Another little special to keep the timeline straight in my mind. Title comes from one of the songs from Be More Chill.

Normally, silence in a coffee shop would be well-received. People would be glad to enjoy a cup of whatever hot drink they desired in peace, to be able to gather their thoughts and maybe listen to the music selection of the workers. Let themselves drift off into memories or thoughts, or converse in a small voice as to not bother the other patrons and have the conversations stay private. Maybe, even, it helped their voices. Since there is little to no noise, people would not have to strain themselves and shout. And so, a silent coffee shop would be ideal for most people.

Not so much in places where they offered private boots, and the people that had gathered there stretched the silence into awkwardness. More or less avoiding looking at each other while they all tried to distract themselves from the weight of not interacting with each other.

"Ah, Ai-chan." The voice that entered the boot made Ai lift her sigh from her phone, ignoring the girl that sat to her left as she had to consciously had to make face-to-voice translation of who had arrived. "I almost didn't recognize you. Taka-chan! You're here."

Well, of course. Ai was using a short hair wig. And a bit of makeup to create a couple of beauty marks. Just so she could use more normal clothes instead of going full incognito like hadn't been doing recently. It's not so much that she minded, but something in her said that she shouldn't lose the habit of wearing pretty clothes. She shouldn't go back to baggy sweaters and jeans, let her clothes wear down as much as she did before.

"Ah, Kyun! Glad you could make it." Ai clapped her hands together, motioning with her hand to the circular couch-like seat she was sharing with the other B-Komachi member that had arrived. Letting the girl feel welcomed. "It's kind of late, I wonder if something happened…"

Aside from Nino spilling the beans, because Ai knew that she would. How much would she have told them? Did they know about the Hikigaya siblings? Would Ai need to beware the moment where they joined Strawberry Productions? Would the girls see what Ai saw then? What he refused to give her? Would they get it somehow? If it's because Ai lacks something, then…

"Err, your messages were a little sudden. I didn't have time to prepare." Kyun laughed it off, facing her fellow idols while she sat on the opposite side of the seat. Having their third member sandwiched between herself and Ai. "Did you wait long?"

"Just a bit." Takamine laughed awkwardly, her face visibly charged with relief when Kyun finally showed up. Making her voice a bit more lighthearted as well.

Ai pretended not to notice the small talk that flowed between the two as Kyun sat down, when Takamine hadn't made any with Ai when she got there. Instead focusing on breathing while pretending to look out in case a waiter walked by.

"So… What's up? I thought the president gave us some free time?" Kyun leaned forward a bit to be able to regard Ai directly, getting the menu on her hands but not looking at it just yet. "You said it has to do with Nino-chan but…"

"That's exactly what this is about." Ai lifted her chin, giving the girls a self-satisfied smirk. Or as close to one as she could manage at the moment. "Ichigo-san has to look out for the whole company, so it's only right that we look out for B-Komachi ourselves. I think we can skew the choice in favor of keeping Nino with us, if we're smart about it."

"Really…" Takamine didn't look very convinced, but Ai didn't let them know she'd noticed.

"Yes, really! We've been through it all together, after all. Nino-chan has dedicated her life to this group, and it's only fair to help her out when the fault of all of this isn't wholly on her." Ai was used to thinking like this, accepting that people did strange things. That they lashed out in Ai's presence. But it seemed to be a bit harder to acknowledge in front of her fellow idols, compared to with Ichigo-san, the director, or even…

Ai blinked it off, bringing her mind back into her surroundings. Keeping herself anchored into the current task.

The other two idols exchanged a look, making Ai look away. Check her phone. Keeping things flowing, letting them have their little connection in plain sight in spite of it not including Ai.

"But… How strange. I wonder if the others were also caught unprepared…" Or were they trying to sniff Ai's business on their own? Take from her however little they could scavenge. Ai didn't have much. If pressed, she'd protect her children. But the one that got away would…

"Well, I mean. It was a bit out of the blue, haha…" Kyun tried to chuckle it off. But Takamine followed suit a bit too late. Basically confirming what Ai already knew: that the others wouldn't show up at all.

"Well, we're three now. So that's basically half of our members, right?" Ai put the phone down, scratching her chin while making a point of looking pensive. Trying not to actually think. "It should be 'good enough' for now."

"What do you mean?" Takamine looked a bit relieved that Ai just kept going, but her nervousness didn't diminish that much.

"We've worked together for this long. Surely, if we put our minds together, we can point out at the things only Nino-chan can do." Ai closed her right eye, bringing a finger up to make a point. She felt a slight tremble on the opposite eye. "Use our knowledge and experience, maybe use some less well-known songs… Oh, we could even use ours!"

"Eh?" Kyun flinched when Ai regarded her directly.

"We made one together, that could work." Ai nodded to herself, letting the ideas flow now that the topic was one that she had years focusing on. "It's not that popular, but it makes sense to use it during auditions… I don't remember how much Nino-chan sings in that one though…"

"I mean. Okay?" Kyun didn't look very pleased with being reminded of that one song. It didn't make sense to Ai either. It had been proof of their partnership, after all. And the fact that it wasn't one of their main hits was useful. What was there to be dissatisfied with? "But… Can't you just…? Y'know. Talk with the man on the chair and do a bit of magic…?"

Ah… So that's how it is.

Ai put her hands on the table, making her smile smaller. She put her fingertips together, making a small physical barrier between herself and the other two.

"Regardless of what Nino-chan might've told you, she still fought someone. There's probably video recording of it too. So…" Ai shrugged, trying to find a way to sidestep the conversation as much as possible. "No matter what, Ichigo-san has to look out for the entire company. That's why I said it's on us to look out for B-Komachi instead. Or, I guess I should've said its members?"

"I heard that she was beaten up." Takamine interjected, making Ai chuckle.

"That's what you'd understand, sure. But the context matters in this one." Ai let out a sigh, looking at her hands and lowering her voice. "If pressed, the girl will just bring the ball back to us. It all comes back to me, to what happened when I didn't die."

The silence that came to the boot gave Ai some respite, as she didn't really feel like answering questions at the moment. She'd rather have the girls understand what the goal should be.

"And that's messy on its own. I… It's complicated as-is." Ai nodded to herself.

"Even without 'that guy' being involved?" Kyun wondered out loud.

A thousand ideas rushed through Ai's mind. The only thing keeping her sitting was that she heeded none of them.

"It's another life that we'd have under our belt." Ai replied with the efficiency of someone expecting the question.

"That's… Right."

"I've been thinking about what you were talking about the other day, about our careers being over sooner rather than later." Ai lifted her chin, staring at the ceiling like someone deep in thought. Although she was trying really hard to keep her mind empty. "And, well, is it too much to ask for things to end when they have to, instead of sooner? I'd rather have all of us make it, cross the finish line. Instead of having to say good bye prematurely."

"We were talking about it." Takamine corrected her, making Ai give her an amused smile.

"Right. We were talking about it." Because Ai had been so active in that conversation, right? Even if she didn't fully remember it, Ai was pretty sure she had mostly listened to the others. It'd always been like that.

"Told you she needed to deal with it." Takamine mumbled to Kyun, who gave her a confused look when the first elbowed her.

"Ummm, well. B-Komachi has given me quite some cash." Kyun coughed on her fist, bringing her attention back to Ai. "Sure, it'd be nice to have a little more of what Ai-chan has but…"

Ai narrowed her eyes a little, not fully grasping how Kyun could want anything from the most miserable girl in the boot.

"Sure. It'd be great if we all make it in the end." She gave Ai an awkward smile, putting her hand out a little in place of fully reaching for Ai across the table. "Sorry, could've worded it better."

"It's fine, it's fine. You don't have to measure your words so much." Ai put up a brave smile again. "I can take this much. It's all for our dream, right?"

Takamine pursed her lips, deep in thought. Ai didn't know why she was hesitating, but at least she hadn't asked for further information about the situation.

That would have to be enough for now. Or at least, that's what Ai tried to tell herself while making circles with her thumbs. Thinking about how to stretch the conversation now that she'd told them her part.

What did people usually talk about in situations like these again? She couldn't tell them she'd spend some time with the Saitou couple, that might bring them back to the things Ai didn't want to talk about.