Last chapter felt a bit weak and hinged too much on Ritsu's ignorance to work. I thank 11133322 and Yaaga for bringing this fact to light. Now, it's time to begin upping the ante.

I've since decided to stop pointing out some references unless they are extremely vital to the plot, since those brackets ([]) can look quite ugly.

x~~*~~x

A Day in the Life

After Ritsu had calmed down, Mio had thought that the best course of action was to see a psychologist so that an actual diagnosis could be made. The raven-haired girl thought that it would be best for Ritsu to get the word from a certified professional, and not from some stuck up college student in their Philosophy class.

It was then decided than the two of them would go out on Sunday to see a psychologist as well as to spend the day with each other. With the way Mio had comforted her, Ritsu felt that her friendship was as strong as ever, and the intimacy that Mio had lavished onto her in the process of comforting her had increased Ritsu's courage in her pursuit of happiness.

It was a lovely Sunday morning when Tainaka Ritsu rose from her bed, stretching her arms to loosen her stiff shoulders. It was the day of her "date" with Mio, even though it technically wasn't one; they were just going to have her diagnosed officially by a psychologist and then spend the rest of the day hanging around wherever. Mio had convinced Ritsu's parents to allow her to be diagnosed so as to finally seal the deal, and the Tainakas had obliged, giving them money to pay for the consultation and testing fee that would be levied upon them.

The drummer had both a feeling of excitement and dread at what the diagnosis would be; even if she did this at Mio's behest, it still wasn't easy for her to come to terms with what she thought could possibly be a problem for her. However, she trusted Mio's judgement, and after being left cash for the consultation, Ritsu felt obligated to continue.

Ritsu snuck a peek at the clock that read "10:00 am" and decided to pick the pace up a bit so she and Mio wouldn't be caught up in a potential waiting queue by lunchtime. The sandy-haired brunette took a quick shower and after drying herself off, put on a simple yellow shirt and jeans. Her eyes fell on her customary yellow headband and Ritsu idly toyed with the idea of not wearing her headband just to see how Mio would react. Chuckling to herself, she decided against it and put the yellow headband on as always, taking the money for the consultation fee that had been left by her parents pinned to the refrigerator using a beetle refrigerator magnet.

As she took a sandwich out of the fridge for microwaving, she saw her little brother Satoshi exit the living room and make way for the door. Calling to him, Ritsu asked,

"Hey Satoshi, where're you going?"

The boy shrugged and replied, "I'm headed over to the Hirasawas. Ui-chan said she wanted to practice some more, and that she wanted me to write lyrics for something she was trying to compose. See ya around, nee-chan."

And with that, the boy opened the door and exited the household, leaving the elder Tainaka just standing by the kitchen door with a cooled tuna sandwich in hand. Ignoring what she was suspecting, Ritsu placed the sandwich on a ceramic plate and placed the dish in the microwave, setting the timer at half a minute when her phone vibrated in her pocket.

Taking a carton of milk out of the refrigerator, she inspected the mail that she had received and saw that it was from Mio.

I'm headed over Ritsu; wait for me. :)

Smiling widely since no one could see her, Ritsu heard the microwave stop and extricated her sandwich from it, beginning to eat it while occasionally sipping from the carton of milk. About three minutes later, the doorbell rang and the front door opened, with a silky voice calling out timidly, "Excuse the intrusion…"

What Mio beheld upon entry to the Tainaka's dining room was Ritsu finishing up her sandwich and downing the remaining milk in the carton with a flourish. Mio chuckled at Ritsu's energetic self, and she thought that, even if Ritsu was positively diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, it didn't even matter to her in the slightest.

As the two of them exited the Tainaka household, Ritsu sensed that Mio was in deep thought and for once, decided to honor her privacy and give her space to think. Little did she know that Mio was thinking about her the entire time.

Drawing on her knowledge from her Psychology classes, Mio realized that the argument that the drums were an ADHD-instrument was full of bullshit. It took dedication and a lot of concentration to learn how to play the drums as well as Ritsu did, and upon looking at the childhood promise that they had made about starting a band, she knew that someone who was truly affected with ADHD wouldn't even remember that promise. She knew that Ritsu toiled night and day when she first got her drum set so that she could play better, and she had the hardened skin on her hands to prove it. Someone truly afflicted with ADHD wouldn't have that kind of dedication and concentration to finish her goal, now that the raven-haired girl thought about it.

Feeling more and more confident that Ritsu would be negatively diagnosed, Mio broke into a wide grin and did something that she rarely did: she ran up ahead of Ritsu, turned and stuck her tongue out at her best friend.

"Hurry up Ritsu, we're gonna get bogged up in a long line if we don't hurry!"

Mio turned around and walked at a leisurely pace, while her best friend was slackjawed, staring at Mio due to the normally unseen bubbly demeanor she knew Mio could also take on. Shaking off her initial surprise, she sensed that her own positive outlook was rubbing off onto the bassist, and Ritsu caught up with Mio with a question posed.

"What're you smiling about, Mio?"

Mio shrugged and said, "Well, you know I'm taking a psych class. The way circumstances were, you could've asked me about this whole thing you were worrying about. Then your… breakdown a couple of days ago could've been avoided easily, baka."

Of course, I didn't mind because I got to hold Ritsu in my arms.

Mio smiled at the thought and blushed slightly, upon which Ritsu noticed Mio's reddened face. Out of concern, she asked, "Hey, are you okay? It's kinda hot, yeah," and placed her hand on Mio's forehead, to check how well she was feeling.

Mio instinctively jerked back and said, flustered, "I-I'm okay, Ritsu, don't worry about it."

The drummer looked at her with an appraising look but just shrugged, deciding to just enjoy the day with Mio. In due course, they arrived at the local hospital and proceeded to the office of a visiting psychologist whom they had set the appointment up with.

Mio decided to wait in the waiting room while she directed Ritsu to knock on the oaken doors that had a brass plaque on it that simply said:

Dr. Aozaki Touko

With the payment in hand, Ritsu knocked on the door and was greeted with a "Come in!", after which she gently opened the door and shot Mio one last look that seemed to say "Thanks." The door swung open and it allowed Mio to catch a glimpse of the doctor that sat behind the desk, a beautiful, lithe woman with flaming red hair that she kept in a ponytail. It only lasted for a short while though, as the door was shut and Mio sat down in one of the chairs, knowing that there was nothing she could do but wait.

x~~*~~x

"Well, there you have it Mio," said Ritsu smugly, shoving a sheet of paper into Mio's hand. Upon reading the contents, signed off by Dr. Aozaki, Mio breathed a sigh of relief and said,

"I told you it wasn't anything to worry about… And now, we have official confirmation," said Mio with a smile on her face. "Now all you got to do is to return to your bubbly self and ignore those assholes in class, alright?"

Ritsu nodded and flashed Mio a "V" sign with her left hand, overwhelmed with happiness at the official diagnosis she had just received. Feeling as though she was on top of the world, in the same vein that Mio had taken the initiative two days past, Ritsu decided to push her luck and do the same, just to find an inkling of hope as to whether or not she had a chance to be with her best friend, not just as best friends, but as lovers.

As they exited the hospital, Ritsu suggested they go eat at Max Burger once again, due to lack of funds on both their part. Mio agreed and said that they should spend the day outdoors in celebration. While Mio walked silently, admiring the foliage and surroundings of the path they were taking that somewhat intersected with their old high school, Sakura, Ritsu's mind moved into overdrive at what she was going to do. Sure, Mio was in high spirits, but one false move and she could ruin everything.

The important thing to determine was whether or not she was into girls the way she was. Despite all their years of friendship, that was one aspect that Ritsu was in the dark in. Either Mio was a late bloomer, into girls, or into both and was a late bloomer, as the bassist had never really talked about crushes with Ritsu. Ritsu had attributed that back then to the shyness that her best friend was oozing in, but now… it felt different and she decided to get to the bottom of things. The biggest problem was subtlety, something she lacked. Unsure of what to do, she decided to compose an email to Mugi, while she observed Mio out of the corner of her eye, admiring her attire that day: a cream colored blouse, jeans, and sneakers. As girly as Mio was, Ritsu loved that Mio had a knack for dressing like she wasn't a girly-girl, and such choices only further Akiyama Mio in her mind as the alpha wolf of tall, dark, and bishoujo.

Wiping some drool off of her mouth, an action that hadn't gone unnoticed by Mio who had chuckled at that, she composed the message quickly:

Hey Mugi, how do you find out if a girl is into girls?

After sending the message, she turned to Mio and said, "I wonder when we can meet up with Mugi again… She must be having fun in that exclusive all-girls university, though, I mean, you know how Mugi is about girls…"

This would be Tainaka Ritsu's best attempt at subtlety on her own, and she didn't want to push it. Thankfully, the reply she got was somewhat favorable and gave her some hope.

"Well, she wasn't really hiding that she was into girls," said Mio thoughtfully, cringing internally as she talked nonchalantly about Mugi's sexuality. "This is dangerous; I'm not prepared for this yet. Better steer away the conversation from sexuality, but I might as well try to let her know that I'm okay with 'it' while I'm at it," thought the bassist.

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. Haha, hahaha," chuckled Mio nervously as they arrived at their destination: Max Burger. Satisfied with the way she had evaded the topic, Mio told Ritsu that she'd be ordering for the two of them and asked her to find a table for the two of them.

When the drummer had found a small table in the corner of the establishment, she sighed in relief at Mio's favorable reaction to the topic of homosexuality. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she took it out, noticing an incoming message from Mugi.

Ricchan, try asking Mio-chan what she likes about boys, then if she says that nothing comes to mind, ask her what she likes about girls, then compliment her on her hair. Ask her what she does to keep it nice and smooth. ū

Ritsu nodded to herself and internalized the tack she would be taking when she realized something: How had Mugi known that she was talking about Mio?

"Were her yuri goggles grafted into her eyes or something?" thought the drummer wryly.

Mio returned with a tray laden with their two orders, both of which consisted of a cheeseburger and cola, since they were eating on the cheap today. The raven-haired beauty set the tray aside and placed it on a rack nearby, returning to their seat and handing some tissue to Ritsu, who took it with a nod as she was already chowing down on the burger with gusto. The light lunch was perfect, and Ritsu decided to play it by ear and by Mugi.

As Mio began to eat, Ritsu observed her out of the corner of her eye while she took a sip of her cola. Indeed, Mio had beautiful hair, and that explained why so many boys took more than a passing interest in the raven-haired girl back when they were in middle school. Unfortunately, these boys weren't the nicest of people either. Some of them would tease Mio by scaring her, the way Ritsu did up to this day, but not in jest. However, the one trait that basically planted a target on Mio's back was the fact that she was left-handed.

In their middle school batch, astoundingly and against the standard odds, the only left-handed person was Mio, and a lot of the boys, who had never seen a left-hander before, had called her many names. Ritsu had befriended Mio years before this due to an essay that the teacher made her write and since then she had sworn to be Mio's knight.

Taking another bite out of her burger, she swallowed it and asked Mio, "Say Mio, what do you like about guys?"

Mio's eyes grew wide and she nearly sputtered, forcing her to take a long draught of her cola to wash the burger she was chewing down her throat. Coughing, she replied,

"Well, what I'd like in a guy is for him to be a gentleman, to protect me, to be there for me and he should be someone I'm comfortable sharing my secrets with. T-That's not to say I like any guys right now!" she hastily added. "Truth is, I can see myself with a guy, sure, but girls—"

The raven-haired girl froze and drew in her breath sharply; she knew immediately that she had said too much. Even Ritsu isn't stupid enough to miss such a huge tell like that. "Damn, what have I done," she thought, mentally kicking herself.

Ritsu indeed, picked up on this and decided to press her advantage. Eating the last of her burger while Mio was practically frozen, she took a sip of her cola and began her attack.

"So Mio, how about girls then?" she asked conversationally.

Mio felt a drop of sweat cascade down the side of her face into the crook of her neck and was thankful that Ritsu didn't notice. "Be honest? It seems to be an innocent question anyway," the bassist thought blithely, unsure as to how she would handle the situation. "I guess I could just be honest and describe Ritsu; she probably won't get too suspicious anyway."

"Actually, I can't quantify either what I like, uh, that is to say, what I think makes girls appealing to guys. B-But if I had to come up with something, then I'd say that an independent girl would be nice, really. It'd be great if she could stand on her own, instead of being protected," she said nervously, clearly contradicting her own statement moments earlier. "No, that's not right, maybe… Arrgh Ritsu! Don't ask me those w-weird questions, b-baka."

Mio was clearly flustered and Ritsu took this as a good sign. Feeling her phone vibrate, she took it out of her pocket and discreetly checked the messages she had received. There were two of them: one from Satoshi, and one from Mugi. She decided to read Mugi's mail first.

If Mio-chan gets flustered if and when you ask her about girls, then it's a very good sign that she's into girls. Knowing Mio-chan's personality, she's going to be a bit disturbed with your line of questioning. I'll leave the rest to you Ricchan, and good luck! ^^

"Mugi, are you some kind of sage?" thought Ritsu in disbelief.

"Who's it from Ritsu?" interjected Mio, leaning over the table to view Ritsu's received message.

Surprisingly, Ritsu was able to act well under pressure in this instance, and before Mio could notice anything amiss, she had quickly closed Mugi's message and opened Satoshi's message which the two of them read.

Nee-chan, I'm going to be home by dinner. I'm still at Hirasawa-san's house, and Nakano-san and Suzuki-san came over for practice as well.

"Seems like they're coming along pretty well," said Mio thoughtfully, leaning back into her seat while Ritsu relaxed; that had been a very close shave. "Hey Ritsu, I've got a great idea. Why don't we head over to Yui's house and have a nice practice round with everyone? I'll go ask let Yui know we're coming over and I'll mail Mugi as well."

Ritsu nodded as Mio composed the messages and sent them to their respective recipients, after which the bassist finished the last of her burger and drink. As they were headed out, Mio felt her phone vibrate and she took it out. There were replies from both Yui and Mugi, and she decided to read Yui's first.

hey mio-chan! sure, you can come over with ricchan, its kinda fun here, so dont miss out! dont forget to tell mugi-chan! :p

Mio smiled and turned to Ritsu, giving her a thumbs up. "We're all set for Yui's house. Let me see first what Mugi said though."

Oh Mio-chan, what a pleasant surprise! I'm actually not at home right now; I'm in the university dorms and I can head over in about an hour or so. I'll excuse myself from Yumi-san first; see you later at Yui-chan's! ^^

Ritsu had read the message and said, "Great, everyone's coming over. We probably gotta brush up on our skills; it's been quite a while since we've played together as a band, don't you think, Mio?"

Mio nodded in reply. "It's a great thing; us coming together to practice. The Beatles definitely got it right."

Ritsu smiled in reply, and chuckled when she realized that she had completely forgotten to compliment Mio on her hair.

x~~*~~x

"And with that, Yumi-san, I shall head back for the day and return in the morning for classes. Have fun with Shimako-san and Yoshino-san!" said Mugi as she bade Yumi goodbye at the entrance to their dormitory, where a limousine was waiting for her. She had decided that it was alright to use her wealth for this scenario, since she didn't want to waste any time; the hour and a half ETA she had given Mio was the latest possible time she would arrive.

Klaus was an excellent driver after all, and barring any major traffic jams that only happened during zombie apocalypses, she would arrive within an hour, despite the fact that she was traveling from Tokyo back to Shiga prefecture. Klaus was that good.

Before she had left the dorm, she had messaged Sawako, saying that she should head over to Yui's house because the Light Music Club would be having a practice session for the day over there. Sawako had replied favorably, and that had boosted the blonde's spirits, which had then led to her choice of clothing for the day.

Mugi was once again wearing one of her trademark Sunday skirts and her wide-brimmed hat. However, she had decided to wear something a bit more… daring than her usual fare. Klaus was indeed surprised at what his ojou-sama was wearing when she got into the limousine, but as was expected of a butler trained by Colonel Taijiri Yasushi, he remained stoic and impassive in the face of his charge's unusual attire.

Indeed, she was wearing a tank top with a plunging neckline that revealed about an inch and a half of her cleavage, with a silk jacket over it. Wryly noting that she would normally not do this, she tacked it all as a consequence of yesterday's meeting.

"Sei-san," she whispered, giggling as she recalled yesterday's events while Klaus began driving as fast as he could without breaking any traffic laws.

x~~*~~x

Kotobuki Tsumugi was actually having fun. It was the first time in weeks that she could honestly say that. For people who went to a refined exclusive all girls' school back in high school, these three could definitely have some fun.

Even the quiet Shimako-san; Mugi was surprised to learn that she was really good at fighting games in the arcade, even giving the best of the best a run for her money at the Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion machine in the local arcade with choice combos using the Ping Yi Quan master Wang Jinrei.

Bowing to the short blue-haired girl on the other side of the machine after her honorable loss, Yoshino had continued to rave and rave about how good Shimako was until the latter took out her cellphone and said, "Onee-sama's headed to the karaoke joint; she asked us to meet her there."

"I do hope Sei-sama goes easy on Mugi-chan," Yumi said to the group, audibly worried.

Mugi's interest was piqued even further with the words coming out of Yumi's mouth, and the blonde keyboardist was not disappointed in any way whatsoever when they met up with Satou Sei in their reserved karaoke room.

As Mugi would describe her, she was definitely made in the same mold as Ritsu, only much much bolder. She immediately made her orientation known, when Shimako had introduced her to Mugi, she immediately said,

"Sup, Mugi-chan. I like pretty girls like you," winking as she said so.

Surprisingly, even to herself, Kotobuki Tsumugi felt her heart flutter; there was something about the confident way this woman carried herself. Add to that the way she was addressed and her openness regarding her sexuality and it was a formula that was practically designed to attract Mugi's interest. She objectively noted that Sei had a different appeal from Sawako, who managed to be a reliable and respectable individual, while at the same time being carefree, outgoing, and flat out cool.

Sei was like a torrent of rain unleashed upon the drying land, or at least that was Mugi's conceptualization of the concept. While Shimako began to sing a wonderful version of Ave Maria, which was surprisingly on the karaoke machine, Sei began to forcefully engage in skinship with Yumi, who reminded Mugi so much of Azusa back in the day when she tried to resist Yui's hugs. As she had predicted, Yumi stopped struggling and just kept a neutral face, while Sei continued to giggle like a young girl, belying her age, and experience.

Sei had already moved on from Kubo Shiori, who was her girlfriend years ago. She had moved away and transferred out of Lillian Academy to nurse her ailing health. If anyone could cope with the sense of loss and longing, it was Satou Sei.

And it was exactly this that led Mugi and Sei into a very interesting conversation. Mugi, who had tapped unwittingly into her feelings of longing for Sawako's presence due to the skinship she had witnessed between Yumi and Sei earlier, suddenly felt out of place in the happy atmosphere. She excused herself from the box to wash up in the washroom, but upon entering, she saw that Sei was also there, drying her hands with a paper towel.

"They sure can be a rowdy bunch huh," remarked Sei. "Even Yumi-chan; she became a bit more stuck-up because of Sachiko's influence but she's quite a fun person to be with. She's your roommate, am I right, Mugi-chan?"

Mugi nodded wordlessly as she washed her hands at the ceramic sink, inspecting her appearance in the mirror.

"You look troubled, as though you were longing for something."

Mugi turned to face the older woman and reluctantly nodded. "Great, she's perceptive as well," thought the keyboardist.

"Is it a boyfriend?" she asked bluntly. Mugi shook her head and Sei continued. "Girlfriend?"

Mugi felt that she could be open with this person and replied,

"Not really, but someone I would want to be together with. She was my homeroom teacher in my senior year of high school."

Sei nodded thoughtfully, not caring at all about the inherent age discrepancy she inferred from Mugi's answer and said,

"Do you feel like you have a chance to be with her?"

Mugi nodded again and replied, "Well, she comforted me and she was there for me on the night of our graduation. True, we were both under the influence, but the aura she resonated that night was not of a teacher caring for her student… not even of an older sister caring for her younger sister… but of a lover."

"Of course, I could be wrong, but that's what I felt," added the blonde.

Sei chuckled and said, "It's a wonder, being young, isn't it… Well, all I can say is that, the next time you see her, try to attack. You look smart, so I'll leave it up to you. Wear her down as much as you can; she seems to be the type that won't turn you away, based on what you've said. Of course, you're the best judge of that, Mugi-chan."

Mugi indeed reflected on Sawako and she could say that she knew her teacher pretty well. She would not be turned away if she did it subtly and played it cool. She approached Sei and grasped the woman's hands.

"Sei-san, thank you for the advice you've given me today! I'll make sure to put it to good use!" said Mugi happily.

The former Rosa Gigantea blushed, though Mugi was far too immersed in her thanks to notice. "Uh, you're welcome," Sei replied, her aura of confidence penetrated by the sincerity that Mugi had shown.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll head back to Yumi-san and the others now," said Mugi, exiting the bathroom.

"Kotobuki Tsumugi-chan, huh…," said Sei to no one in the bathroom. "What an interesting find."

x~~*~~x

"Tsumugi-ojou-sama, we have arrived at our destination," came an old but strong voice, shaking Mugi out of her reverie. The blonde had fallen asleep in the car and immediately she sat up and thanked Klaus.

She had instructed him to drop her off at the corner of the street that led up to Yui's house, so as not to attract unwanted attention from their neighbors. Checking her watch, she was amused to note that it was only one in the afternoon; she had the entire afternoon to spend with HTT, the kouhai, and Sawako. She sent a quick message to Yui saying that she'd be there in a few minutes.

Klaus handed her Korg over and politely asked if he could assist her in carrying the object to Yui's house. Mugi declined and politely sent Klaus on his way, informing him to just pick her up when she called. The blonde then walked over to the Hirasawa residence, and when she arrived she saw Ritsu waiting for her on the porch step of the house.

"Hey Mugi, it's been a while. Two weeks and some change, right?" said Ritsu cheerfully as she held a hand behind her head while she grinned widely. "Thanks for the assist earlier today; I really appreciate it. Seems like I may have a chance."

"Good for you, Ricchan," said Mugi happily. At least someone was going in the right direction.

Ritsu appeared as though a sudden thought had occurred to her, and that was indeed the case.

"By the way Mugi, how did you know I was talking about Mio?" asked Ritsu in a low tone, making sure that no one else could overhear their conversation.

Mugi chuckled and said, "Even if falling for your best friend is said to be the bane of many friendships, I had a feeling that it won't be the case for you and Mio-chan. You two are far too close for anything of that sort. Besides, the two of you complement each other as each other's foil."

"As expected of Tsumugi-sama," mock-bowed Ritsu, before breaking out in laughter. "You're great Mugi, and I really appreciate it. I might need to ask for more help in due course. For now, let's get inside; everyone's been waiting for you."

And enter they did. When they turned to the living room, everyone was there: Ui, Jun, and Satoshi, who politely said, "Good afternoon Tsumugi-san," Mio who smiled at Mugi, Azusa who said, "Nice to see you again, Mugi-senpai," and Yui, who unabashedly stood up and hugged Mugi, causing her to nearly stumble due to Yui's momentum and the weight of her Korg, knocking the hat off of her head.

"Long time no see, Yui-chan, Azusa-chan, everyone," said Mugi happily. "It's great to be back."

She then noticed that not everyone was there; there was one person missing. The most important one to her among them. A flush was heard, and a bespectacled woman wearing a tank-top appeared in the dining room, stretching her arms.

"Hello, Sawako-sensei," said Mugi happily, placing her Korg gently on the floor as she tentatively approached Sawako, who was smiling. "Nice to see you again."

Sawako nodded and replied, "It's good to see you too, Mugi-chan."

To the keyboardist's immense surprise, the sensei placed her hand on her head and murmured softly, so that only Mugi could hear her.

"Good work hanging in there, Mugi-chan."

x~~*~~x

Everyone sat in the couches in the Hirasawa living room, with Ui serving iced tea to everyone on such a warm afternoon. Mio had brought her amplifier, along with Azusa, while Satoshi had brought Ritsu's drum set over. He didn't have the same difficulty that Ritsu usually did; he was a bit stronger after all.

Everyone was ready to jam, but for starters, everyone wanted to hear about Mugi's time in Lillian University. The last time that she had met up with Yui, Mio, and Ritsu, there had been no such time to discuss such niceties, as they had pressing issues at the time.

Mugi shared her experiences in studying in an exclusive women's university, and she described her newfound friends to her old friends, along with Sachiko, who was her older sister figure so long ago. She had recounted her outing yesterday, as well as her meeting with Sei, omitting the conversation that had occurred in the bathroom, of course.

While she continued to talk, Sawako could only look at Mugi's attire, surprised that she even owned clothing such as this. It was something she didn't expect from the Kotobuki heiress, but here it was, right before her eyes, Mugi wearing a tank-top that exposed her cleavage very well. She would freely admit to herself that she was, at the minimum, slightly attracted to the blonde, and her clothing was just glorious eye-candy to top things off.

However, rationality ruled over her slightly indecent thoughts for the time being; she knew her age difference was something that would impede the possibility of… consummation. She felt that the blonde was mutually attracted to her as well, but she didn't know how powerful that attraction was, and whether or not something like that could be the foundation of a relationship.

Legality was no longer an issue; the Kotobuki heiress was of legal age and she was no longer a student at Sakura High School. Barring the homosexuality, there was absolutely nothing wrong in them seeing each other, and yet… Sawako was afraid.

She was afraid that something bad would happen if she made a move. As she drifted off further into her thoughts, she realized what was causing her fear.

Separation.

If they had become an item, would she be able to stand Mugi being far away in Tokyo at Lillian University, while everyone else was in Sakura High School and the University of Shiga Prefecture. The travel time alone for her would be terrible; Mugi stayed at the dorms, and it took her an entire hour or more to travel by train.

The sensei realized that she needed some sort of monumental event or flag for her to give in to what she wanted. She didn't know how much Mugi loved her, or if at all what the blonde was feeling for her was love and not infatuation. The alcohol had dulled all their senses that night, and being a veteran of drinking parties, Sawako wrote off everything she had experienced that night as being situational.

"Sawa-chan. Sawa-chan!" called Yui. "You're supposed to be listening to us practice now!"

She abruptly opened her eyes and indeed, she saw that the members of Houkago Tea Time had taken up their positions to play a few songs, while Ui, Jun, and Satoshi looked on, hoping to glean some knowledge from their senpai. Mugi was seated on the couch, her Korg perfectly balanced on her thighs. Ritsu was in the middle, and in front of her were Yui, Mio, and Azusa. Thankfully for them, Ui had the foresight to move the furniture around; the low table in the living room was currently in the dining room, and the couches had all been pushed to the ends of the room.

"Oh right, yes, yes, of course," said Sawako, recovering from her reverie. "What're you guys going to be playing for now?"

"Utauyo!MIRACLE!," replied Yui happily. "I love singing this song, after all. So listen up everyone! Ricchan, ready?"

Ritsu nodded and said, clacking her drumsticks together, "One, two!"

And the band began to play an upbeat song that they had played in the four senpais' very own classroom a few days before graduation. Everyone was in sync, as though the month-long layoff had never existed. Azusa and Yui fluidly ran through the chords while the latter sang happily, enthusiasm matching the most hardcore baseball fan, rooting for the Hanshin Tigers hailing from Nishinomiya.

Mio supported the tune as usual in her own way, quite adept as she was at the bass that she had been playing for the past four years. Her Fender Sunburst Jazz exuded deep tones, melding into the background of the music.

Ritsu, as usual, led the band along with her rhythm, and Utauyo!MIRACLE was a fast-paced song; everyone's pace hinged on hers. Satoshi was amazed at his sister's skill; even though it appeared that he was hogging the drum set more lately, Ritsu was still at the top of her game.

Lastly, Mugi appeared to be on cloud nine, her body bobbing along with the notes she played on her keyboard in a support role in the song. Sawako's eyes inevitably strayed to Mugi's chest, where the blonde's ample assets were bouncing around with the way she swayed her body. Her face growing red, she was thankful that no one else noticed her blushing like a middle school girl. Seeking to convince herself that no one was looking at her, her eyes fell on her two other students, Suzuki Jun and Hirasawa Ui.

Sawako noticed that Satoshi, Ritsu's brother, was sitting a foot away from Ui, and he looked fidgety just by being near the guitarist. With her radar detecting something, her blush disappeared and her lips turned up into a gleeful smile.

When the song ended, everyone clapped, and both Ritsu and Yui pumped their fists into the air in excitement. Mio, Mugi and Azusa grinned, and Ritsu said,

"Alright gang, which song do we want next?"

"I vote Honey Sweet Tea Time, since Mugi-senpai's back!" cried Azusa enthusiastically.

Everyone else seconded the motion, and as though Apollo's blessing was enveloping the Hirasawa household, Houkago Tea Time rocked till the sun had set beyond the clouds in the orange sky.

x~~*~~x

Technically, this is a breather chapter, despite the few subtle developments that had happened. More things to come in the future, so please read and review, leaving behind your constructive criticism. Thank you!

About the ADHD thing, I hope no one gets offended by it. I'm not trying to offend anyone here, honest! *_*