The right amount of care is difficult to gauge, but no matter how much will only accomplish something if the recipient matches it.

2050
SONG HQ - Locker Room

Yukine Chris' hands work the buttons of her sleeveless red blouse, fastening each one. She then passes her hand on her neck before pulling free her hair stuck inside the collar, letting them trail down her clothed back as it should.

She glances to her side, noting her best friend, Tachibana Hibiki was equally almost done changing herself out of the uniform and into her casual wear.

The two had just finished their joint assignment, taking care of the most physical part, as in dealing with the opposite faction's main force of the Bavarian Illuminati remnant, who has yet to receive the memo that their 'Great Intendant', 'Lodge master', and tops brasses were out of the picture.

Or maybe they did and were genuinely working under their own agendas, under equally new sub-leaders. A better explanation than fighting needlessly for the last 3-4 years, and obviously relentlessly failing at winning in every way.

Though, all that didn't matter to Chris, it was just merely part of her job as a legitimate S.O.N.G member and former adapter.

As she finishes putting her black Chelsea shoes on, Chris decides to let her voice carries over regarding a matter occurring during today's mission to her partner. "Everything's alright with you?"

The sudden question causes Hibiki to perk up her head from her own musing before assuming a questioning expression. "Huh? What do you mean Chris?"

Chris raises an eyebrow at the audacity of her close friend, before elaborating on her point and concern. "You literally zoned out on me back then, in the middle of the mission, during a fight, while being under fire! So, I would love to know what got you distracted at such a time."

"Ahhh…" Hibiki's lips draw into a dry smile, rubbing her cheek with her index finger. "It was nothing, Chris, really. Just a random thought occurring to me, that's all." She follows, in the guise of explanation.

"Well, that random thought got you close to getting yourself injured, at best! Do you even real-…" Chris' upcoming lecture trailed as she looked at her battle partner closely, Hibiki's face morphed into what Chris knew as her friend's attempt to smile her way out of a conversation she didn't want to have.

Chris sighs upon picking up the signs, she has years under her belt to know that Hibiki's stubbornness could shine especially brightly in shutting her deepest feelings tighter than a clam when pressed on. The only option available was to change the subject, and maybe try again later. "Fine, I will drop the matter for today. Still up for tonight at my place for movie night?"

The new question generates an enthusiastic reaction from the former Gungnir wielder, a more genuine smile adorning her face as she responds. "Of course, Chris! I wouldn't miss that for the world!"

Chris shakes her head at her beloved friend's words, a smile of her own tugging at her lips as she closes the door from her locker. "I guess you will go straight to my place, right?" She quirks an eyebrow in confirmation.

"Is that a problem, would that be a bother to you, Chris?" Hibiki's expression sadden a bit, worried that she may be imposing herself upon her senpai.

Chris shakes her head to dismiss Hibiki's needless worry. "Not at all, you know you are always welcome. I just had somewhere to drop by first, so if you could buy snacks on your way, that would be great."

"Can do, anything in particular? Besides Anpan, of course." Hibiki gives Chris a knowing smirk, cutting in her friend's obvious request for her prized snack.

"Surprise me then, I will see you later," she conveys, patting Hibiki on the shoulder as she exits the changing room, leaving a more than eager Hibiki putting her last item of clothing on behind.

To Chris, friends take a predominant place in her life and heart, they were everything to her, in particular 6 close ones for which she would not hesitate to lay her life for each of them.

Because of this, she didn't mind being the 'go-to' person when her friends were seeking advice/validation regarding something happening or had happened in their respective relationships.

Today as well, she still has no clues as to why she, as a single person, with little to no experience with romantic relationships, or even entertaining romantic feelings for anyone, was the default choice for them to unload their latest troubles. But she took upon this role without complaining, much.

'Listen, Chris-senpai, she did that!', 'Yukine, can you believe it!?', 'I can't understand how you put up with this, Chris!'. Those were some of what she was the most accustomed to, resulting in her taking her role as a third party to the next level as mediator. Sadly, it often meant going with only one side of the story, which, more often than not, was not disclosing the full picture of the situation.

And yet she succeeded in patching thing up somehow, reassuring them, thank to the large romance trope material she gathered watching movies, anime, and reading manga. She would often wear a bitter smile in acknowledging that fiction truly was no stranger to real life when the response found there would turn out to be really effective.

While she has no issue helping her friends, as them being happy also contributes to her own happiness in some ways. She was equally aware that she could only help with the small stuff, that in the long run, couple's problems could only be solved by the couple themselves. 'I'm not helping them, merely assisting in helping themselves' she would often say to herself.

Her personal participation had always been minimal, more of a listener than having to endorse an active role in order to help salvage one relationship, merely allowing them to vent their immediate feelings to someone who would be bothered to listen in.

That is until today.

Hibiki and Miku's Place

"She is driving me crazy Chris! I don't even know what she is thinking anymore lately."

Chris listens with one ear to her other close friend, Kohinata Miku, ranting about her lover. Taking sips from the tea generously offered to her when stepping inside the couple's home. At least, her friend's mood is not affecting her hospitality skills, the tea she was served being as delicious as usual.

Though, sadly, it was a common occurrence by now. She wouldn't have ever thought it possible that the couple that was already behaving like an old married one during high school would be the one giving her the most trouble among the three around her.

It would seem that them officially becoming an item was not everything that the slightly younger of the two hoped it would be.

Hibiki's career choice is unfortunately one of the main sources of conflict. From officially enlisting to become a SONG recruit, to climbing up the ladder back to a high-ranked position, her responsibility became bigger and heavier. Add to that the training fanatic was quite fond of fieldwork, fleeing desk job tasks for the rush of being on the field. It naturally translated to a large number of dispatches across the country if not the world.

While not a foreign behavior as during their teenage' years, it obviously was taking its toll on the staying at home in worry.

This much was obvious to Chris, but despite the years, she only ever heard one side of the story. The reason was, Hibiki was not speaking much about her personal love, or home life with her. While everyone had brought their significant other one way or another into the conversation with her, Hibiki never once did.

Hibiki's time with Chris was solely focused on the two of them, and sometimes more on the latter, the others just mentioned in passing for mundane conversation's sake. Chris would have to be the one going out of her way to bring up any matter regarding her partner's lover, which would often yearn her a quick comment before the subject was shifted elsewhere.

But she was secretly glad about this unspoken arrangement, finding herself more reluctant to mingle in her kouhai's love life in her presence, merely acting as a listener for one of them. Maybe she was just closing her eyes on what was becoming more apparent and obvious about the two.

"I can't believe I'm going there, but I have to ask you this Chris."

Chris' attention fully reverts to her best friend's girlfriend, raising an eyebrow at her upcoming interrogation.

"Are you and Hibiki having an affair behind my back?"

It took too long for Chris to correctly piece the words together, she acknowledged the various keywords separately, such as 'her', 'Hibiki', and 'affair'. But stringing them felt a bit awkward on its own, leaving her frowning in pondering at the separate words.

Was she having an affair? With whom? She wasn't even in a relationship to begin with, so it would not be an affair remotely if she were to date someone.

Was Hibiki having an affair? With whom? Especially when her time was split between work, her legitimate lover, and her best friend.

Tachibana Hibiki + Yukine Chris = Affair?

Chris felt faint when the equation dawned on her. She was in disbelief at the possibility something so nauseating could be insinuated between her and Hibiki. While she might have thought about what it would be like to share such intimacy with her best friend, it was only in passing from one of her colleagues' umpteenth time alluding to Hibiki and her being more than just friends. The thought truly crossed her mind a handful of times over the last 4 years, far too little to be a gnawing thought in her regard, hell she was positive she had thought about silencing permanently one of her colleagues far more often than hooking up with her best friend for the sake of curiosity.

Thus, for the same reason she never indulged in actually killing her colleague, she would indulge even less in becoming a home wrecker.

Rage suddenly started boiling inside her as to who was actually tarnishing and dirtying her pure relationship with her dear friend.

The boiling rage quickly simmered into a cold one for an unexpected reason.

Yukine Chris, that would wear her emotion on her sleeve was more composed than ever instead of letting her anger reigns.

With a labored breath, Chris took the cup of tea, emptying it of its remaining content, drenching her surprisingly dry throat with the now lukewarm liquid. She then gently set the cup back on the table, her eyes now boring on the person she still considered a close friend until mere minutes ago.

"Kohinata Miku."

Chris' voice was colder than anything anyone would have ever heard since knowing her. Miku was surprised by it, and even Chris herself was astonished by her own tone.

"From the bottom of my caring heart, Fuck you."

It was quite the simple curse words when one considers Chris' cursing vocabulary, yet the impact of receiving one especially chosen meant that the former Ichaival wielder meant its usage fully. The interlocutor messed up with Chris o so seriously that the latter felt appropriate to curse the other existence.

And she was not done, only starting.

"I don't think you realize how much I have done for you, or maybe you took it for granted until now." She breathed in, thinking at how so many times she kept company to her once close friend in her moment of need, just because her girlfriend was away on a mission, while she was worrying sick… at least sicker than usual, for example.

"Hibiki is an irreplaceable existence in my life, as much as she is for you. Hence why I've been tagging along with every one of her assignments to the point we have become a package deal when it comes to rumors about one of us. But I'm doing what I judge necessary in order to keep her safe and ease your worry and mine a little."

Chris never talked about it with anyone, the same way Hibiki was keeping her deepest issue to her own, she was doing the exact same herself, not venting or ranting to anyone about it, and being fine with it.

And she still was not, she was at peace at getting this secret for as long as necessary if not forever. She was not ranting, just informing a clueless 'friend' over what was truly happening 'behind her back' as she was saying.

"You know I was thinking something was off with Hibiki lately, especially during today's mission, she was not into it at the weirdest time possible, to the point she was endangering herself. She would never tell me anything as she doesn't seem to be willing to unload and burden me with her personal problems. But I'm starting to believe that you are the problem."

Chris continues, paying little to no mind to the expression her interlocutor was wearing with each sentence and thought delivered in her direction.

"I won't ask you if you ever talk to her about it, because I'm sure you didn't, or thought it would not matter. I'll answer your question nonetheless since it seems so much important to you. First, Hibiki is not cheating on you, yeah, I know, shocker, right?! Second, she is certainly not having an affair with me since she is not the piece of shit or whatever you seem to be thinking of her lately. Third! With what you told me and insinuated, and in the off chance she was to make a pass at me, you can be sure I will hook up with her just for the sake of telling you, 'You were right to worry about me'."

With a decent chunk of her side said, Chris stood up, walking toward the entrance door to leave before she says, or do more hurtful things she may regret in regard to her friendship with Hibiki. Saying that she would hook up with her best friend was shy of crossing a line in her book and probably the weirdest thing she ever said as well.

Miku seems to wake upon witnessing Chris on her way to leave, standing up as well in order to chase after her friend. "Wait, Chris, I-"

With a revolution of her body, Chris was facing back her once friend, an accusatory finger aimed at her. "Keep my damn name out of your mouth!" She hisses, closing the distance between them. "I will leave you with one chance, a single one to fix whatever cracked relationship between you and Hibiki because at this point you are a danger to her life, and I will not sit idly watching her rushing to her death in more ways than she already should. Don't expect any support from me because there will be none. And if you can't fix it, you may as well consider breaking things off between you two, permanently."

Miku's eyes widen at this last sentence, not believing what she was hearing her friend saying.

Her mouth could only open and close in stunned bewilderment as Chris was making her exit from the couple's home.

Chris took a long, elaborated breath once outside, recalling the encounter by pieces before shaking it off. "Not my business anymore, I'm done trying to help patch things up, their respective live style doesn't mesh together anymore, so either they find a solution to make it work, or they better be single and stay just friend, if it's at least salvageable."

With that thought asserted, Chris makes her way back to her place, Hibiki might already have set everything up to start movie night early, and surely thinking of ways of roping her into watching another to delay her own leave… yet another cue Chris has been averting her eyes off to when it suited her in order to give Hibiki space.

"Such a friend I am, inviting misunderstanding despite my pure intentions. And at the same time playing favorite when Hibiki is concerned." She mumbles to herself before shaking her head. "Hibiki would rather enjoy my company rather than her girlfriend, So what?! It's not like I have any ulterior motive, or that she is secretly in love with me. We are just close friends and colleagues, nothing more, nothing less!"

With her standing reaffirmed, Chris walked more resolutely the long trip to her apartment, ready to put today's event at the back of her mind and enjoy herself with her best friend's presence, movies, and snacks.