"What're you watching, Azusa-chan?" asked Ui, plopping down onto the couch next to Azusa. The two of them were spending the day at Azusa's house.
"Someone sent me this one video online, and I wanted to check it out," Azusa replied, letting the video buffer in the browser.
"You sure that's a good idea? I don't want your computer to get a virus or anything," said Ui, looking worried.
"It's YouTube…there's no way to get viruses on YouTube…"
"You sure?"
"If it makes you feel better, I have AdBlock installed," said Azusa, pointing to the little stop sign icon in the upper-right corner of her browser.
"If you say so…" said Ui. "Ah, it's loaded."
"Great. Should we connect them to the speakers?"
"Sure."
Azusa connected her laptop to an HDMI cable sticking out of the cabinet, and the widescreen television flickered to life, mirroring what was on Azusa's computer. Various speakers stationed around the couches began humming quietly around them.
"Surround sound system," said Azusa to an amazed Ui. "My parents splurged on a movie room setup ever since I left for college."
"It's just like the movie theaters, but at home!"
"Yeah, except we're limited to online videos while we're here," Azusa said, fiddling with the volume controls. "And…I think we're ready."
"Great! I have your seat ready for you!" Ui smiled, patting the space next to her. Azusa flopped onto the couch, giving Ui a surprise poke in the side. Ui can be surprisingly ticklish if caught off-guard.
"Hey!"
"Couldn't resist. Wanna do the honors?"
"Mmhm," Ui nodded. She pressed the space bar, and the video started playing.
The video featured a group of acapella singers, arranged in a half-circle. They each sang into an individual microphone and stood before music stands holding complicated-looking sheet music. When the group sang their first notes, the harmony was so clear and pristine that it caused a jolt to run down the girls' spines. Soprano notes reached the heavens and seemed to go higher than Azusa and Ui could comprehend. The altos perfectly complimented the higher notes with their melody, driving the words forward and echoing the sopranos expertly. The tenors sang almost higher than Azusa and Ui thought possible for boys, and the male soloist's voice sustained his notes effortlessly and without pausing to breathe. The booming bass singers supported the others from behind, jumping from extremely low notes to matching the tenors with ease, blending the voices together.
The ringing notes were only further enhanced by the surround sound system, which amplified each individual part and made it sound as if there was a choir of angels surrounding the couch where the two of them sat. Finally, the song drew to a close, and the group held their last notes for what sounded like an eternity, causing Azusa to feel dizzy just thinking about the amount of training and practice it would take to reach that level of talent.
The song ended abruptly, jolting Azusa out of her haze of amazement. She felt a wetness on her cheeks, and put her hands to her face to find that she was in tears. Never in her life did she expect that a song would move her to tears. She turned her head to find Ui already tearing up and sniffling beside her.
"That was…" started Azusa.
"THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!" Ui exclaimed. "It was so wonderful, it was amazing, it was…perfect!"
"Calm down, Ui, it's just a video."
"But it's so good!" Ui said, flailing her arms. She got up and quickly strode to the computer, scrolling through the suggested videos in the sidebar.
"Hey!"
"Nope. We're watching every video that this channel has uploaded."
"Ui…" said Azusa, peering at the screen.
"They've only uploaded like seven videos. Pleeeeeease?" Ui begged, pouting in Azusa's direction. Azusa took one look at Ui's expression and melted on the spot.
"Crap, Ui, don't do that to me, you know I can't resist that face…"
"Oh really? Well if you don't like it, then I should just stop making this face."
"NO! I mean, no, please don't. It's a cute face, I love it," said Azusa, flustered.
"Heehee," Ui said, smiling widely. "Alright, next video."
The two of them watched through every video on that channel. Ui became more inspired, sending every single video to Yui, who subsequently started spamming the rest of HTT with them. By the end of the afternoon, Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi had all gathered at Azusa's house.
"Seriously, guys?" said Azusa.
"It's an emergency band practice, Azu-nyan!" said Yui, holding her index finger up like a teacher. Mio sighed.
"I agree with Azusa on this one, Yui. I don't see why we'd need a band practice when it's not even our style of music."
"Yeah, but still. It'd be nice if we could improve our harmonies and everything. Plus, if we get Ricchan, Mugi-chan and Azu-nyan to sing, that means less singing for you, Mio-chan!"
"Hey, don't we get a say in this?" said Ritsu. "I'm still club president by default, so we need to discuss before doing something like that. Plus, we'd need an unreal amount of training before we can sing like that. Mugi, back me up here!"
"Um, Ritsu…" said Ui, pointing in Mugi's direction. The blonde heiress was already pulling a large amount of sheet music out of her bag.
"I already purchased the sheet music online and had it printed out. I have copies for everyone, as well as MP3's of the different vocal parts."
The other girls stared at her. Undeterred, Mugi continued,
"I can also contact my various vocal coaches if we need to."
"Mugi…" Mio said, amazed. "First of all, I doubt any of us could reach those high notes. Second, we don't have any guys, so we can't even sing this arrangement. And third, we don't need vocal coaches, because it's too expensive and we don't want to impose…"
"Oh no, it's fine, I can get them for free if need be."
"That's not the point," said Azusa. "Houkago Tea Time's sound is supposed to be bright and bouncy and cute, not, um, super angel-y and moving like that."
"We wrote a song about an angel and it was moving."
"Yeah, but Tenshi ni Fureta Yo doesn't count," Azusa said, blushing slightly. "It's still HTT's style, and I don't think we should go about changing our image that easily."
"Aw, but they're so good and they have lots of views online. We can just…"
"I agree with Azusa," said Ui. "I like the sound you guys have, and that's what makes your band unique."
"Thanks, Ui," said Azusa, squeezing Ui's hand.
"Wait, Ui, what're you doing?" asked Yui, looking at the two of them holding hands. With a jolt, the Azusa and Ui realized that neither of them had told the others about them yet.
"Um, uh, well…haha, funny thing is…" said Azusa, turning redder by the second.
"We're dating," said Ui, putting her other hand on Azusa's. The room went silent, and you could hear the sound of gears turning in the others' heads as they tried to process the fact that Yui's little sister was now dating their kouhai. Ritsu was the first to react.
"WHAT!? What the heck is going on here?"
"Azusa, that's wonderful," said Mio, glancing at Yui, who had gone ominously silent. "But here I was thinking that…"
"CONGRATULATIONS!" shouted Mugi, causing everyone to jump. "Oh my goodness gracious, oh mercy me, this is wonderful, just wonderful! I need to start planning for dresses, start hiring florists, I need to learn how to bake a cake, I…"
"Mugi, they're not getting married," interjected Ritsu, chopping the top of Mugi's head. Ritsu and Mio had gotten more used to keeping Mugi in check, as college has caused her overactive imagination to multiply tenfold. "They're only, um…dating. Wow, that's a weird thing to say."
"Um, Sis?" said Ui, looking worriedly at Yui. Yui slowly raised her head, breaking into a large toothy grin.
"Congrats, little sis!" said Yui. "I'm so happy!"
Yui crawled around the living room table and pulled both of them into a hug.
"Are you crying, Yui-senpai?" said Azusa, shocked. Yui sniffled.
"I'm so HAPPY! I want everyone to be happy, and so to hear that you two are happy together, it just…just…WAH!"
"Yui, you're gonna get snot all over them! Go wash yourself, please," said Mio, trying not to look at Yui's dripping nose.
"Yeah," said Yui, giving a big sniffle. She wiped her nose with the edge of her sleeve and then got up. She tottered towards the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Ritsu chuckled.
"That's our Yui. Being over-the-top emotional when it comes to Azusa or Ui. Geez, kids, I think you two broke her."
"Speaking of over-the-top," said Azusa, pointing at Mugi. Everyone turned to look at Mugi, who was zoning out on the edge of the couch. Mio waved her hand in front of Mugi's face, but she was once again off in another reality.
"Eh, let her daydream a little while longer," said Ritsu, shaking her head. "Anyways, you two, give us the juicy stuff. Have you guys kissed yet?"
"Wh-wh-wh-wha…?" stuttered Ui.
"N-No, Ritsu-senpai, we haven't! It hasn't been too long since-"
"But you two are officially a couple, right?" asked Mio. Azusa could see that she was itching for new material for song lyrics. She sighed, and began to tell the story.
"Well, I guess it started when Ui and I went to the movies…"
While Azusa and Ui were telling their story, Yui sat against the door, listening from the other side. Her body was shaking, and she cried silent tears, wrapping her arms around her. Her head was spinning and her heart felt like it was about to burst.
It's not fair! she thought, breathing heavily. It's just not fair! It should have been me! Why isn't it me? Am I not good enough? Why didn't I do something first? Ui knows I love Azu-nyan…so why is SHE dating her?! WHY?
Yui stayed in the hallway for a few minutes more, wrapping her arms more tightly around her and clutching at her sleeves to try and make the shaking stop. No good, it only made her cry harder. Taking deep breaths didn't seem to do much either; it only caused her to hyperventilate more. She slowly got up and stumbled to the bathroom. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and tears were streaked over her cheeks. Yui vigorously rubbed her face with a towel, and then stood there for what seemed like an eternity, staring at herself in the mirror.
It's over, isn't it? she thought to herself. I can't bring myself to face them like this. I just…
There was a loud knock on the door.
"Big Sis? Is everything alright in there? Everyone else is gonna leave soon to eat out at a restaurant."
"Um, y-yeah, I'm good. Gimme a second, alright, Ui?" Yui said, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Alright, we'll be out here," Ui said. Yui waited until her footsteps faded, and then turned back to the mirror.
"Well, time to face the music," she said to her reflection.
"Everything alright, Yui?" asked Mio when the guitarist walked back into the living room.
"Yeah, I just got a bit too excited, hehe," Yui said, rubbing the back of her head.
"Well you're not the only one. Get a load of Mugi," said Ritsu, pointing to Mugi behind her. One of the girls had moved the dazed Mugi to the corner, and she was graciously sighing at the wall, lost in her imagination.
"Wha? Mugi-chan?" said Yui. "I guess the shock affected her too, huh?"
"Yeah, but you got a shock too, right Yui-senpai?" said Azusa.
"Y-Yeah. But you guys know me, I cry easily," said Yui.
"Yeah, that's true, I guess. Anyways, you guys don't have to take us out to a restaurant. We can just stay home, you know," Azusa continued. Ritsu and Mio shook their heads.
"It's been forever since we all hung out," said Mio. "We need to invite Jun and Nodoka too, 'cuz I think they're in town as well."
"Seriously? Nodoka-chan's back in town? Yay!" cheered Yui. The rest of the girls chuckled.
"Looks like it's decided. Oy, Mugi! Let's head out!" said Ritsu. Mugi giggled to herself.
"Oh my," Mugi sighed to no one in particular. Everyone else wondered what she was imagining, then decided it's best not to ask.
As the group began chatting excitedly, Yui glanced in Azusa's direction. Now that their secret's out, Azusa wasn't holding back anymore. Yui saw Azusa reach over and take Ui's hand in her own. Ui looked at Azusa and smiled. Yui felt the tears coming back, and blinked furiously to keep them at bay.
It's done, it's over. Ui won, in the end, before I even had a chance. Yui thought. It's over, isn't it? She chose you, Little Sis…
It's over…