm mother, and enclosed was basic information regarding her would-be-room-mate, Fukuzawa Yumi. [2] All that was left was for her to move in this Sunday, the day before classes officially opened. The keyboardist was anxious about her "relationship" with Sawako; she really didn't know how to classify it. Unbeknownst to her, the teacher was thinking the exact same thing, alongside the potential troubles that the club might have. Mugi was also pondering the fact that she would be separated from Yui, Mio, and Ritsu, and how she would handle herself at Lillian University.
"I hope Fukuzawa-san is a nice person…"
Ui was busy all week, training her sister heavily after school in household chores and independence. The way she did it was to teach Yui after getting home, and then she'd assign "homework" to Yui; a task that she must complete before Ui got home. Yui learned fast, giving the work the same devotion she had given Gitah when she had first laid her hands on it. Soon enough, Yui learned enough to be able to handle herself on her own. This was in theory though, so Ui still had some worry saved up for her clumsy older sister.
While things were good on Yui's end, Ui was getting increasingly worried for Azusa. Her misgivings about Mio's fan club were spot on. On Friday, Jun had come to her with a sense of urgency, saying that "there're some things you need to see in Azusa's locker."
Ui had followed Jun to Azusa's locker, where she saw the twin-tailed guitarist staring at her open locker, her jaw slack in shock. Ui peered inside the locker and saw that it had been stuffed full with letters. The ponytailed girl peeled one from the locker door and unfolded it. As she read its contents, her blood began to boil in anger at what she was seeing before her eyes.
You suck, Nakano. Stop being a poser; you only looked good because you played alongside Akiyama-senpai and Hirasawa-senpai. You'll never be able to replace their talent because you're not good enough.
Shidou
"Whoever this Shidou is doesn't know what a prodigy Azusa-chan is," huffed Ui angrily. "We'll show them; we've just got to put on a good show at the welcoming ceremony next semester."
"But Ui, how will we do that, seeing as we don't have a drummer and keyboardist?" asked Jun, her forehead creased in worry, while Azusa continued to just stare blankly at the hate letters she received.
"We need to try our best and get someone before that time, is all," said Ui confidently. "As for keyboard, I'm actually better at that than guitar; I picked up guitar just because I wanted to be like onee-chan. As necessary, I could see myself slide over to keyboard, with Azusa-chan sliding over to lead guitar."
"I wish I had your confidence, Ui," said Azusa flatly. "You know how rabid Mio-senpai's fans were. I can see why they hate me, since I'm soaking up the spotlight beside their idol. No matter my skills, these are people I will never be able to convince. Maybe we should just gi—"
*smack*
Azusa stared at Jun as she moved back to where she was standing, glaring at Azusa with the intensity of a cyclops.
"That's defeatist talk, Azusa. We'll never know until we've tried and done our best. I don't want to give up. Back when I was in the Jazz Club, both you and Ui knew how much I wanted to be a part of the Light Music Club. I don't want to give up before we've even started!" shouted Jun, drawing the attention of some first-years who were passing in the corridor adjacent to the lockers.
"I'm sorry Jun, you're right. We still have to try," said Azusa, massaging her cheek where Jun had slapped her.
"That's the Nakano Azusa I know," said Jun brightly. "It's this week or bust, since the opening ceremonies are on Thursday next week; we've only got a few days until then. Don't forget to hand me Mio-senpai's bass portion for Fuwa Fuwa Time and Hotchikiss, alright? See you later Azusa; I need to get a bite to eat."
Azusa nodded and closed her locker with a note of finality.
"I do hope, for our sake and Sawako-sensei's, that Jun's right," sighed Azusa, sluggishly heading towards the cafeteria.
Ui could only follow her in silence, hoping that Jun was indeed, right.
/
[1] – From Maria-sama ga Miteru. We may have a small crossover featuring some characters from that series.
[2] – I decided on Yumi since she's the most charismatic character in Marimite. From the shy girl in her first year, she grew popular as she progressed (popular enough to attract Hosokawa Kanako, remember?). Her personality is exactly what Mugi needs to cope with Sawako's absence (note that by this time, Yumi hasn't been by Sachiko's side for a year, so she can relate to Mugi's feelings).