The door opened to reveal Azusa's mom. When she saw Yui, her expression immediately darkened.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"She came to talk to you." Mugi said.
"I have nothing to say to her." Going to close the door, she was stopped by Mio.
"Please Ms. Nakano, just listen to what she has to say." the bassist pleaded.
After some contemplation, Azusa's mom sighed. "Alright. I'll listen."
"Go on, Yui." Ritsu said, giving her friend a little push. She then stepped back, along with the others. Swallowing her fear, Yui tried to slow her pounding heart. She breathed deeply, then faced her friend's mom.
"Ms. Nakano. I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am about what happened to Azu-ny... Azusa. I have regretted it every day, and I know I cannot change what happened. I'm not expecting you to forgive me, but I would really like to be able to see her and talk to her again. It is beyond lonely without her around, and there isn't a day that goes by without her crossing my mind." she said.
"It's true." Ui piped up. "I've seen them every day. They are miserable without each other." Azusa's mom switched her gaze between the two, milling over what was being said.
"I admit that I have been incredibly clingy with your daughter, and I admit that I acted stupidly with her, but I would be willing to change that if it means getting her back." Yui continued.
Azusa's mom crossed her arms as she listened. I think she is genuinely sorry. Maybe... The sound of someone hopping downstairs drew everyone's attention. Appearing at the foot of the stairs was Azusa.
"Who is it, mom?" Seeing Yui, she froze. "Y... Yui-sempai?" The kouhai could not believe her eyes. After many weeks apart, they were seeing each other again. Thinking hard, Azusa's mom switched her gaze between the seniors and her daughter. Finally, she looked at Yui again.
"You truly miss her that badly?" Yui started to answer, then fell silent and revealed her arms. Azusa's mom's eyes widened at the sight. Lowering her arms, Yui then did something unexpected. Dropping to her knees, she carried on talking.
"Without Azusa, the Light Music club is nothing, Ms. Nakano. And we graduate after this year, so it would be really nice if we could leave some happy memories." She fought back tears. "At the very least, I would like to be there when Azusa starts walking again." She then got down on her hands. "If changing how I treat her means seeing her again, then I'll do it. So please..." The brunette chocked back a sob. "Please Ms. Nakano... please let me see Azusa again! I can't live without her! I'll do anything!" Yui then fell silent. Azusa's mom looked down at Yui, surprised at the sight. She then looked at the other girls, who clasped their hands together and bowed their heads. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Azusa doing the same.
"Well..." Moments passed as she thought. The girls didn't move from their positions. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she sighed and said, "I'll think about it."
6 heads snapped up. "Really?" Yui asked, hardly believing her ears.
"Yes. I'll need to talk to her father first, so don't get your hopes up." Her heart lifting for the first time in weeks, she dropped her head again.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She said happily. Smiling, Azusa's mom looked back at her daughter. Azusa had the biggest smile she could muster on her face, tears of happiness accompanying it.
After a little more conversation, Ms. Nakano closed the door and the girls then started heading back to the Hirasawa's place. "You did it, Yui-chan." Mugi said.
"Thank you everyone. Thank you all for..." Before she could finish the sentence, Yui collapsed to the ground.
"Yui? Yui!" Mio called frantically. Yui lay on the ground, panting and flushed. Mio felt her forehead. "She's burning up."
"Ui, call an ambulance." Ritsu instructed.
"S... sure."
Later at the hospital...
Closing the door behind him, the doctor faced the worried girls. "How is she?" Mugi asked.
"She's exhausted from hunger and fatigue. And some of the cuts on her arms show signs of infection. We've treated them as best we can, she's being drip fed fluids, and we've given her some antibiotics to fight the infection. If it's alright with all of you, we'd like to keep her overnight as a precaution." There were no objections from the girls. "Well, if you'll excuse me..."
The doctor bowed before leaving. "I had no idea she was that bad." Mio said.
"Onee-chan..." The seniors looked back at Ui, who was practically in tears.
"Ui-chan, please don't cry." Mugi said, hugging the junior.
"This is all my fault. Why did I not watch her more closely?" Mio and Ritsu glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. Later on, after a nurse came to check on Yui, the girls headed inside to see their friend. Yui lay silently, her breath fogging up the oxygen mask covering her face. Unable to take the sight, Ui broke down, dropping to her knees. "Onee-chan!" The other girls did their best to comfort her. When visiting hours finished, they headed their separate ways, Ui having been allowed to remain at the hospital with her sister. Sitting by her side, she held Yui's hand, praying that she would be alright. First Azusa-chan, now Onee-chan. It's like a bad dream... She was soon asleep.
When morning came round, she was aroused by a small voice. "Ui?" Stirring, Ui looked up and saw her sister looking at her.
"Onee-chan?"
"Hi Ui." Yui replied, smiling.
"Onee-chan, you're okay!" The younger sister wrapped her arms around Yui, who slowly returned the hug.
"I'm sorry, Ui. I caused this to happen by not looking after myself."
"Please don't apologize. You were upset about not being allowed to see Azusa-chan. I know it was very hard for you." she said, holding Yui tightly.
They stayed like this for a brief moment, then Yui pulled Ui up, looking tired. "Ui, could you wait outside a bit? I'd like to sleep a bit more."
"Sure. I'll let your friends know that you're okay."
"Thanks." After leaving the room, Ui sent texts to the others, then went to buy herself a drink from a vending machine. Deciding to sit outside, she found a bench and basked in the sun. The junior sipped her drink, happy that things were starting to improve. Azusa was going to be okay, Yui wasn't in serious danger, and best of all, they would be able to see each other again.
"Ui!" a voice called out. Looking in the direction of the caller, she spotted the other seniors running towards her.
"Hi!" she called, waving. Finishing her drink, she threw the empty can in a bin before heading to her friends.
"How's she doing?" Mugi asked once they met up.
"I think she's out of the danger zone now." Mio, Ritsu and Mugi breathed sighs of relief.
"Do you think we'd be able to see her?" Ritsu then asked.
"Well, she's sleeping right now, but if you don't mind waiting, we could at least sit with her."
"That'll be okay. We can surprise her when she wakes up." Everyone agreeing, they began to head inside when a car horn stopped them. Wondering who it was, they were all surprised to see a familiar face waving at them.
"It's Azusa." Mio exclaimed. After the car had pulled up, Azusa briefly exchanged words with her mom, then awkwardly got out. Her mom driving off, the kouhai hopped towards her friends.
"Azusa-chan, what are you doing here?" Mugi asked.
"I came to see Yui-sempai. There's something I'd like to discuss with her. How is she?" Azusa replied.
"We're actually heading there now."
"Okay." Crutches clicking, she followed the girls inside. They slowed their pace to allow her to keep up.
"How have you been doing recovery-wise, Azusa?" Mio asked.
"Without going into details, I had a small procedure some time back on my leg. And my wrist is considerably better. I can play guitar again, but only for short periods, so it's hard to keep up with practice." Azusa explained.
"Seems like it'll be a while before we're back to how we were then." Ritsu said. Reaching Yui's room, Ui first knocked the door, then quietly slid it open. Yui was still asleep, her quiet breathing filling the room. The oxygen mask had been replaced by a nose line. Doing their best not to wake her, the girls slipped inside. Mugi found a chair for Azusa, who gratefully sat down. Finding places to sit or stand, they waited patiently, not saying anything. There was complete silence, then music suddenly blared out from Ui's pocket, startling everyone. Realizing it was her phone, Ui frantically fumbled with it before hitting answer. Yui stirred and moaned, then shifted position slightly and kept on sleeping.
The girls all breathed sighs of relief, then Ui spoke into her phone. "Hello?" she whispered, deciding to leave the room.
"Hello, Ui? It's Jun."
"Oh, hello Jun-chan. How are you?"
"I'm alright. Why are you whispering?"
"It's a long story, but Onee-chan is sleeping right now."
Jun quickly lowered her voice in response to this. "Ah, sorry. I didn't know."
"It's okay. What can I do for you?"
"How are things with your sister and Azusa? I haven't heard much about that."
"Oh, I never thought to keep you informed. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. How are things with them? Are they still banned from seeing each other?"
"Well, I've got good news and bad news."
"Okay. What's the good news?"
"With a bit of persuasion, and some help from us, Onee-chan managed to convince Azusa's mom to let them see each other again."
"Hey, that's great! I'll bet they were ecstatic."
"I know. We all were." Ui replied, smiling.
"What's the bad news?"' Jun then asked.
Ui's smile shrank. "Onee-chan was so upset she barely ate or slept, and she cut herself without my knowing. As a result, she's landed in hospital, though she seems to be improving."
"... I'm sorry to hear that. How is Azusa doing with her situation?"
"She's slowly improving too. How long it'll take exactly is anyone's guess."
"Well, I'll leave it at that. Let me know when your sister's back home and I'll see if I can swing by to see you all."
"Thank you, Jun-chan. Bye." Ui said. Hanging up, she headed back into the room. Yui had remained as she was. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, Ui switched her phone to vibrate, and gestured to the other girls to do the same. Time passed as they waited for Yui to wake up, sometimes exchanging whispers.
Eventually, Yui stirred.