AN: Surprise! This story isn't dead. This took a longer than expected for me to finish, mainly because I felt the need to take a little break from it and write something else aside from this work. Oh, and also because school is making hard for me to sit down and write; I don't work well when I'm in a constant state of stress, aha.

Forgive me if the characters seem a little off in this chapter; I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things. But I hope that you enjoy this update. It's the longest chapter so far.

Ciao. c:

Nico groaned for the umpteenth time.

"No, no! Rin, i told you this before; you don't put the frosting before the cake enters the oven-you put it in first and then wait for it to cool, then you put the frosting. It's not rocket science!"

Rin, whose is face is practically caked with flour, made a little noise that was a mix between a whine and a groan. "Nyaw man, I can't do this!"

Nico blew a raspberry before shaking her head slowly. "I'm beginning to believe that myself," she mumbled underneath her breath. Before she was able to fall into a spiral of despair and disappointment, Nico took the time to sweep the kitchen with her eyes.

Hanayo and Maki had been tasked with creating the batter and frosting, the foundations of creating a cake. The beginning had been rocky (because, for some reason, Hanayo had thought one egg meant putting one whole egg into the batter, shell and everything), but with Nico's guidance, those two were doing much better. Rin had been given the job of putting the cake in the oven and then coating it with the first layer of frosting, which was arguably the easiest job of it all, and still managed to fail horribly at it—Nico made a quick note in her head to teaching Rin privately before the day of training ended. Finally, Kotori and Umi had been given the hardest part of the cake-making process: applying the finest details in order to make the cake, well, look like a cake. Nico expected them to completely botch their job, but was extremely impressed with the way they worked together; with Kotori's designer sense kicking in coupled with Umi's eye for details, they were able to create a cake that, at least, looked appealing. The taste, Nico knew, would be a different story.

But, Nico had to admit, these kids were working better than she had anticipated. She gave Honkers kudos in the back of her mind; the girl knew who to recruit.

Speaking of Honkers….

Nico turned her head around and saw Honoka sitting on the counter, watching the trainees with a biggest grin on her face. Nico, on the other hand, frowned as deeply as she could.

"Honkers," she called out, her tone deadpan.

Honoka turned to her, blinding Nico with her smile. "Yeah?"

"Why aren't you training with them?"

At this, Honoka's grin faded away instantly. "Should I?"

Nico felt her eyebrow twitch with annoyance. "Yes, you should."

"…Why, though?"

Nico felt her cheek twitch this time. "You don't remember what happened the other day?"

"What happened the other day?"

Nico could feel her nerves beginning to break; if Honoka was playing dumb, she was doing a damn good job at it. "You were in the kitchen."

"I was in the kitchen."

"And you were trying to make a cake."

"I was trying to make a cake."

"Yes. Do you remember what happened after that?"

Honoka blinked several times, tilting her head to the side as if it would make the memory come to her mind any faster. Suddenly, her placid expression lit up and her grin came back in full-force. "Oh yeah! The cake was completely burnt."

"Yes, it was completely burnt. And, you know, as a cafe trying to get out of the red, we want to—"

"Ooooh!" Honoka made a fist and placed it on the palm of her other hand. "We want to make good food and get people to come here!"

The thin smile that crossed Nico's face was enough to make Honoka's run away. "You're right," Nico seethed through gritted teeth.

"I'll go get ready, then," Honoka quickly said. She gave a shaky laugh before she sprinted towards the back of the cafe in order to avoid the wrath of a very small, but a very angry Yazawa Nico.

During her escape, Honoka narrowly missed slamming herself against Nozomi. The woman gave a mere raising of an eyebrow before making her way over to Nico. "You scared her." It was more of a statement than a question.

Nico's smile melted away and she gave a half-shrug. "I mean, you know…."

Nozomi exhaled out of her nose and shook her head. "You're frustrated and want everything to go perfectly smooth, right?"

Nico's indignant silence was enough to answer Nozomi's question, and the taller of the two laughed. "You're getting easier and easier to read with each passing day, you know?"

"The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Same thing with Elichi."

"That doesn't answer—"

"It's like these kids are changing us old-timers…."

Nico picked up on the sudden change in Nozomi's tone, and noticed that the other woman's expression was, for lack of better term, vulnerable. It held the fondness and tender love of a mother, her green eyes shining dully in the light of the cafe. The sight warmed, yet chilled Nico's chest.

A younger Nozomi wouldn't have been so effusive.

But Nico didn't dare to point it out; it would only lead to more teasing and an aching chest after. So, instead, she crossed her arms and huffed haughtily, effectively capturing Nozomi's attention.

"Quit talkin' like a grandma," Nico said as she tilted her chin up. "You're making me feel old, now."

Nozomi gave a brief exhale of amusement, shaking her head. The subtlest of smiles pulled on her lips, but Nico was able to catch it.

"Can't help it, Nicocchi; it's hard to believe that this cafe used to be so quiet and empty before."

Nico's mask threatened to fall off as she looked over the girls covered with flour, Honoka having joined them some time ago. All six of them wore the biggest grins they could muster, and the joyous clamor that escaped their lips was something Nico dared to call music.

"Yeah," Nico mumbled, relaxing herself as she put on a smile that mirrored Nozomi's, "this place is really changing, huh?"

-X-

"Good work today."

Hanayo, who had been busy slumping over the small table in the break room, perked up. She turned to the side and saw Eli's familiar, yet tired face. Her blue eyes reminded Hanayo of murky water in the prettiest way possible…ifit was possible.

"A-ah, thanks," Hanayo said, forcing herself to smile. Chills went up her spine as Eli pulled out a chair, the deafening sound of plastic scraping against wood filling the empty room. Hanayo shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unsure on what to say. If her interactions with Nico weren't enough proof, Hanayo was never good at handling herself in front of authority, whether it be her teachers, her parents, or—

"How come you're not out there?" Eli asked, resting her elbow on the table before propping her chin on her palm.

"O-oh, uh," Hanayo felt cold sweat beginning to collect on her neck as she wiped her clammy palms on her pants underneath the table, "th-thanks."

Eli raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't answer my question."

"O-oh," Hanayo laughed nervously, "I-I didn't, huh?"

"You don't have to be so nervous, you know," Eli said as she gave a small smile. "I may be your superior, but I'm only a couple of years older. You can relax." She added the last part softly. It was supposed to be reassuring, Hanayo knew.

It wasn't.

And so, they sat in an awkward silence, the atmosphere heavy and weighing above them. Hanayo was too scared to break it. Not that she could've even if she wanted to; the air surrounding them was suffocating her, and she almost found it difficult to breathe—

"Does Nico intimidate you?"

Hanayo blinked several times. The question caught her off-guard, and it took a long time for it to process in her head. "W-well," she paused to swallow in order to soothe the dry spot in her throat. She tried to speak again, but her words got caught and she looked like a fish gasping for air.

"So, she does," Eli said, drawing the words out of Hanayo's lips. Hanayo closed her mouth and did a quick singular nod of confirmation. Eli's nostrils flared a bit as she gave a huff of amusement. "She doesn't mean any harm, really. Sure, she's short-tempered and, well, short,"—Eli stopped and chuckled—"but she just wants to best for everyone and Muse, you know? It's her way of caring."

"Y-yeah, I guess that makes sense," Hanayo muttered.

"Still doesn't reassure you, does it?"

"Well," the pathetic chair Hanayo was sitting on creaked as she fidgeted again, "I guess it's just a matter of getting used to her and everything around here…."

"This your first job?"

Hanayo nodded.

"You're…not used to working with people, are you?"

There was a beat of hesitation before Hanayo replied. "I-is it that obvious?"

Eli's smile turned into the slightest of frowns as she gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Maybe it's 'cause I'm not that good with people that I noticed it in the first place."

Now that was a surprise. "You're not good with people?" Hanayo asked.

"Mm, kinda. I can hold conversations with them, but have them for too long and it gets draining. 'S why I'm sometimes by myself." Eli shrugged and her tiny smile came back again. "But knowing that there are other people here like me is comforting."

Hanayo blinked rapidly. She was known to be one of the smartest people in her grade, but here she was, sitting in front of her superior with her dumbfounded brain unable to process Eli's words fast enough.

"I-it is?" Her question came out as a squawk, and she nervously cleared her throat several times.

Eli's smile, however, never faltered. "It is."

Hanayo's chest felt much lighter, as if a burden was lifted off her shoulders.

Knowing that someone understood her was a comforting thought.

-X-

Maki swore that the day was purposefully dragging itself along just to spite her.

Today had been a day off from school to commemorate some long-forgotten holiday, something Maki was utterly grateful for. But, of course, the bliss ended when she got an unexpected text from Nozomi saying that there would be special training for the newcomers.

On the bus ride to work, she had wondered what possessed her to apply in the first place. Now, sitting at one of the many empty tables littering the cafe, Maki promptly decided it had to be Nozomi's…voodoo tricks and gimmicks. Yes, that seemed to be the only reason—

"Oh, you're here."

Damn—think of the devil and she shall appear.

"First Hanayo-chan, now you? Are we really that intimidating?" Nozomi laughed and shook her head before taking the liberty to sit across from Maki.

"I just wanted time alone, is all."

"You sound like Elicchi."

"I can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing."

Nozomi chuckled. "Just an observation, is all."

"…I see."

"So," Nozomi leaned forward, clasping her hands together, "what's wrong?"

Maki frowned slightly. "Nothing. Like I said, I just needed time on my own."

"Not used to people?" The woman guessed.

"No, i'm used to people. I'm in band, i'm supposed to work together with people."

Nozomi made an O-shape with her mouth as she nodded understandingly. "Right, right, forgot. But still, doesn't explain," she paused to gesture to the empty cafe, "all this."

"Today was too noisy. I need some peace and quiet too, you know. Especially with the way Nico was screeching when Rin and Honoka nearly set the entire building on fire for the third time."

Nozomi laughed, the sound filling the empty space with its song. "Man, I wish I was there to see that."

"I don't think that would be a good wish."

Nozomi's laugh was louder this time. "Oh, you really sound like Elicchi during our high-school days."

An indignant blush crept across Maki's cheeks and she looked off to the side before looking back at Nozomi. The woman's emerald-green eyes held all the amusement in the universe, but underneath all that, Maki caught the sight of nostalgia. There was no doubt that Nozomi was secretly remembering memories about Eli.

Speaking of Eli….

Maki chewed on her tongue gently, unsure if she should voice the question filling her mouth. Apparently, her inner struggle showed on her face and Nozomi gave her a knowing expression.

"You can ask me anything, you know."

Maki made a little noise in her throat and looked away. "W-who said that I wanted to—"

"No matter how much you lie, the truth's always written on your face."

Another noise slipped past Maki's lips. "Well, uh…you see…."

"You can just say it, Maki-chan." Hints of humor tainted Nozomi's tone.

"…Are you and Eli together?"

Nozomi didn't blink nor hesitate in her answer. "Yeah, is it obvious?"

"K-kinda."

"Do same-sex relationships make you uncomfortable?"

"W-well, no," Maki stammered, reaching up to grasp the tips of her hair to search for split ends. "I w-was just—"

"Are you gay?"

Maki froze, her words turning to ice and plummeting down to her gut.

"With the way you look, wide-eyed and all, I'm guessing I hit the nail on the head?"

Maki's first instinct was to lie, to deny it, to do anything but admit it, but she knew full-well that her attempts would be futile—Nozomi would just expose her like always.

"Yeah," Maki finally admitted after a long pause, "i am."

Nozomi hummed and nodded, her face unexpectedly serious. Maki was surprised—she would have thought that the woman would have broken into a grin by now.

"Are you closeted?" Nozomi asked, her expression remaining unsettlingly stoic.

The redhead fidgeted in her seat, trying to channel most of her focus into finding split ends. "Y-yeah, what of it?" Maki cleared her throat once she heard the tremble in her voice. She needed to be apathetic and impassive. This was nothing more than a mere conversation with Nozomi, after all. Just a normal, regular, conver—

"Ever kissed a girl?"

Maki's face flushed red as she whipped her head up. Now Nozomi was smiling that god-forsaken smile of hers, her green eyes glimmering mischievously in the light. It was so obvious that the woman was, metaphorically, getting a kick out of this, and Maki wanted nothing more than to literally kick her.

"W-w-what?!" Maki's voice came out as a squeal.

"Guessing you haven't?"

"I-I m-mean, i-it's not a priority, s-so…."

Nozomi nodded, her smile never wavering. "Understandable. Knowing you, you're probably too busy to be thinking of romance, huh?"

Maki felt her face burn, her cheeks reddening to a dark maroon. "S-something like that," she mumbled, lying through her teeth.

Nozomi's smile quickly faded, her expression hardening into seriousness once again. "Have you ever spoken to anyone about your sexuality?"

"W-well," Maki cleared her throat, unsure on how to handle the sudden change of atmosphere, "n-not really."

The woman hummed and nodded before breaking into a gentle smile. In a way, it was an unfamiliar sight to Maki; the redhead was used to a teasing grin.

"I see," Nozomi finally said as she leaned back in her seat.

"…Why?"

"Why what?"

"…Why'd you ask all those questions?"

Nozomi shrugged, and her smile grew just a little bit bigger. "Just wanted to build conversation, get to know you a little bit better, things like that."

Maki's only response was a thoughtful noise she made in the back of her throat. Nozomi's answer was reasonable to say the least.

"And I know how hard it is to come to terms with something like your sexuality. Especially if you don't have anyone to talk to about it." The woman's smile turned sympathetic, and Maki felt herself relax. There was something about Nozomi that was rather…comforting, up to the point where Maki almost wanted to spill everything to her. Almost.

"It's no big deal," Maki muttered, shrugging.

"Mm, you think so?" Nozomi asked, tilting her head to the side. Her small smile was even smaller now and there was a patient glow in her eyes, as if she were a teacher waiting for her student to fess up.

And as much as she wanted to, Maki tensed up. Her pride raised up her defenses and she looked away, her hand reaching up to twiddle with the ends of her hair once again. "Yeah," she began, her voice much quieter than she expected, "I do think so."

But in reality, she did think it was a big deal. The conversation she just had was a breakthrough for her, up to the point she dared describe it as revolutionary. Up until now, Maki was positive that there was no one in her life who understood what it was like to be gay, let alone be inside the closet. And to be able to have the opportunity to actually talk about her feelings free from judgement? The very thought was almost enough to get Maki to cry.

She wondered how a younger her would react to a situation like this. It would have most likely involved gross sobbing, if she had to guess.

The image was enough to coax the smallest of smiles out of her.

"What's so funny?" Nozomi asked. Maki took a quick glance in the woman's direction to see Nozomi's eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Nothing," Maki said, shaking her head and forcing two words down her throat. When it came too much to bear, she decided to go with, "It's nothing."

She cursed herself and her damned pride.

"Thank you," would have been a better choice.

-X-

Umi's voice was what broke the silence that settled over the group.

"Oh, there you two are," she said. The others turned to their heads to see a closed-eyed smiling Nozomi walking into the room, Maki following right behind her.

"Sorry," Nozomi began as she opened her eyes, "a little critter decided to sneak out when we weren't looking." She looked over her shoulder to send a coy glance at Maki, who was much too busy staring at the dusty corner to avoid her gaze.

"Well, while you were busy chasing Princess over there," Nico crossed her arms and sent a disapproving look their way, "we were having a rather important discussion."

Nozomi blinked several times. "Were you?"

Eli nodded and sighed at the same time. "We were discussing the—"

"Upcoming Market District Festival!" It was Hanayo and Honoka who spoke, eagerly cutting off Eli in the middle of her sentence.

"Already that time of year?" Nozomi asked.

Eli nodded, leaning back in her seat. "I know we're not particularly active during the Festival, but with how our team has grown, I feel like this would be a good way to get Muse back into the scene."

"Yeah!" Honoka exclaimed, nodding vigorously. "We'll definitely get publicity!"

"Wait." It was Maki who spoke, looking at the group confusedly. "What exactly is the Market District Festival?"

Nico made a little noise in her throat, one between a scoff and a grunt. "Well, if you were here earlier—ow!" Nico stopped and rubbed her face, on the spot where Nozomi flicked her. Eli watched the whole affair with an air of amusement before picking up where Nico left off.

"The Market District Festival is an annual festival where everyone in the market district," Eli paused to gesture to the general direction of the other shops, "comes out and holds a festival to promote their business and unite the community. Something like that."

"So," Maki began slowly, "it's like a cultural festival?"

"If you wanna put it that way, yeah. We set up booths to show off samples, since we're a food business, and if people like what they taste, then they'll buy."

Maki hummed, looking off to the side thoughtfully. "Makes sense," she finally decided to say.

"You bet it makes sense!" Honoka piped in. Her bright blue eyes almost blinded Eli when the blonde looked over at her. "We should totally do it! It'll show that Muse is still here!"

"Yeah!" This time it was Hanayo who spoke up. With the way her voice squeaked, Eli could tell that she was trying her hardest to contain her excitement. "It'll be a great way to show off our new menu!"

The blonde felt herself smile; it was hard to believe that the bespectacled girl ready to climb over the table in excitement was the same girl who was excruciatingly timid only an hour ago.

"Uh-huh!" Rin joined in, her excitement mirroring the other two. "We can also show off how much we've grown too! You nyow, like zero to a hundred!"

"Wait," Umi held up her hand, a worried expression plastered on her face. "What if this all fails?"

The joviality living in the air dropped dead.

Nico was the one who broke the silence before it could suffocate all of them. "Wow, way to kill the mood, kid."

Nozomi promptly reached over to flick Nico to shut her up.

"Continue," Eli said, nodding in Umi's direction.

"I mean, don't get me wrong. I do believe that this will give Muse a rise in popularity if it succeeds. I'm just wondering if, well, what happens if it doesn't?"

Light coughing captured Eli's attention, and the blonde looked over at Maki.

"I was kind of wondering about that too," the redhead began, her placid mask breaking into one that Eli dared to call concern. "If we fail, what are the consequences? Isn't a just a loss of money, supplies, and time? I mean, before Honoka started advertising, i've never even heard of Muse before, let alone decide to check it out. If anything, if we do decide to participate in the Festival, we have to take into consideration that people might not even want to come over to us just because we aren't as popular as, say, A-RISE."

An uneasy silence hung over their heads like the weight of an elephant. During this time, Eli looked at the faces surrounding her. Umi looked unaffected, but Eli caught the somberness in her eyes—perhaps she didn't expect anyone to have the gall to voice what was on her mind. Next to her sat Kotori, who looked much more concerned about the wellbeing of an unexpectedly serious Honoka rather than the situation at hand. The orange-haired girl was looking at the table in front of her, her blue eyes narrowed in concentration; there was no doubt that she was thinking about ways to refute Maki's points. Nico and Nozomi were looking off to the side, their faces blank and unreadable. Hanayo and Rin, on the other hand were much more effusive: worry was etched on their faces as they glanced at one another for a split second before looking around, as if the answer to the problem was lurking in a nook or a cranny.

When the silence lingered for a moment too long, Eli broke it by clearing her throat. "Well, since no one has anything else to say—"

Honoka slapped her hand on to top of the table, standing from her chair with almost enough force to topple it over. "Wait!" She turned to Eli, a fire burning in her blue eyes. In a way, the blonde widened her eyes in surprise; she never knew that Honoka was capable of such an expression.

"Is this cafe important to you?"

Eli had to blink. While the answer to the question was obviously yes, Honoka's bluntness threw off Eli much more than it should have. However, she managed to gather herself and she once again cleared her throat once more. "Of—"

"Of course it is," interjected Nozomi and Nico in unison. Eli didn't have to look over at them to know that they were getting riled up—the edge in their voice was very evident.

"Then," Honoka turned to the other two women, "aren't you supposed to fight for something that's important to you? Aren't you supposed to be willing to do anything to make sure this place succeeds?"

"Honkers, that's what we've been trying to do for several years," Nico said.

"Exactly! So what better way than to do it during the Festival? You guys said that you haven't been active, so wouldn't it be a great place to have a comeback?"

Slight creaking filled the air as Kotori shifted in her seat, unsure. "But, Honoka-chan, Maki-chan said—"

"So what!" Honoka shook her head, letting out a huff of air that was a mix between a laugh and a scoff. "If we show the people that Muse is something worth all the promotion it's getting, then they'll come! But a big part of that is to have all of us believe that too! Yeah, Muse has been in the red for a long time. Yeah, Muse has fallen from its glory days. But we can pick it all up! We can make something happen. We can change Muse. We've already done so much like plan out a new menu and new uniforms, so why stop there? If we don't do the Festival, what good were all those changes? Nothing! That's why we gotta do it!" Honoka's fervor simmered down considerably as all the tension in her body left her, the fire in her eyes in the process of being snuffed out. "Call me crazy, but I already love this place. There's so much…potential for it to succeed, and I would absolutely hate for Muse to die out now. There's so much we can do. Why not take it?"

A heaviness weighed around the room, but before it had time to settle, Hanayo stood up as well.

"I…I agree with Honoka-chan," she declared, her purple eyes glimmering with a rising passion. "I've heard of so many stories of how great Muse was back then, and I would love nothing more than to help it grow. We might make it even better than ever!"

"Yeah!" Rin said, jumping to her feet. "We gotta make Muse nyalright again!"

Kotori slowly rose from her seat, a small smile on her face. "Well, if the both of you put it that way…."

Umi shook her head, but Eli caught the sight of a smile. "You're too much of a handful sometimes, Honoka."

In the background, Eli heard Maki say, "If we're really doing this, don't make it a mistake…."

Eli could feel the air around them beginning to lighten with their heightening spirits. For some reason, she felt the slightest need to cry, her throat tying itself into knots—if these kids were to be the future of Muse, then she couldn't have asked for a better team.

Finally, Eli looked over and caught Nico's and Nozomi's gaze. Their bright, beaming faces was all Eli needed to see.

"Let's do it, then," she declared.

The raucous cheering that exploded in the room warmed Eli's chest.

-X-

"Remind me again why I'm driving you two to your apartment."

"Because Elichi crashed our car."

"Hey! I didn't crash the car. I just—"

"Put a super huge dent on the side?"

"Shut up, Nico."

Nozomi laughed and entered the backseat of Nico's car. An odd smell hit her nose, and she crinkled her nose. Eli, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and gave Nozomi a look between bemusement and disgust.

"Hey, Nico?" Eli looked over at the driver's seat when Nico entered the car.

"Yeah?"

"Why does it smell like…peanuts and milk?"

From where she sat, Nozomi saw Nico tense up as she started the car. The roaring engine almost drowned out her answer.

"Don't worry about it," the black-haired woman mumbled.

As they began their ride, the chaos of the day began to take its toll. She leaned her head against the window of the car door, her breathing slowing as she struggled to keep her eyelids open. She was about to give into sleep when something caught her attention from the front. Nozomi sat up and looked at the rear view mirror, where she saw something green attached to it.

The third-year ribbon from Otonokizaka's high school uniform swayed lazily as the car rumbled about.

"You still have that thing?" Nozomi asked with a chuckle. Eli, who was close to dozing off as well, let out a tired laugh.

"Well that's a blast from the past," the blonde said with a yawn. Hidden in her tone, however, Nozomi heard the slightest implication of a smile.

Nico, on the other hand, let out a grunt. "Shuddup."

"You know," Nozomi smirked as she gave a sly look in Nico's direction, "I never knew that Nicocchi was so sentimental."

"What'd I tell you before?"

Eli laughed, sounding much more awake now. "Who would have thought that someone like Nico had the capability."

Surprisingly, Nico was the one that laughed this time. "I could say the same thing about you! You still have that ace of hearts Nozomi gave you during our first year."

Nozomi saw the tips of Eli's ears turn a bright red. "You do?" Nozomi asked, leaning forward in an attempt to be closer to Eli. The blonde moved away to avoid her lover.

"M-maybe," Eli stuttered.

Nico scoffed. "'Maybe?' You keep that thing in your phone case!"

Nozomi laughed while shaking her head, taking some form of twisted enjoyment from her lover's expense. "How old is that thing anyways?"

"Around four or five years," Eli admitted quietly.

"It was sometime after we all met, huh?" Nozomi pointed out.

Nico nodded as she turned a corner to enter into a familiar neighborhood. Nozomi could tell that they would approach their destination soon enough.

"Did we all meet in our first-year?" Eli asked.

"Yeah," Nico answered, "somewhere in the middle of it."

"And we would all go to Muse together after school, too."

Nozomi sighed, a blissful smile creeping onto her face. A fuzzy sensation was building up in her chest as she basked in the nostalgia only memories could give her. "Back when Muse was doing just fine, too."

"Yeah," Eli breathed out. Quietness soon followed, and for a long while, nothing was said as they all listened to the car rumbling along. They drove past a group of girls clad their school uniform walking home. Such a sight reminded Nozomi of an interesting observation she forgot she made.

"You know," she began, "all the newbies go to Otonokizaka."

Eli hummed a bit before replying. "Honoka told me that she was advertising Muse at her school."

"But we also went to Otonokizaka."

"…And?"

"Don't you feel like it's some sort of…coincidence?"

Nico gave a scoff. "You know, Tits, some things are just a coincidence."

"Maybe…." Nozomi said as Nico pulled over in front of a familiar apartment complex. The sound of Eli unbuckling her seatbelt filled the car and Nozomi followed suit after a moment's hesitation.

Before Eli got out, however, she paused and turned her head to look over at the two of them. "But whether or not it's a coincidence, they're going to do big things."

Nozomi's heart melted when she caught Nico's slight smile and the tenderness in Eli's eyes.

"You've gotten really soft," Nico said as she shook her head. Her smile grew wider all the while.

Nozomi let out a huff of amusement. "With a place like Muse, how can we not?"

-X-

"I'm home!" Kotori called out, kicking off her shoes. From the kitchen, she heard a muffled voice coming from the dining room and padded her way over. She saw her mother, cell phone wedged between her cheek and shoulder, sitting at the table with papers strewn everywhere.

"No, no. I told you, this deal needs to—oh, hi. Dinner's in the fridge as usual. What? No, I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Kotori. Okay, look. This deal isn't going to go anywhere, and I need a moment to recollect my thoughts. I'll come back to you later tonight, okay? Okay. Thanks." Kotori's mom ended the phone call and tossed her cell onto the table with a long groan.

Kotori offered a sympathetic smile. "Work?"

"Always," her mother breathed out. She ran a hand through her wing-shaped fringe, shaking her head. "How was your day?"

"Alright," Kotori said as she opened the fridge. Her humble dinner of tonkatsu and rice sat in front of her, sealed in tupperware. She reached out for it as she continued. "Just some kitchen training. Went a little better than I expected."

Her mom tried to let out an interested hum, but it sounded more tired than anything. "That's great," she muttered, trying to stifle a yawn. Suddenly her phone vibrated, startling the both of them. As Kotori placed her dinner in the microwave, she saw her mother consider ignoring the call until deciding to answer it.

"Hello? Ah—yeah, she's here." Kotori's mother held out her phone. "Your dad," she said as the gray-haired girl took it.

"Hello?"

"Kotori! It's been a long time since I've last heard your voice."

Kotori laughed, leaning against the sink. "It's been even longer since you've seen me, though."

A sigh crackled like static in her ear. "You know how it is at work."

"Mm, I know. It's just…been a long time since we've been together," she said. The last time, that Kotori remembered, was during her first-year in highschool, near the holidays. It had been a wonderful time being able to spend time with both her parents…while it lasted. Unfortunately, her father had to go abroad once more in on emergency business, successfully cutting their time short together.

Sometimes, Kotori wondered why both her parents had to be businesspeople.

"How's your internship?"

Kotori chewed the inside of her lip. She forgot to tell him all that had happened.

"Kotori?"

"I…quit my internship."

There was a brief moment of silence. "Really?"

"Yeah," she muttered.

"Why? Was it too much to handle with schoolwork?"

"Well…not necessarily."

"Then why'd you quit?"

"I wanted to help Honoka-chan save a cafe."

Another sigh sounded through the receiver. "Kotori, you know how well it went the last time, with Honoka's shop."

"Yeah, but now there's more of us! And—and I feel we can really do something now! It's not going to end up like Honoka's shop," Kotori declared, more confidence seeping into her words as she spoke. "I think we're going to be fine, Dad."

"…Well, if that's what you think, who am I to stop you?" He chuckled. "Is Umi joining you two?"

Kotori found it in herself to smile. "Yeah, she is."

His laugh was louder this time. "You know, you three always did everything together. You're practically inseparable."

"I can't help it," Kotori said sentimentally. "Those two are very important to me."

-X-

A knock on her door made Honoka look up from her book. She saw her mother standing under the doorway, leaning against it. Honoka caught the faint smell of melted sugar that always clung onto her mom and relaxed somewhat; there was a certain kind of solace only a mother could bring.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Her mother asked with a smile.

Honoka shook her head. "Just reading."

"Oh I see—wait, what?" The woman stopped and blinked, bewilderment written all over her face.

"What, what?"

"You're…reading?"

Honoka blinked. "Yeah. Is that weird?"

"Honoka, you hate studying."

"Oh!" Honoka laughed and showed her mother the cover of her book.

"How to Excel at Cooking…?"

Honoka nodded, making sure to fold a corner of the page she left off on before closing it. "Muse is going to be participating in the Market District Festival this year, and we gotta make a really good impression! So I'm going to read up and study so that I can do my best to improve so we can get as many people as we can."

Honoka's mother looked at her with a gentle smile. Her tender teal eyes glimmered in the light as she reached out to stroke Honoka's hair. The girl felt unexpected tension leave her shoulders, melting under the touch, finding solace a mother could provide.

"Studies are important," her mother quietly reminded, never stopping her ministration.

"I know, but," Honoka looked away to stare out the window, "this is something important to me, too," she muttered, taking note of the sky. It was a clear night, the moon in clear view. Part of it was hidden away in darkness, and Honoka knew that if her father was still alive, he would have taken her and Yukiho out for a walk.

Honoka's mom said nothing, but she stopped stroking her daughter's hair. "Your father would have been so proud of you, for everything that you've done and will do."

Suddenly, Honoka felt very mellow. "Yeah, I guess…."

"…You're still not over the shop, are you?"

Honoka shook her head no. Why wouldn't she be? Her father, a tall rugged man on the outside but a loving sentimental father in the inside, had put everything into opening a sweets shop, and managed to open one when she was six. Everything was going well—in fact, it went more than well. The shop was an absolute success: customers flocked to the shop, profit was exceptional, and there was never a day that went by without some form of excitement. In fact, it was during that time that Honoka met Kotori and, later on, Umi. A young Honoka had the naïvety to believe that such bliss would be eternal.

But everything changed when her father collapsed.

She never knew what caused the heart attack. She recalled the doctors saying something that the cause may have been stress, but she didn't care about the details.

The only thing she cared about was her father was gone.

"I still wish I could have saved it," Honoka admitted quietly. Images of her attempts at reviving the shop after her father's death flashed through her mind, but they all led to the same dismal picture of the shop closing down.

Honoka's mother shook her head and gently forced her daughter to look at her. "You did your best, and that's what counts."

Honoka said nothing for a while, opting to stare into her mom's eyes. In them, she identified tenderness and somberness, but above all that, she saw an unbridled amount of love shining through. "But—"

"No matter what you do," her mother interjected softly, "always do your best. Things may not always go your way, whether you expected it or not, but at least you can raise your head up high and say, 'At least i tried.' And you'll be fine, no matter what the outcome is."

"I know," Honoka mumbled. The familiar burn of tears began to sting the back of Honoka's eyes, and she had to blink quickly to hold them back. She let out a sigh then followed it with a laugh before she leaned in to embrace her mom. The smell of melted sugar encompassed her like a blanket as she felt arms wrap around her. Honoka just had to smile.

She was going to be fine.