Thanks for reading! However, I won't know if what I'm doing can possibly be improved upon if people don't review! I accept constructive criticism; just please don't get too flame-y, okay?

It's the first day in college for the four girls, and Azusa still needs to find a drummer!

Also, Marimite characters will be appearing, most notably Fukuzawa Yumi. I'm still unsure on how slight the crossover will be at this point, but regardless, I hope you guys like it anyway.

/

Adjustment

It was the crisp feeling of a new beginning that was in the air. Students milled about the lecture hall, looking at posters on bulletin boards, chatting with their high school friends whom they were classmates with. Some of the more interested ones took note of the extracurricular recruitment posters that were placed prominently on the bulletin boards, some even advertising introductory seminars of some sort for fraternities and sororities.

Akiyama Mio remained seated in her chair at the very back of the semicircular lecture hall, waiting for Ritsu and Yui to arrive. It was ten in the morning, and class was set to begin in half an hour. They were in luck, as the three of them were able to force being in the same College Algebra class for freshmen when they enlisted for subjects online. She felt a bit unsure with her new surroundings, since she had come from an exclusive high school for girls, after all. Most of the men she had encountered so far were polite, and Mio hoped that for as long as she was attending college that the men she would encounter would all be of the same persuasion.

Her parents had told her many grim and dark stories of college girls being raped simply because they had been at the wrong place in the wrong time. Having scouted the university though, Mio felt relatively safe enough to assume that the men here were not all sexually aggressive brutes who wanted nothing but to satisfy their inflated libidos. It was a community that placed importance on academics, after all.

An amused smile graced Mio's face as she remembered the actual enrollment process that had taken place a few days earlier. To her great surprise, Yui seemed to be more reliable as a person already, because she was actually schooling Ritsu around on the enrollment process. Mio didn't know how much of it was from Ui, but nevertheless, it was an astounding change to see in her dear friend, who wanted nothing more than cake and to hug Azusa back when they used to kill time after school.

"Yo, Mio!" came a cheerful voice that could only belong to one Tainaka Ritsu.

Mio turned towards Ritsu who had entered the room, with Yui in tow. Due to universities not having school uniforms, Mio found it a bit unsettling that Ritsu decided to come to their first class wearing a volleyball jersey and shorts. Yui, on the other hand was wearing suspenders and a pink t-shirt with the word "Neko" printed on it in romanji.

Seeing her two best friends wearing such clothing, the bassist felt somewhat more secure in her choices of clothing: sneakers, jeans, and a blouse. None of them brought their instruments with them, as they still hadn't talked about when and where they could find time to practice their songs.

Then there's also the fact that their keyboardist was studying in Lillian University, and that their second guitarist was still back at their old high school.

"Hey, Ritsu," said Mio quietly, as Ritsu and Yui filed into two seats beside her at the very back of the classroom. "We… are going to continue being Houkago Tea Time, right?"

"Of course Mio!" replied Ritsu without hesitation. "We'll just need to find time to meet up with Mugi and Azusa for our practices. We haven't made it to Budokan yet; we're not going to call it quits until we've gotten there."

Yui nodded in agreement beside her while munching on a sandwich. Swallowing, she said,

"We promised each other Mio-chan, that we'd get to play at Budokan someday. I think we should just do our best to achieve that goal, right?"

Mio was speechless at the level of dedication that Yui was exuding. Unable to resist, she pushed Ritsu aside and tapped Yui on the shoulder.

"Hey. Who are you and what have you done to the real Yui?"

Unable to hold it in much longer, the three girls laughed while the other students were chatting away and milling around, completely unconcerned with them.

"College life is pretty different, no?" said Ritsu. "Back in Sakura High, we'd probably get the attention of the entire class for laughing out loud like that. Here, no one gives a damn. The feeling of freedom is exhilarating, Mio!"

Ritsu reclined in the lecture hall chair, placing her legs on top of the table as Yui chuckled, continuing to eat her sandwich without a care in the world.

"I think I need to add more spread next time," muttered Yui absentmindedly. "Ui taught me a lot in just one week. Looking back, it's just like playing with Gitah! I just need to practice so I'll get good at doing it."

Ritsu turned towards Yui with a flabbergasted look on her face.

"Oi. Where's the real Yui?"

Ritsu turned to Mio, who finally failed to stifle her giggles and the three laughed again, this time drawing the attention of two boys who were chatting about the latest baseball league results. They looked at Ritsu with a look of condescending amusement on their faces, but otherwise ignored them and went back to their discussion.

A loud thump was heard, signaling the teacher's entrance. He was a tall bespectacled man, with a somewhat messy hairstyle and an air of pleasant strictness surrounding him. The students milling about took their seats, as it was customary to be polite on the first day of classes.

Taking a whiteboard marker out of his suit pocket, he wrote his name on the whiteboard in large kanji so that even Mio, Ritsu and Yui, who were seated at the very back of the ascending semicircular lecture hall, could see.

"My name is Kurogiri Satsuki and I'll be your College Algebra teacher for the rest of the semester," said the teacher into the lapel fixed to his suit collar. "I'm a recent faculty transfer from a private Catholic school, Reien Academy. No need to assume; I'm not a Catholic." [1]

The class chuckled politely and he continued,

"I'm not a strict teacher, but I expect, at the very least, courtesy from all of you. Teaching college algebra to a class of 60 students in a lecture hall as large as this is not easy, especially since algebra and trigonometry are topics that require PRACTICE."

His voice rose noticeably at that last word, and Ritsu inwardly cringed. "Math really isn't my thing, but I'm glad all I need are the basics. It's not like we need… whaddaya call that? Oh yeah, integral calculus, we don't need that in hotel and restaurant management, do we?"

"That being said, if you feel sleepy in my class, go ahead and sleep. As long as you are able to solve the problem on the board when called upon, and as long as you do not unnecessarily disrupt my class, I don't care if you sleep," said Satsuki, adjusting the frame of his eyeglasses.

"He's kinda scary," said Yui, who had just finished her sandwich, taking out a bottle of water from her backpack. "It's fun how we don't need to stuff everything into a small school bag the way we did it in Sakura High, right? Now, I can put all the food I want into this backpack!"

Mio and Ritsu glanced at the contents of Yui's backpack and they were stunned by the sheer amount of comestibles that was inside it. A double deck bento box, three more sandwiches, an apple, and some cake in a sealed plastic case, alongside the liter bottle of water that Yui was drinking from.

"So Yui, where exactly are your school things?" asked Mio curiously, thinking that the backpack barely had enough space for other non-comestible objects.

Yui opened a pocket at the front of her pink backpack, and pulled out a ballpoint pen and a composition notebook.

"Here, Mio-chan!" said Yui with a look of admonition on her face. "Here are my school things!"

"Just that, Yui? In the end, you're still Yui…," thought Ritsu blithely.

"Alright Yui, now let's go listen to sensei…," admonished Mio, who turned back to the whiteboard and at Satsuki-sensei.

Ritsu just placed her arms on the table and placed her head on top of them, staring at the teacher while he began explaining the grading system and composition of the course syllabus.

"So boring, Miooooooo…" muttered Ritsu, stifling a yawn.

"I don't think he's going to start the lesson already… is he?" wondered the raven-haired girl aloud. "I do hope he dismisses us after explaining the syllabus and its contents."

"Hey guys, how do you think Mugi-chan is doing over at Lillian University?" asked Yui, who was actually copying the breakdown of grades; Ui had advised her to do that so she knew where to ask for points in the event she needed a few more to pass.

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that…," said Ritsu thoughtfully, scratching her head with her left hand.

/

At the same time in the Rose dorms, Kotobuki Tsumugi had just finished moving into her dormitory room that she shared with Fukuzawa Yumi. The latter had welcomed her to the campus, despite being a freshman like herself, because she already was familiar with the campus locations due to visiting some of her senpai that had graduated previously from Lillian's high school counterpart, Lillian Academy.

Yumi had enlightened her on the Rose traditions of Lillian Academy, where the Student Council was called the Yamayurikai, the soeur system, and that the members of the Yamayurikai were directly influenced by the soeur system, subdivided into the Rosa Chinensis, Rosa Gigantea, and Rosa Foetida families.

These no longer applied in Lillian University, but Yumi stressed to Mugi that the bond between a petite soeur and her grande soeur was a bond that overstepped simple tradition.

"So Yumi-san, are you trying to tell me that at least half the population of Lillian Academy, and by extension, Lillian University is either lesbian or bisexual?" said Mugi as she straightened out her clothes in the closet nearest her bed.

Fukuzawa Yumi blushed momentarily and said,

"T-that's right, Tsumugi-san…"

"Yumi-san, please call me Mugi-chan. 'Tsumugi-san' feels a tad bit too formal for your roommate, don't you think? Oh, don't worry about it; I'm into girls too," replied Mugi cheerfully.

Yumi, who was dusting the shelves that housed her artbooks, replied,

"Alright then… Mugi-chan. So, when do you want me to show you around campus?"

"Probably before lunch time, so that we could grab a bite to eat afterwards, don't you think?" replied Mugi thoughtfully. "Here's my schedule by the way."

Mugi handed over a laminated sheet of paper to Yumi, who scanned it quickly. She took note of a subject that Mugi had with surprise.

"Economics 11? Then that means you're with onee-sama," mumbled Yumi thoughtfully.

"Who's onee-sama?" asked Mugi of Yumi, who hadn't noticed the former scooting over beside her to look at her own schedule.

Yumi eased slowly away from Mugi, whom she felt was too close to her for her own comfort.

"Um, my onee-sama is Ogasawara Sachiko-sama. She was the Rosa Chinensis two years ago in her last year of high school at Lillian Academy. I succeeded the role last year and then passed it onto her cousin and my petite soeur, Matsudaira Touko-chan."

"Only onee-sama can be that close to me. Oh, how I've missed seeing her since her graduation. Text messages and phone calls are nothing compared to the real thing…" thought the former Rosa Chinensis, a blush forming on her face.

"You're thinking about her, aren't you?" said Mugi in an unusually wistful voice. "Your onee-sama."

Yumi blushed further, damning her to Mugi's perceptivity and she nodded lamely, putting the duster she was holding down on the table and sitting down on her bed afterwards.

"It's been about a year since I've been together with her on the same campus. I mean, I've visited her occasionally, but sometimes I feel that's just not enough. The last time we were together was at the first shrine visit of the New Year, and it wasn't only the two of us. I just… It probably seems illogical to you for me to be rambling like this, but I can't help it, so I apologize, Tsumugi-san."

"Mugi-chan," said Mugi firmly. "Don't worry about it Yumi-san, I'd like to think I can empathize with that… or I will, soon enough. I like someone too at my old high school, and the idea that I won't be able to see her is just… awful. I honestly don't know how to cope with that. With my mother it was alright, since I barely knew her when she… passed on. But with Sawa-chan, it's different. In the span of three years, I guess I just fell in love with her."

"I'm sorry, Mugi-chan. About your mother, and about… Sawa-chan? Is she a classmate of yours?" inquired the pigtailed girl, lying down on the bed clutching a bolster pillow.

"She was my senior year homeroom teacher and my club advisor," said Mugi, sitting down beside Yumi on the bed, her back to her.

"Your teacher!" Yumi exclaimed in surprise, more at the fact that Sawako was Mugi's teacher and not that she was addressing her former teacher very informally.

"Yes. She's a very… awesome, for lack of a better adjective, woman," said Mugi. "How about your onee-sama? What do you like the most about her?"

Yumi rolled over to the side and blushed profusely, happy that her roommate couldn't see her crimson face and replied,

"Sachiko-onee-sama is an enigma, actually. Sometimes, she can be really cold and aloof, but deep down inside, she's a warm softy."

"In fact," rambled Yumi. "When we're alone together, the dynamic completely fli—"

Yumi cut herself off before she could say any more, and she buried her face in the bolster pillow, burning up in embarrassment.

"I found out just how caring she could be a week ago, when I basically lost myself due to the nervousness I was feeling of leaving her and the rest of my bandmates and best friends," said Mugi quietly. "I believe that only someone that you could really and truly love will be willing to hold you in their arms while you cry, without complaining or second guessing and asking."

"In my case," said Yumi, sitting up beside Mugi. "I've always put my best foot forward to be at the same level as onee-sama. I always wanted to keep up with her, no matter what."

"Those are admirable traits, Yumi-san," said Mugi. "Your onee-sama must be proud of you."

"She is," said Yumi knowingly. "I can't wait to see her on campus again; she mailed me after enrollment saying that she had enlisted my name in her Home Economics class. So we get to be classmates!"

"That's really good for you, Yumi-san," said Mugi, forcing a smile on her face. "At least Mio-chan, Ricchan, and Yui-chan get to be in the same class… I feel so envious. Yumi-san is a wonderful person, I can tell. But… She'll never be able to replace Houkago Tea Time."

"Mugi-chan, it's almost eleven in the morning," said Yumi, looking at the classically designed clock that was set on the mantelpiece. "Shall I show you around campus now, so we can get a bite to eat? Possibly so you can rest up later for the first day of class tomorrow?"

"I don't mind that, Yumi-san," said Mugi. "If we run into your friends, do you mind introducing me? I'd feel more comfortable if I knew more people on campus."

"That would be absolutely no problem, Mugi-chan. Shimako-san and Yoshino-san would surely enjoy having you around. Especially Yoshino-san, who happens to be taking the same degree you are," said Yumi enthusiastically. "As for Sei-sama… you might want to tread carefully around that woman, she loves to get up close and personal with people, if you know what I mean."

Mugi's eyes glinted at this remark and Yumi felt something change from within Mugi.

"I would love that."

Inwardly, Yumi had no idea how to respond to her new roommate, who was obviously an ojou-sama, liking the idea of being groped by Satou Sei, of all people.

"A-Anyway, so a small bit of history on the dorms…," said Yumi, standing up while Mugi followed suit.

"Just a moment, I'll compose and send a text message to sensei for a bit," replied Mugi. "You're going to be in charge of locking up the room for now, Yumi-san? I'm afraid I still don't have a copy of the room key."

"No problem Mugi-chan, we can have the key copied at the shopping district near here," said Yumi, who stepped out of the room with Mugi following her, locking the door afterwards.

"Perhaps I could get one of my butlers to come over and have the key copied for us while we eat in the cafeteria, Yumi-san?" proposed Mugi.

"I, uh, that would be a great idea, Mugi-chan," said Yumi, in awe of Mugi's affluence.

"Alright, I'll just send Klaus a text message," said Mugi, who took out her cell phone.

Hey Sawa-chan-sensei, it's me! I've just moved into my room at Lillian University, and my roommate's really nice! :D She even said she'd introduce me to some of her friends! I guess I won't be that lonely after all.

So um, if you're not too busy tonight, let's talk, okay? I really miss you and the others. Even if I make great friends here, they can't ever replace you and Yui-chan, Ricchan, Mio-chan, and Azusa-chan.

She composed a quick message to Klaus, telling him to call her up when he had arrived as she and Yumi began to walk down the mahogany halls of the classically styled dormitory.

"So, history… Um, these dorms were based on the Strawberry dorms of the three Catholic schools on Astolyre Hill…" began Yumi, as Mugi walked in her wake, thinking about many things, but the thought that stood out the most was Sawako not being accessible anymore. [2]

/

Nakano Azusa stood at the entrance of the auditorium along with Suzuki Jun, as they were both handing out flyers to the freshmen who were exiting one by one from the welcome speech by the school principal.

"Please go to our orientation meeting for the Light Music Club later at one in the afternoon!" shouted Azusa, trying to make her voice heard above the din of the milling students.

"Yes, please do!" echoed Jun, handing out a flyer to another freshman.

Thirty minutes later, the two were out of flyers and the auditorium devoid of people.

"Let's go back to the clubroom, see if Ui's done with the finishing touches. I can't believe she actually brought a microwave oven to makeshift bake with," said Azusa as they both walked towards the main building.

"Well Azusa, you know how it goes: the easiest way to people is through their stomach," said Jun sagely.

"Yeah, just like Yui-senpai…," muttered Azusa dreamily. "I wonder how she's doing over there with Mio-senpai and Ritsu-senpai…"

"Well, Ui did say that Yui-senpai improved dramatically in her housekeeping and sensibility skills training camp," replied Jun, opening the doors to the school building. "Don't worry too much about her Azusa, we've got our own problems to worry about."

"This isn't my only problem… How can I not worry about Yui-senpai? Why do I feel so empty without her? Do I seriously l-l-love her? I… don't know, I shouldn't think about this yet…," thought Azusa as they ascended the stairs towards the clubroom.

"I wonder what would be the difference between Ui's cake and Mugi-senpai's cake. Obviously, Mugi-senpai's cake is expensive, but taste-wise, hmm…," said Azusa thoughtfully. "Well, only one way to find out!"

Jun opened the doors to the Light Music Club with Azusa in her wake as she entered. Her eyes immediately searched for Hirasawa Ui, who was frantically baking her last batch of corn muffins, wearing a green apron with a picture of Keroppi on it.

"Hi Azusa-chan, Jun-chan. Last batch just finished," said Ui, who was sweating profusely, relieving herself of the apron. "Have some."

She gestured to a plate where she set aside two muffins for the two of them. The two of them took a muffin each and eagerly ate.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Ui nervously. She was nervous that her output might not be good enough due to the mass production and lack of time she devoted to each batch due to time constraints.

"Holy crap Ui, these are really good," said Jun excitedly, giving her a thumbs up to show her approval.

"Yeah Ui, these taste exactly like the ones from Kenny Rogers," said Azusa happily, taking a bottle of water from her bag and gulping down a mouthful.

"If your reactions are like that, then skipping the opening ceremony was well worth it," said Ui with a smile on her face. "Let's hope that these are enough to draw even one drummer into the band. I don't want to let this Yamaha Pacifica 112 model that Sawako-sensei acquired for me go to waste."

She gestured towards the silver-black electric guitar that lay on the couch. They were surprised when Ui came to school with a guitar that morning, but in the ensuing rush to get to the auditorium and Ui's baking, there wasn't enough time for them to actually look at the new piece of hardware.

"H-Holy crap, Ui!" shouted Azusa. "Last I checked, one of these things cost 25000 yen! How did Sawako-sensei get one for you?"

"She got it at a discounted price from the guitar shop that Tsumugi-senpai's father owns," replied Ui.

"That's great Ui! Guess we're lucky for being friends with Mugi-senpai," said Jun in approval.

Suddenly, the door to the music room opened and a girl poked her head into the room.

"Um, senpai? We're here for the orientation meeting…," said the girl shyly.

"Come in, come in!" shouted Jun, practically jumping on the poor girl in excitement. "Azusa, set the projector up so we can show them the recruitment video you guys made."

Azusa sighed and thought, "For the good of the club… there goes my dignity."

/

"We're waiting for you at the Light Music Club!"

"Come join!"

"Gelcome!"

"Rice is great!"

"W-Welcome to the Light Music Club, nyan?"

Azusa just cringed, seeing herself on the whiteboard with cat ears and… Ugh! "For the good of the club, for the good of the club, for the good of the club…"

Most of the freshmen laughed, but some of the seniors just frowned when they saw that last bit.

"S-So, like the video said," began Azusa, mustering up her courage to convince even one of these students to join. "The club's a fun place to be. Even if you don't know how, we're more than glad to teach any of you the ropes."

Azusa looked at Ui and Jun who nodded their approval.

"However, our greatest need at the moment is a drummer. Without a drummer, no one will drive our rhythm. Is there anyone here who's good at drumming?"

The freshmen all talked among themselves, and collectively shook their heads. One senior raised her hand and said,

"I have some talent, Nakano-san," said the girl. "However, I feel that, based on the video you've shown us, you guys never took yourselves seriously as a band. I didn't see much of the dedication you're implying you had, even if you were able to present very well at the cultural festival sometime ago. I'm inclined to call those performances flukes. I've also been hearing nasty rumors about you though, how you just played alongside Hirasawa-senpai and Akiyama-senpai to look good. With that being said, I'm not comfortable with taking my talents to the Light Music Club."

The girl shrugged and said,

"I only came here for the free food, and to watch that recruitment video."

One by one, the girls began to rise and leave the room. The last one left was the girl who had first poked her head into the room earlier. She looked at them balefully and said,

"I'm sorry, but I'm no good in any instrument, and I don't like drums since they're noisy."

Azusa just nodded mindlessly as the girl turned away and filed out of the room, the door closing with a definitive bang that seemed to shoot down their morale and hopes.

"Don't worry, we have until Friday. Four more days; anything could happen," tried Ui.

"I sure hope so; since the policy on club recruitment sucks so much and is disadvantageous for us," said Jun in frustration.

In Sakura High School, club recruitment was only allowed for the first school week of the term if it was the spring term, and the first two weeks if it was the fall term. Consequently, clubs that are abolished during the first term are not allowed to recruit during the second term, since that was approaching exam season for most students.

"We'll have to keep trying, no matter what," said Azusa. "To carry on the name of Houkago Tea Time, we have to continue. Excuse me for a moment; I'll take a short walk."

Ui and Jun nodded and began to clean up as Azusa walked out of the clubroom. She heard a rustling of paper and she turned to her left. On the frog sculpture, a piece of paper was taped. She inspected the paper and her jaw dropped at what she read.

Everyone knows you guys are slackers. Without the talent of the senpai that had left, you're just all washed up now, Nakano.

There was no name this time, but Azusa didn't care. She just slumped onto the floor in front of the sculpture, tears pouring from her eyes in despair.

"Yui-senpai…"

/

[1] – Kurogiri Satsuki is the schoolteacher magus in Kara no Kyoukai: Boukyaku Rokuon. A mage who can alter another sentient being's perception with his words, hence earning the moniker of "God's Word" from Aozaki Touko. I just decided to put him here for the intimidation factor. Why I picked him over Kuzuki Souichirou from Fate/stay night was a matter of a coin flip. :)

[2] – The three schools in Strawberry Panic!

Next time: The four senpai adjust to school some more and make plans to meet up after class on Friday! Will Azusa and the rest be able to recruit anyone by the deadline? Tune in next time to find out!