Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Ayumu! You should get this one, I think it’d look great on you!” Yuu-chan runs towards a frilly pink dress in a window display.

“Huh? It’s pretty, but isn’t that too childish?”

“Not at all. I think it suits your cuteness perfectly.” Yuu-chan grins at Ayumu.

Ayumu continues to play coy, but inside, she’s positively glowing. Her Yuu-chan thinks she’s the cutest. Her Yuu-chan has always thought she’s the cutest.

“Oh! And this reminds me of something you would have worn when we were little!” Yuu-chan crouches down to point at a fluffy cape with bunny ears.

Ah. Ayumu had almost forgotten about the bunny phase. They had gone to a petting zoo together, and Yuu-chan had begged for a pet rabbit for a week after feeling how soft the bunnies’ fur was. Even when they were both that little, Ayumu hated to lose to the stupid rabbits. So she’d gone and become the bunny herself, and earned Yuu-chan’s adoration and even some pets from it.

Ayumu laughs off the compliments, having long since learned the more she denies that she’s cute the more Yuu-chan will tell her she’s cute, and successfully steers them away from that particular store and towards the pastry truck outside. Even if she will never say no to Yuu-chan’s praise, she doesn’t want Yuu-chan to just love her like a cute little kid, or like a fluffy bunny.

All that is okay, but it’s not the only way Ayumu wants Yuu-chan to love her.

In fact, Ayumu has been struggling with how to make Yuu-chan stop thinking of her as a little kid for a while now. She needs a new tactic. Some sort of game plan.

“Hey, what should we do next?” asks Yuu-chan, swinging her legs back and forth under the bench. Ayumu takes a bite of her lemon custard bun. She loves that it’s a given that they’ll spend the rest of the day alone together. She wants this to last forever. Doing something new might help her come up with new ideas for ways to make Yuu-chan love her even more, but by now their routine is so familiar Ayumu’s head is well and truly empty of ideas save for the usual stuff they already do.

“Wanna catch a movie?” Ayumu imagines a romance with a faceless lead couple. What would they be doing? And what would it look like if it were her and Yuu-chan in their places? She feels her heart squeeze. They make a pretty picture.

“There’s nothing interesting on right now.”

Ayumu hums. They’ve seen romance movies together before anyway, but none of those couples have the kind of bond she and Yuu-chan already share, so there’s no useful material there. Their bond is different. No one else in the whole world feels the way Ayumu feels for Yuu-chan. She’s absolutely certain.

Ayumu, too engrossed in staring at Yuu-chan, frankly does not even hear the cheering until Yuu-chan points it out. They go to investigate the source of the noise just in time to catch a song and dance by some girl named Yuki Setsuna, glancing at the little hand-drawn sign declaring “School Idol Club First Live!”

After the first minute or so, Ayumu doesn’t form a particularly strong opinion one way or the other. The girl is objectively talented, but the slightly mud-stained set of stairs, completely devoid of any sort of lighting or decoration is a pretty sad sight. She’s ready to turn around and leave when she catches sight of Yuu-chan’s face.

She’s so enraptured by the performance that she doesn’t even notice Ayumu’s movement. The way her eyes are sparkling, the way that she’s making an open-mouthed grin without even noticing: these are all things that should be directed at Ayumu.

Ayumu frowns back at this Yuki Setsuna kid. She’s not even that good. Ayumu could definitely do that.

And then her frown drops off her face entirely. Ayumu can definitely do that. Ayumu will, in fact, definitely do that. This will definitely win her Yuu-chan’s love.

When the show is over, Yuki Setsuna bows and walks offstage. Was that it? One song by one high school aged girl and they call it a live show?

“Ayumu… that was amazing, wasn’t it?” Yuu-chan finally turns her sparkling green eyes back to where they should be looking. It’s good, but next time they’ll be sparkling not just at Ayumu, but because of Ayumu. She’ll make sure of it.

Ayumu’s not so sure about the performance being amazing, but that thought certainly is, so she easily agrees, feeling Yuu-chan’s warm hands curl tighter around hers.

“She was so cool! So cute! I’ve never seen anyone like her! OH! I have to know who she is.” Yuu-chan casts around, spotting the same little sign from earlier, and drops Ayumu’s hands to run towards it.

Her hands miss the warmth. It’s frustrating, hearing all this praise for another girl, but for the time being, Yuki Setsuna is like a celebrity crush to Yuu-chan. Not a real threat.

“She’s so cool, huh?” Ayumu ponders to herself. Yuu-chan never calls her cool, only ever cute. But in order to earn that same look that Yuu-chan had on during the performance, Ayumu supposes she’ll have to have an image change and start looking cooler. It’ll have to be gradual, too, because if it’s too sudden, Yuu-chan will notice. Then she’ll tell Ayumu “it’s okay to just be yourself”, and Ayumu will have to throw away all that work and find a new way to make Yuu-chan admire her more than she admires Yuki Setsuna. Ayumu digs her nails into her palms at the very thought. It’s better to play the long game for sure. After all, it’s not anything Ayumu hasn’t done before.

“It’s decided, then,” she mutters to herself, then chases after Yuu-chan. She’ll become a school idol, gradually become even cooler than Yuki Setsuna, and Yuu-chan will love Ayumu even more. Yuu-chan will call Ayumu cool. Yuu-chan will call Ayumu her favorite school idol.

“Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Club…?” reads Ayumu, once she catches up.

“That’s our school!” they exclaim in unison. Ayumu lives for moments like these, when she and Yuu-chan are in perfect sync.

That night, after they walk home together and finally part ways, Ayumu researches school idols for hours. How to become one, how to be a good one, how to curate a desired image. Most of these resources are pointed towards groups, which is slightly confusing. It seems that there are few solo idols in the world of school idols, which made sense based on the five girls on the banner at the concert earlier and the name “School Idol Club”, and also made no sense at all based on the one lonely girl standing on that sad little stage.

It’s convenient that their school already has a club - it’s an easier starting point than if the two of them had to start a School Idol Club all on their own. On the other hand, the proximity to Yuki Setsuna will take her out of the celebrity-crush zone and into the real-threat zone.

She finds an annual competition called the Love Live, and begins browsing through the winners, listening to their songs. They must be the best of the best to win the national competition.

Ayumu smiles. This song strikes a chord with her.

After class the next day, Yuu-chan asks if they can stop by somewhere before heading home. Ayumu already knows where she wants to go, of course, but Yuu-chan’s shy smile and nervous toe tapping are just too adorable, and of course Ayumu loves to be asked to spend more time with her Yuu-chan. So she plays along, pretending not to know where they’re going, and lets Yuu-chan grab her hand and drag her off in search of the School Idol Club room.

Of course, they get lost, since Nijigasaki Gakuen is huge, and also thanks to neither of them having ever joined any clubs before. Ayumu had managed to slowly convince Yuu-chan throughout middle school that it wasn’t worth joining any clubs because they didn’t have time due to prep school, neither of them were passionate about anything, if they had different interests they’d be separated, and it was far better to try new things together on their own time that be tied down to a single club. It had been easy enough to convince Yuu-chan not to join any, but Ayumu had spent years ensuring that Yuu-chan would never even dream of following any sort of passion Ayumu wasn’t on board with without seeming too manipulative. Yuu-chan hates to feel manipulated, and Ayumu loves Yuu-chan, so whenever she manipulates her, she makes sure Yuu-chan doesn't notice.

But those years of careful training were paying off. Ayumu knows that even this little trip to the School Idol club is just an unspoken trial run; Yuu-chan is taking Ayumu with her to confirm that this is something they can do together. If she were to definitively say no, Yuu-chan would eventually drop it. This happens every time Yuu-chan catches a passing fancy. They check it out, Ayumu pretends to resist, and in the end she pretends to either be convinced or put her foot down. She’s always made up her mind from the very beginning, of course, but Yuu-chan likes to feel like she has a choice, so Ayumu gives Yuu-chan what she wants.

“I’m not so sure about this school idol thing, Yuu-chan,” lies Ayumu.

“The thing is, I didn’t know a single thing about school idols until yesterday! But once I got home, I couldn’t stop watching videos. They’re all so cool and cute, but the one I’m most interested in now is the Setsuna-chan we saw yesterday! Apparently she’s the elusive school idol of Nijigasaki Gakuen. No one has even seen her in class, but she’s part of the club, so she must go here. I really want to see another one of her shows!”

“-chan?” says Ayumu, too quietly for Yuu-chan to hear over her gushing. This is progressing a little too fast, isn’t it? They only saw her for the first time yesterday and now they’re on a first name basis.

“What about prep school?” asks Ayumu. This question is routine. Ayumu doesn’t give a flying fuck about prep school, naturally, but at this point Yuu-chan would be more confused if she didn’t mention it.

“That’s the other thing! I listened to Setsuna-chan’s songs yesterday while studying, and I just felt so motivated! I totally aced our quiz today, too. I’ve never felt anything like this!” Yuu-chan beams.

This irks Ayumu. She should be Yuu-chan’s motivation. The longer she takes to catch up to this “Setsuna-chan”, the farther she’ll have to get there. Still, Yuu-chan’s smile in Ayumu’s direction is like medicine for the soul, so she pretends to be convinced.

After running around for what seems like ages, they have absolutely no success. No one’s even ever heard of the School Idol Club.

Yuu-chan has resorted to just yelling at anyone who passes by. “Hey! Do you know where the School Idol Club is?”

The victim in question is a first year with choppy pink hair and a sweater that Ayumu is almost certain is not permitted in the dress code. The girl stops to look at Yuu-chan and says absolutely nothing in response.

“Maybe she’s in a hurry?” Yuu-chan says weakly. She’s still standing there, staring at them. Ayumu doesn’t mind. If this girl is a little weird, that’s one less girl that Ayumu has to compete with for Yuu-chan’s attention.

“Rinari!” The three of them look up to see a blonde girl running down the stairs. Ayumu recognizes her as Miyashita Ai, a girl in the same year as her and Yuu-chan. She’s not in the same program, but she’s well known for helping every single sports team from time to time, and overall being incredibly friendly. Ayumu knows to watch out for her; if Ai tries to make friends with Yuu-chan, it’ll be hard to get rid of her, and she’ll take away Yuu-chan’s precious time that should be spent on Ayumu.

It’s pretty easy, though, since Ai is so noisy and brightly colored that Ayumu can usually spot her from a mile away, and her network of acquaintances is spread so thin anyway that it’s easy enough to slip through the cracks.

Ai points the way to the School Idol Club room, but before they can escape, the first year (whose name Ayumu has figured out is Rina) grabs Yuu-chan’s shirt. Ayumu masks a frown with a look of innocent confusion.

“I wasn’t in a hurry. You just surprised me.”

Yuu-chan pauses for a moment, then responds, “I see. I’m glad you weren’t in a hurry. Sorry for surprising you!”

Ayumu covers a sigh with a smile. Her Yuu-chan is always so sweet, even to this strange little first-year. But Yuu-chan is nowhere as good at hiding her real feelings as Ayumu is, and she can tell Yuu-chan is a little bit put off.

That being said, the oddness of the interaction makes Yuu-chan itch to get out of there, and without any further delay they manage to find their way to the School Idol Club room.

There, Yuki Setsuna stops them and informs them that she’s quit being a school idol. The whole time Ayumu is just confused beyond belief at how Yuu-chan cannot tell that this Nakagawa Nana person is clearly the civilian identity of Setsuna-chan. Then again, apparently no one but Ayumu can tell. Ayumu is good at cataloguing faces and making sure Yuu-chan isn’t talking to too many girls, or talking to the same one too many times. Maybe that’s why she can see right through the miserable glasses disguise.

It’s better that Yuu-chan doesn’t know, though, because knowing her, she’ll try and convince Setsuna to come back as an idol. Ayumu would rather do without that competition. Now that Yuki Setsuna isn’t even an idol anymore, it’ll be nothing to completely replace that space in Yuu-chan’s heart with the School Idol Uehara Ayumu. So she pretends not to notice, and they go on with their day.

Yuu-chan is clearly disappointed. “I’ve never really had a dream I wanted to chase before. I thought I could start by supporting someone else chasing theirs.”

She tries to play it off like a joke, but Ayumu takes that into account as they go shopping. By the time they’re on the way home, Ayumu has figured out her plan.

She’ll say that she secretly wanted to be an idol since yesterday and that she had watched a bunch of videos too. She’ll ask Yuu-chan to start a new idol club with her. It’ll be perfect; Setsuna is out of the picture, and Yuu-chan will be able to support Ayumu as she “chases her dream” of being a school idol.

And as they pass a pretty staircase, reminiscent of Yuki Setsuna’s stage, Ayumu puts her plan into action.

After her performance, Yuu-chan takes her hands.

“Then let’s do this together. I promise I’ll do everything I can to support your dream.”

For the most part, everything goes to plan. Ayumu is used to that; she congratulates herself on good planning and even better execution. The only hiccup is that Yuu-chan managed to pull Setsuna back into the club, which is pretty inconvenient but not entirely unexpected. Ayumu had been hoping that she would just stay away, but having re-recruited all the other previous members of the club, she had already accepted Setsuna’s return as unavoidable.

It was slightly annoying how desperately Yuu-chan chased after Setsuna. Ayumu taps her fingers on the table in the clubroom, watching Yuu-chan and Setsuna talk. There was no reason for them to become so close so quickly. However, after spending some time together during club activities, Ayumu had gathered that despite her student council president status, Setsuna was ditzy, incredibly repressed, and kind of stupid. Despite her passion for performing, Ayumu figured that it would be easy enough to surpass her as the best school idol in Yuu-chan’s mind. Given Ayumu’s head start with childhood friend status, she could either simply improve her singing and dancing, or if all else failed, Setsuna’s airheadedness rendered her defenseless against any of the more underhanded tactics in Ayumu’s repertoire.

Ayume looked around at the other girls standing around in the clubroom. Yuu-chan had gone on and on about how each of them had their own unique strengths, but Ayumu could tell that while she was being sincere, Setsuna still represented the ideal school idol in Yuu-chan’s mind. None of these girls were threatening to replace Ayumu in any way, because she would always be Yuu-chan’s adorable childhood friend.

Nakasu Kasumi: her charm point is her bullheaded insistence on being called cute. Ayumu already has the decisive edge here, because Yuu-chan’s cutest friend is and always will be Ayumu.

Tennoji Rina: her charm point is her Rina-chan Board as a substitute for showing emotion on her face. The board is gimmicky at best; the real appeal is being able to watch Rina come out of her shell. Since Yuu-chan seems to play little role in Rina’s development, Ayumu isn’t worried about her.

That role of helping Rina falls instead to Miyashita Ai: her charm point being her fun-loving, friendly, sporty persona. Ayumu has since determined that her friendliness only goes so far. She’s spread too thin to pursue closer friendships with just anyone, so as long as Ayumu continues to take up most of Yuu-chan’s free time, Ai is not a threat.

Osaka Shizuku: her charm point is that she’s in the drama club and can easily mimic any other school idol. Perhaps she would be an issue if she chose to go the route of trying to be an idol like Setuna, but the music and choreography she prefers seems to be more calm and sweet. Ayumu doesn’t care about Shizuku as long as she doesn’t change her mind and shift towards the fiery passionate performance of Yuki Setsuna.

Verde Emma: her charm point is that she’s a foreigner, and also the big sister vibe she gives off. Yuu-chan doesn’t need an older sister figure. She’s too busy filling that role for Ayumu, who is always very cautious to act like she needs protecting so that Yuu-chan will side with her above anyone else.

Konoe Kanata: her charm point seems to be that she is sleeping all the time, which is especially beneficial for Ayumu. More time napping is less time talking to Yuu-chan. Also, just like Emma, Kanata is an older sister figure. She also spends most of her time doting on her younger sister, with little time to care about anyone else.

That only leaves Asaka Karin: her charm point is her “mature” appeal. Ayumu isn’t worried about this either, because she can tell Yuu-chan admires Karin’s cool, mature vibe, but she’s not attracted to it. Ayumu had watched Yuu-chan’s reactions to Karin changing very carefully to determine this. Then again, Ayumu has never seen Yuu-chan be attracted to much of anyone. It will probably only happen when they’re older. When the time comes, Ayumu will permit Yuu-chan to like someone else exactly as long as it takes for her to figure out what makes that person so attractive and copy it. Then she’ll get rid of them.

It’s similar to what she’s planning now, with Setsuna. Ayumu’s first song she came up with - that she wrote with Yuu-chan, together - was very much the cute and frilly ordeal that she knew Yuu-chan would be expecting from her already. She made sure the lyrics gave off an unsure, shy feeling, so that with subsequent songs she could “grow” and become more confident and cool. Already, Ayumu is working incredibly hard during practice, not only to improve her skills but also to let Yuu-chan have that feeling of supporting someone else chasing their dreams that she had described before.

The new song she’s beginning to write features lyrics about how much stronger and braver she’s growing. With satisfaction, Ayumu notes that this ability to seem like she’s growing as a school idol is another edge she has over Setsuna, who’s already at the top and has nowhere to go from there.

The first hint indicating that perhaps not everything is going to plan happens that very day at practice. Ayumu is practicing her dance in the back of the room, where she can keep an eye on where Yuu-chan is at any given time. As she’s staring into the mirror, considering if Yuu-chan will praise her for adding a nod to ‘Ayu-pyon’ into the choreography, she watches Rina tap Yuu-chan on the shoulder and take her into the hallway. Ayumu excuses herself for a water break.

Outside, she can hear Rina and Yuu-chan talking around the corner in an adjacent hallway, and she creeps up to listen.

“I think… for my next live show… I want to try without my Rina-chan Board.”

“Oh, that’s great! I love seeing you put yourself out there, Rina-chan!”

Ayumu grits her teeth.

“Can I… show you?”

“A private performance just for me? I would love that, Rina-chan.”

Can she not sound so appreciative? It makes her seem like she really loves Rina. There’s no way Yuu-chan cares about her. Ayumu is far cuter and closer to Yuu-chan. Besides, shouldn’t this private performance go to Ai? Ayumu wants to walk into the studio, grab Ai by the shoulders, and tell her she’s slacking.

Thankfully, the water fountain is in the very hallway Rina and Yuu-chan are in, so Ayumu rounds the corner, water bottle in hand.

“I’m so sorry Rina-chan, but I overheard you guys talking. Do you think I could watch too?”

Rina visibly shrinks in on herself. Ayumu would scoff. They’ve all known each other for the same amount of time. As if Rina’s already that much closer with Yuu-chan than she is with Ayumu.

“I’m sure Ayumu would be very happy to see your performance too,” adds Yuu-chan, and Ayumu glows. She loves it when her Yuu-chan is on her side.

Rina cautiously nods, and takes a deep breath to begin. First, she takes a long look at Yuu-chan, who smiles at her encouragingly. Then, she slides her gaze over to Ayumu.

Ayumu puts yet another one of her talents into play. She’s mastered the art of making very specific expressions in order to get the emotional response she wants out of Yuu-chan. So she stares at Rina with wide eyes, in a way that is meant to completely unnerve Rina but still appear innocent to Yuu-chan.

It works. Rina’s deep breath in falters. “Maybe… maybe I’ll take the board off next time,” she says, barely loudly enough to hear, and she returns to the studio. Ayumu continues on the water fountain, exchanging a concerned glance with Yuu-chan. Surely Rina’s thought process was that if she couldn’t perform for just two people, there was no way she could perform for a whole audience.

Mission accomplished. But Ayumu would have to be more wary of Rina in the future.

Not even a day later, Kasumi flings the doors of the club room open with a wail.

“Ayumu-senpai! Ai-senpai! Why didn’t you say you already had fanclubs?” She demands.

Ai explains something about her fanclub just being a group of friends, and when Kasumi turns to Ayumu for an explanation, she makes something up about not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

In reality, Ayumu had been completely unaware of any sort of fanclub. She doesn’t care about having anyone’s attention but Yuu-chan’s and really hadn’t been paying attention to anything but her own efforts to dethrone Setsuna, which were seemingly progressing smoothly. She was still improving, and Ayumu was still spending the most time with Yuu-chan.

When Yuu-chan herself walks in, Kasumi throws herself into her arms.

“Huh? What’s wrong, Kasumi-chan?”

“No one wants to be Kasumin’s fan… I even made a website and everything! But the Kasumin fanclub has nowhere near as many members as the Ai Pals or the Ayumu fanclub. Doesn’t anyone know that Kasumin is the cutest school idol?”

“I think you’re the cutest, Kasumi-chan,” says Yuu-chan, stroking her hair. Ayumu waits for the apologetic glance, indicating that Yuu-chan was just consoling Kasumi and that Ayumu was, of course, the cutest school idol. This isn’t the first time this has happened, after all.

The glance doesn’t come.

The whole exchange leaves Ayumu reeling in shock, even as Yuu-chan ushers her out of the clubroom to go practice. “We’ll catch up with you guys later, I’m going to help Kasumi make some changes to her website.”

If Kasumi is the cutest idol, then what the hell is Ayumu? There’s no way she’s already become the coolest idol. Yuu-chan still treats Setsuna like a celebrity, always going on about how “passionate” she is. Ayumu hates feeling like a nobody.

Almost a whole hour later, Yuu-chan and Kasumi finally walk into the dance studio, laughing together like they’re the best friends instead of Yuu-chan and Ayumu. As soon as practice is over, Ayumu packs up her stuff and ushers Yuu-chan out of school as quickly as possible.

“Yuu-chan, I’m exhausted from all that practice today.” Ayumu leans her head into Yuu-chan’s arm as they walk.

“I’m proud of you, Ayumu. You’ve been working really hard.” Yuu-chan cards her fingers through Ayumu’s hair, and Ayumu shudders in pleasure.

“Have I? I’m worried that I’m not getting any better…”

“Of course you are! I saw you at the end of practice. Your dancing has gotten really cute.”

“Am I the cutest?” Ayumu curses internally as soon as she says it. For the perfect Ayumu she’s curated in Yuu-chan’s head, it’s out of character to directly ask for validation.

Yuu-chan picks up on it immediately. That’s her smart Yuu-chan. “Is something wrong? It’s not like you to ask something like that.”

Ayumu wants to scream at her to just answer the question, but she’s already made one misstep. Better to play it safe and make a good recovery. “Oh… well, it’s just that when Kasumi brought up my fanclub earlier, it reminded me about something.”

“About what?” asks Yuu-chan, leaning into Ayumu’s side even more. This is how things should be, Yuu-chan supporting Ayumu. Ayumu should be her number one above anyone else.

“I just feel like I don’t deserve a fan club. I mean, I just started being a school idol. They keep saying I’m cute, but I don’t know about that…”

Yuu-chan stops dead in her tracks, takes Ayumu’s hand in hers. “Ayumu, you are the cutest school idol. It doesn’t matter that you just started. Like I said, you’ve been working harder than anyone. In fact, you’ve been pretty cool lately. I love seeing your passion in action.”

Ayumu mentally celebrates as she stammers out a fake-embarrassed thank you. Yuu-chan definitely wasn’t lying when she said Ayumu is the cutest. Ayumu knows all of Yuu-chan’s tells when she lies. More importantly, this is the first time Yuu-chan is calling her a cool school idol. “Cool” had previously been reserved for Setsuna.

The rest of the way home, there’s a bounce to Ayumu’s step. There was no reason to worry about Kasumi after all. Ayumu is the cutest, and she’s well on her way to becoming the coolest, too.

Over time, Yuu-chan continues to get disturbingly closer to the other members of the School Idol Club, but Ayumu always keeps that one incident in her mind. It’s natural for Yuu-chan to have a little bit of a relationship with the other club members, and if Ayumu tries to stop her from having any other friends, Yuu-chan will get mad and say Ayumu is acting too controlling. It’s happened before. Ayumu hates when Yuu-chan gets mad at her. As long as she and Yuu-chan spend the most time together outside of the club, Ayumu stays winning.

Also, after that first time, Yuu-chan has gradually started to call Ayumu cool more and more often. Ayumu pays careful attention to the words she uses, and where Yuu-chan used to talk about how “passionate” and “motivating” Setsuna’s songs are, Yuu-chan is starting to talk about how Ayumu’s passion is motivating her to work even harder in supporting her.

One particularly alarming Friday where Ai asks to walk home with them, and Ayumu is forced to make up an excuse fast. It’s not her best work, and Yuu-chan gets suspicious, so the next day Ayumu asks her to go out in order to distract her. They also just haven’t spent very much time together outside of eating lunch and walking to and from school, and Ayumu misses the attention.

They find themselves window shopping on a nice street lined with shops, wandering in and out at will.

Suddenly, a girl pops out of a store. Her nose is buried in a book, and she almost walks right into Yuu-chan before Ayumu steps in the way. No other girl can touch Ayumu’s Yuu-chan if she can do anything about it.

The girl yelps and stumbles backward.

“Oh, Setsuna-chan!” says Yuu-chan.

Ayumu catches Setsuna, steadying her. “Be careful.”

“Sorry Ayumu-chan! Thanks for catching me. Hi, Yuu-chan!”

“What are you reading?” Yuu-chan peers at the book Setsuna had been reading.

“Oh, this is the most recent volume of my favorite action manga. I’ve been collecting all of them,” Setsuna explains.

Of course, that’s not all Setsuna says, because once she starts talking about manga, she never stops. But Ayumu immediately stops listening at that point. She watches Yuu-chan, instead. Yuu-chan is so kind that she always listens to Setsuna’s rambling, but her confused expression is enough to reassure Ayumu that she’s only listening out of pity. It doesn’t seem like Setsuna has many friends to talk to about her otaku stuff.

Several minutes of rambling later, Setsuna finally stops herself with an embarrassed apology. “But what are you guys doing here?”

“We’re just shopping around. Want to join us?” Yuu-chan offers before Ayumu can even say anything.

Externally, Ayumu welcomes Setsuna, but she internally glares. This was supposed to be a date with Yuu-chan, and now Ayumu’s number one annoyance is tagging along. At least Yuu-chan seems to have forgotten all about the incident with Ai yesterday.

They wander around for a while, idly talking about the weather and the interesting things they see in shop windows, when Yuu-chan stops short.

“Hey, isn’t that Karin?” Ayumu follows Yuu-chan’s pointed finger to a girl who is most definitely Asaka Karin, frowning at her cellphone.

“She looks lost,” remarks Ayumu, and Yuu-chan laughs. Ayumu loves Yuu-chan’s laugh.

Setsuna frowns. “I feel like Karin-san always has her life together. Do you really think she’s lost?” Killjoy.

“No way to find out but to check! KARIN!!!” Yuu-chan runs over to Karin, who looks up in surprise.

“Oh! Hi everyone,” greets Karin. She holds her phone out. “Do you happen to know where this is? I think I’m about to be late.”

The three of them lean over to look at the address on her phone, then glance at each other.

“You’re already there,” Ayumu helpfully points out. The dance studio Karin is searching for is directly across the street from where they already are.

Karin squeaks in surprise. “Thanks… this is so embarrassing,” she sighs.

“Could it be… you’re bad with directions?” Yuu-chan prods.

“So what if I am?” Karin demands.

“It’s no problem, Karin. It’s unexpected, but cute!” Yuu-chan beams at her. Ayumu would roll her eyes. What’s cute about that?

After they wave goodbye to Karin and wish her luck with her dance lessons, Setsuna complains that she’s hungry, so Ayumu’s alone time with Yuu-chan is further interrupted by a group lunch.

“I’m surprised that Karin was going to a dance studio. I expected her to be headed to a modelling gig, or something.” Yuu says through a mouthful of pastry.

“Right? Speaking of which, have you seen her latest magazine spread? Her legs look so long,” replies Setsuna.

“Huh? I’ve never actually seen her modelling pictures.”

“Seriously? I have to show you!” Setsuna pulls up the spread in question on her phone. “Here, look!”

The three of them stare at the picture on Setsuna’s phone. She’s right, Karin does appear to have miles of leg.

“Wow, I can’t believe I never thought to look up Karin’s pictures.” Yuu-chan takes out her own phone and starts looking up Karin’s photos.

Ayumu, personally, doesn’t care to look at anyone’s legs but Yuu-chan’s, and feigns interest in the rest of the conversation.

Finally, after they’re all done eating, Setsuna admits that she has to rush home because she lied about where she was going, and also needs to swing by school to stash the new manga she bought. After a full day of having their time together interrupted, Ayumu and Yuu-chan are alone again.

“So where do you want to head next?” asks Ayumu.

“Let me look up what interesting places there are around here.” Yuu-chan takes out her phone, where the pictures of Karin are still pulled up.

“Wow,” Yuu-chan mutters under her breath. Ayumu stares deeply at Yuu-chan. Her eyes are lingering a little too long on those pictures of Karin’s body, aren’t they? And she was saying Karin was cute, earlier. Ayumu balls her hands into fists, fingernails digging into her palms. They’re finally alone, and someone from the School Idol Club is still taking Ayumu’s Yuu-chan’s attention away from her. Yuu-chan isn’t allowed to think Karin is sexy. She’s not allowed.

“Oh, right, I was looking up things to do near here.” Yuu-chan looks up and catches Ayumu’s tight expression. She tries to relax her face, but it’s too late.

“Ayumu? What’s wrong?” Rookie mistake. Ayumu wants to scream. Usually she’s perfect at hiding her annoyance, but Setsuna’s annoying presence must have completely used up that ability for the day.

There’s no other option but to come up with a lie. “Sorry, I know I just asked where we were going next, but I’m actually feeling really tired. Could we go home now?”

“Oh, of course! I’m sorry Ayumu, I should have noticed.”

“No, no, it’s okay, Yuu-chan.” Shit! First Setsuna, then Karin, and now Ayumu is actively shooting herself in the foot.

“We can hang out again tomorrow, if you’re feeling up to it?”

Then again, there’s always tomorrow.

“Yuu-chan? Where are you?” Ayumu wanders the dark corridors of Nijigasaki Gakuen at night. It’s the first day of their training camp, and if she’s lucky, she’ll find Yuu-chan first and they can hide away for a bit, just the two of them. The sleep-over camp takes away from her usual Yuu-chan time walking to and from school, but it’s also a good opportunity to pit herself against Setsuna and prove that Ayumu is the better idol.

In just one day, Ayumu has cooked Yuu-chan her favorite meal, and Setsuna has cooked nothing but a bubbling cauldron of poison. Some of the other girls in the club are better cooks than Ayumu, but none of them know Yuu-chan’s favorite dishes, or the little preferences she has for the way her vegetables are seasoned. Ayumu may not have much in the way of cooking skills, but she has the ratios of sauces that Yuu-chan likes to a science.

Ayumu smiles to herself. It’s rare that she lets herself show this much true emotion, but she gives it to herself since the school is so dark and empty right now.

The smile melts off her face as soon as she walks into the next room. On the floor above her, Setsuna is snuggled right into Yuu-chan’s chest.

This has gone too far. Setsuna is NOT allowed to touch Ayumu’s Yuu-chan. Up to now, playing the long game to become Yuu-chan’s favorite idol has been working because Ayumu is secure in her position as Yuu-chan’s favorite everything else. But if Setsuna is going to encroach upon her territory even more, Ayumu will have to start making more decisive strokes.

Setsuna will quit the club, and soon.

Perhaps her parents will find out about all of her little secrets and forbid her from continuing? Or maybe there will be a horrible accident and she’ll never dance again.

First, though, Ayumu has to remind Yuu-chan what she’s here for. They started this journey together back when Setsuna had quit, after all. Yuu-chan was here to support Ayumu in becoming a school idol. In the grand scheme of things, Setsuna is a no one.

The next day, after practice, the whole club heads to the pool to relax. While everyone is distracted playing in the water, Ayumu manages to get Yuu-chan alone and away from the action.

“Can you believe that if things had just been a little different we might have been at prep school right now?” Ayumu asks.

“Yeah. Instead I get to see you in this cute swimsuit.” Yuu-chan grins at Ayumu, pokes her stomach where the bare skin is showing.

Ayumu grabs Yuu-chan’s prodding hand and smiles her most disarming smile. “But we’re still together.”

“Hey, Yuu-chan. Do you remember the day we both decided to join the School Idol Club?”

“Of course.”

“I was so happy when you said you’d see my dream of becoming a school idol through with me.”

“Dream to become a school idol… I see. You found your courage.”

Huh? This is not where this conversation is supposed to lead. Yuu-chan is supposed to reaffirm her devotion to Ayumu and Ayumu alone through a promise to support her dream.

“I chased your dream with you. That’s how I got where I am now.”

Is she getting back on track? Ayumu can’t tell, so she just agrees.

“And everyone else, too!”

Definitely not.

“Our circle just keeps growing, huh? And we have the power to reach our dreams together.” Yuu-chan sighs, then turns to smile at Ayumu. “Thanks. I’ll do my best to be courageous in following my own dreams, too.”

“Follow your own dreams?” Yuu-chan doesn’t respond, distracted by a sudden burst of light outside. There seems to be a firework show starting.

This isn’t supposed to happen. Yuu-chan shouldn’t have any dreams but to be with Ayumu forever. After all, Ayumu’s only dream is to be with Yuu-chan forever. The school idol thing is half a farce to get rid of Setsuna, and if Yuu-chan loves school idols, then Ayumu will become one to earn even more of her love.

It must be everyone else in the club! If Setsuna is sneaking Yuu-chan away to try and steal her, there’s no telling what all seven other girls have been doing while Ayumu isn’t watching. She had been complacent.

Even as Ayumu berates herself for not being vigilant enough, the other girls crowd around Ayumu and Yuu-chan’s private spot to watch the display. It’s all their fault! Ayumu had assumed they weren’t threats and let her guard down, and they had sneaked around behind her back and tried to steal Yuu-chan. Then they’d fed her dangerous thoughts about chasing her own dreams!

Ayumu can’t have this. She’ll just have to get rid of everyone, one by one, until it’s just herself and Yuu-chan left in the club. It won’t be easy. Ayumu can already tell Yuu-chan won’t want any of them to leave. Ayumu had definitely fucked up. She’d let everyone get far too close.

Ayumu watches Setsuna walk over and stand so close to Yuu-chan that their arms touch. Before anyone else, she’ll have to deal with that.

“For our next concert, I don’t want it to be just Nijigasaki. I want it to be even bigger!”

Thankfully, Yuu-chan jumps up, away from Setsuna’s touch.

“I want to hold a concert that will surpass the thrill I felt from any of our previous concerts! The thrill born from the dreams of the audience and the performers connecting. Nijigasaki, Shinonome, Touou, it doesn’t matter which school. A concert where all fans of school idols can find a new kind of love!”

Ayumu has heard enough. All of Yuu-chan’s love, no matter what type, should be for Ayumu alone. She’s already lost enough of it to Setsuna. Now Yuu-chan wants to split her attention even more, and for who? Kanata’s baby sister? Random girls from random schools?

Even as the other girls in the club back Yuu-chan’s idea, one by one, Ayumu starts to plan how to take it all down.

Chapter Text

Ayumu walks alone to school. Yuu-chan has been running herself ragged, planning for this School Idol Festival, and inevitably she’s fallen sick from exhaustion. Poor Yuu-chan. It will all be over soon. Once there’s no one left in the School Idol Club but Ayumu and Yuu-chan and everything is back to normal, Yuu-chan won’t have to spread herself so thin. She can just focus on Ayumu.

Today, though, Ayumu has important plans. She’s decided to operate on the assumption that Setsuna’s - or rather, Nakagawa Nana’s - parents will forbid her from being a school idol once they find out. Now she just has to make sure they find out on Ayumu’s terms, not Setsuna’s. If Setsuna is able to create favorable enough conditions, there’s always a chance they’ll let her keep being a school idol.

Ayumu can’t have that, so while Yuu-chan isn’t here, she’s going to gather information.

After practice, Ayumu makes sure she and Setsuna are the last ones there.

“Setsuna-chan!”

“Oh, Ayumu-chan. Heading home soon?”

“Yeah, soon. Listen, Setsuna-chan, Yuu-chan and I were discussing special seating for family members.” Setsuna visibly stiffens. “I know your parents don’t know about your school idol activities, but I just think it’s so sad that they can’t see how passionate you are about this! You’re really an amazing school idol, Setsuna-chan.” The lies come up sour in Ayumu’s throat, but she’s long since acquired a taste for it.

Setsuna looks at her in surprise. “Thanks, Ayumu-chan. That was… I really appreciate that, especially from you.”

Ayumu makes sure to keep compliments in short supply so that they have more impact when she does choose to give one. The exception is Yuu-chan, of course. Ayumu would compliment Yuu-chan all day.

“Can I tell you something?” asks Setsuna.

“Of course.”

“The truth is… I’ve been kind of wanting to tell my parents about it. I put a lot of effort towards this and I can’t help but feel like if they could just see me perform, maybe they’d understand why I love being a school idol so much.”

Ayumu had guessed as much. It’s even more important that she expose Nana before Nana can reveal her own secrets herself. “So why don’t you?”

“I just don’t know where I’d start. I don’t know what to say to them.”

Ayumu pretends to be deep in thought. “I have an idea.” She reaches into her bag and pulls out two sheets of paper and two pens.

“What’s that for?”

“The thing is, my parents also don’t really understand my passion for being a school idol. They would prefer I go to prep school. Whenever I have to say something important to someone, I like to write down my thoughts first so that I know exactly what I want to say. Do you want to write letters to our parents today?”

Setsuna looks touched. “Thanks, Ayumu-chan.” She takes the pen and paper, and they sit on opposite sides of the table.

For the next half hour, Ayumu lists all the things she loves about Yuu-chan while she waits for Setsuna to finish. Across the table, Setsuna scribbles down paragraphs upon paragraphs of text. She asks Ayumu for two more sheets of paper before she’s finally done. Perfect. There must be plenty of usable information in there.

Ayumu folds her own sheet in half and hands it to Setsuna.

“You’re giving this to me?”

Ayumu shakes her head. “This is just to get my thoughts organized. If my parents saw this, they still wouldn’t understand me. I want you to throw this away at your house, or somewhere no one who knows me will read it. I’ll throw yours away for you too.”

“Oh! That’s so smart, Ayumu-chan.” It’s really not, but Ayumu has long since figured out that Setsuna is incredibly gullible.

She only hesitates a moment before handing over her papers. “You won’t read these, right?”

Ayumu gives her a reassuring nod. “Of course not! As long as you don’t read mine.”

Setsuna is satisfied easily and hands Ayumu her stack of letters. She’s just too trusting. “Thank you so much, Ayumu. This has really helped me out.”

“Of course! And thank you too.”

As soon as they part ways, Ayumu unfolds what Setsuna has written and reads all of it. She’s certain that Setsuna won’t read hers, and even if she does, she’ll definitely ask Ayumu about it. From there it will be easy enough to tell a lie to throw Setsuna off her trail.

The material is even better than Ayumu could have asked for if she’d directly asked Setsuna to blackmail herself. Setsuna has listed exactly why her parents don’t support school idols, and even conveniently has a list of other things she’s hiding.

- Make sure to emphasize that I can balance the workload with the student council
- Make sure they know how happy I am here

Ok, so Ayumu will make sure to completely gloss over Nana’s feelings, and make it seem like she can’t keep up with the workload. In fact, she knows a first year who’s been eyeing Nana’s spot as student council president. That might be a good method.

When she gets home, she sees Yuu-chan outside on the balcony. Ayumu stashes the papers in her bag.

“Yuu-chan! Should you be outside? You should be keeping warm!”

Yuu-chan just smiles and waves. “You’re late! I was waiting for you.”

Ayumu grins. Her Yuu-chan was waiting for her. “Head inside! I’m coming over now.”

Yuu-chan waves again and disappears inside.

Ayumu only stops at her own house long enough to drop off her bag in her room, and then she spends the rest of the night with Yuu-chan. For the first time in a while, they can just enjoy each other’s company without worrying about the rest of the Idol Club.

Soon, it will always be like this. Ayumu promises.

Recently, Ayumu has taken to napping in the clubroom as Setsuna and Yuu-chan plan the School Idol Festival. Since Setsuna is student council president, there’s an unspoken agreement that she has to be one of the people to plan the event. It’s all bullshit. Yuu-chan doesn’t need anyone’s help but Ayumu’s.

The only thing stopping her from tracking them down and forcibly taking Yuu-chan back is the fact that her plan has fully taken shape.

Having won Setsuna’s trust, Ayumu had convinced her that when she finally showed her parents one of her live shows, it would have to be a solo live. The School Idol Festival would be too busy and crowded; the stress might put them in a worse mood and make them less likely to accept her.

Of course, since Setsuna’s plans are on hold for after the School Idol Festival, Ayumu’s plans are perfectly ready to go for the day of. On the day of the festival, there’s a short window of time where Ayumu has a break during Setsuna’s show. During that time, she’ll go to Setsuna’s house. Her parents will be home; Setsuna has mentioned that because they work such long hours during the week they rarely leave the house on weekends. Ayumu stole the address out of Yuu-chan’s notebook by climbing over the balcony railing.

She’ll be wearing one of the SIF shirts, and acting as a volunteer for the event, she’ll ask for Nakagawa Nana there. She’ll say that Nana is a performer for the festival but hadn’t signed in at the event, is she home? And the parents, as controlling as they are, will realize Setsuna isn’t where she’s supposed to be, and go there to look for her. Ayumu will lead them directly to her stage, and hopefully their anger and worry will be enough to forbid her from ever attending a school idol event ever again.

There are plenty of variables to the plan, but Ayumu has pages upon pages of backup plans, and years of experience forcing people to go where she wants them to go without attracting suspicion. Her volunteer disguise will make her safe because there are hundreds of volunteers at the festival, and everyone will assume Setsuna filled the emergency contact form out with her real name by accident, instead of pointing fingers towards the few individuals who know of her double identity. Rina has all the information saved on a platform she’d created from scratch, and Ayumu had gone and changed it while she wasn’t looking. Rina’s websites have incredible security, but Rina’s weakness is that she’s too trusting of the other School Idol Club members. She often leaves things logged in with her laptop open when she has to leave briefly and the only people in the room will be other club members.

Ayumu idly writes down even more backups and emergency measures when Setsuna and Yuu-chan finally finish up and walk back into the clubroom. She casually stashes the notebook into her bag.

“Ayumu-chan! I keep telling you you don’t have to wait up.”

“And I keep telling you I do this because I want to.” Ayumu glances at Setsuna. Is she trying to wait for Ayumu to give up in order to walk home with Yuu-chan? Or even worse, is Yuu-chan trying to walk home with Setsuna? Either way, it is a battle of attrition, and Ayumu has patience to beat them all.

Yuu-chan has more of a spring in her step than usual. Ayumu asks, “Are things going well with the planning? You seem happy.”

“We made really good progress today! I think that tomorrow, when we submit the application, it’ll be approved for sure.”

“Have you figured out what you’ll do for the venue yet?”

“Ah… we keep going back and forth on that. I don’t know how to narrow the venue down to just one. I want you guys to hold performances that you each like.”

Ayumu hums in thought. “You guys.” Not just you. “Well, it must be pretty hard to please three separate school idol groups. Not to mention all of us at Nijigasaki are solo idols.”

Yuu-chan falls into a thoughtful silence for most of the rest of the walk home.

Again, they’re alone together, but Ayumu isn’t the one on Yuu-chan’s mind. It feels horrible. Hopefully the difficulties in planning this event will be enough to discourage Yuu-chan from trying to support so many school idols at once. It’ll be easier on everyone once it’s just the two of them again.

“WE DID IT!” announces Kasumi.

Yuu-chan follows her into the club room a moment later. “The student council approved our application! And they liked our idea for the venues!”

Setsuna runs after them a moment later. “That was so stressful!” she pants, hands on her knees.

“What was?” asks Karin.

Kasumi and Yuu-chan glance at each other and start laughing. “The student council vice president is a Yuki Setsuna fan.”

“She wants to see my concert with me,” gasps Setsuna, and Kasumi and Yuu-chan start laughing even harder.

“Are you going to be able to keep that a secret?” Karin looks worried, but Setsuna clenches her fist in the usual enthusiastic manner.

“I’ll just have to work even harder to be the elusive school idol of Nijigasaki Gakuen!”

Stupid. Her obsession with the double identity is so immature.

“The basketball club offered to help us set up the venues,” says Kanata.

Ai grins and grabs the person standing closest to her, who happens to be Ayumu. “It’s so exciting that we’ll have so many venues, isn’t it?”

“Right,” says Ayumu.

“Way to go, Yuu-senpai!” exclaims Kasumi. The other girls all crowd Yuu-chan, thanking her. Ai lets Ayumu go to join them.

Why is Yuu-chan looking at them? Why is she talking, and smiling, and laughing with them? Before all this school idol stuff started, the only one Yuu-chan ever talked or smiled or laughed with was Ayumu.

“I’m going to grab us some drinks,” Ayumu says, tossing a glance that says someone-come-with-me over her shoulder as she turns to leave.

Yuu-chan doesn’t even notice.

“I’ll go with you!” offers Setsuna. Ayumu turns around quickly so that Setsuna can’t see her roll her eyes. Ever since their letter writing exercise, Setsuna has grown attached to her. Can’t that stupid girl tell that they aren’t friends? Then again, it’s thanks to Ayumu’s own superior acting skills that Setsuna can’t tell. Even Shizuku, for all her talk about being an actor, has never caught a single one of the multitudes of lies Ayumu has told during practice.

“I can’t believe our festival is finally becoming a reality! Yuu-san worked really hard on the application, didn’t she?”

“Well, you did too. You two kept staying really late after school.” Ayumu doesn’t want to hear about Yuu-chan from Setsuna. She doesn’t even know Yuu-chan.

“Oh, no, I didn’t! Yuu-san really did most of the work.”

“Still, you were the one helping her.” Ayumu frowns into the darkness. Setsuna can’t see her face here.

“Ayumu-san?”

“That day… during the training camp. What were you doing with Yuu-chan?”

“Yuu-san and I?”

Don’t play dumb! “I saw you two in the east building together.”

“Oh! Yuu-san was playing piano in the music room, so we were just talking about that.”

Liar. “Yuu-chan was playing the piano?” That doesn’t explain the way they were cuddled up together, either.

“Yes! She’s gotten much better than the last time she played for me. It’s wonderful to find something that you love, isn’t it?”

That gives Ayumu pause. Setsuna is too airheaded to lie this smoothly. Which means… Yuu-chan learned how to play the piano and told Setsuna.

And kept it all secret from Ayumu.

She stops dead in her tracks. Yuu-chan is playing the piano for Setsuna and only Setsuna. She has been for a while now, based on “the last time she played for me”. They’re running off and playing piano and hugging where Ayumu can’t see them.

“I’m being…” replaced, is what Ayumu is about to say to herself, but she remembers Setsuna is still standing there. Ayumu looks at her sharply. She could get rid of her here and now. Yuu-chan won’t be able to run off with her anymore. Everything will go back to normal if Setsuna just… goes away. Ayumu takes one shaky step towards her, then another.

“Ayumu-san?” So stupid. She looks like a deer caught in the headlights. If Ayumu were to just grab her by the throat and end it all, she’d probably be too confused to fight back. She’d just die with that stupid, vacant expression still on her face. Another step.

But not here. Not now. It’d be too hard to hide. And everyone else is still waiting in the clubroom for their drinks. How would she explain Setsuna’s disappearance? Yuu-chan is waiting for them. Yuu-chan will be upset if Ayumu kills Setsuna.

For Yuu-chan, Ayumu keeps walking, past Setsuna and to the vending machine.

The rest of the night passes in a blur. Yuu-chan doesn’t even notice how quiet Ayumu is on the way home. She’s probably too busy thinking about Setsuna.

As soon as she reaches her room, she grabs Setsuna’s letters to her parents. She had written a few pages of notes and several drafts of a single letter. The last ones are calm and logical presentations of why Setsuna feels that they should allow her to continue being a school idol. These must be written after Setsuna had organized her thoughts with the other notes. The first one, though.

Dear Mom and Dad,

It’s getting really hard to keep hiding this from you.

The truth is, I haven’t just been staying after school because of my student council duties. I’ve been practicing to be a school idol. My stage name is Yuki Setsuna. That’s why I’ve suddenly been busier than ever before this year.

I know you guys hate it when I do anything you don’t want me to. That’s why I’ve been keeping it a secret. But being a school idol has made me happier than anything you have ever forced me to do. Everything that makes me happy, I have to keep a secret from you. The shows I like to watch, the books I like to read.

It feels like all you want from me is to be a machine. A robot that gets good grades, participates in clubs that you deem worthwhile, wins awards that you deem impressive. I want you to see one of my shows. I think that would help you to understand. But you’ve never cared what I want before. So I especially don’t expect you to ever bother showing up to one of my performances.

Keeping up all of these lies is tearing me apart. I feel like I don’t have time to do anything but come up with a lie to cover something I’ve done, then do something new, and come up with a lie to cover for that. I lie so much that my classmates don’t know who I am. You don’t know who I am. You haven’t for a long time. Even I hardly know who I am anymore. I hate this double life I’ve been living. I don’t want to live like this anymore.

Setsuna stops writing here, evidently noticing that she’s getting too confrontational.

It’s perfect.

Ayumu perfectly copies Nakagawa Nana’s signature over from a different draft of the letter. It’s far from her first forgery.

From here it’s just a waiting game to find the perfect opportunity.

Suddenly, Ayumu’s phone pings, ripping her out of her thoughts.

Yuu-chan: Can you come over right now? I have something I want to tell you.

Ayumu throws the letter aside and rushes over to Yuu-chan’s house. She must be about to apologize for ignoring Ayumu. She’ll tell her she never cared about Setsuna and that Ayumu is her one and only. Yuu-chan is going to make everything okay again.

Ayumu bangs on Yuu-chan’s door. She takes an awfully long time to answer, considering that she was the one who texted Ayumu to come over in the first place. It’s okay. Ayumu will forgive Yuu-chan for anything. She loves Yuu-chan, after all.

“It’s been a while since you’ve come over, huh?”

“Yeah,” replies Ayumu, anxious to get to the point. What does Yuu-chan want to tell her?

Then she spots the piano.

How long has she been keeping this a secret? How long has she been keeping her relationship with Setsuna a secret?

Ayumu’s carefully constructed hope collapses into a pile of rubble. The thing Yuu-chan wants to tell her - it must be that she’s replacing Ayumu. Setsuna has to go.

Yuu-chan notices Ayumu’s frozen stare at the piano. “Oh, this? I’ve been practicing for a while now. I just can’t seem to get any better, though.” She pauses, lightly touching the keys. “So, the thing I wanted to tell you. But I wasn’t very confident, so I wanted to wait a bit before telling you, and then suddenly a lot of time had passed.”

“About the piano?” whispers Ayumu. Please, let it be about the piano. If it’s about anything but the piano Ayumu’s heart will surely shatter.

“Huh? Well, there’s that too, but…”

If it’s not about the piano it must be about Setsuna. Everything with Yuu-chan has been about Setsuna for far too long. Ayumu should have nipped it in the bud.

“Then why did you tell Setsuna about it? You couldn’t tell me, but you could tell her?” she demands.

“Wait, why are we talking about Setsuna-chan?”

“Is Setsuna more important to you now?!” Ayumu all but screams.

“No.” Yuu-chan doesn’t hesitate to answer.

Ayumu pauses. If she’s not getting replaced, what is this about?

Yuu-chan smiles, and Ayumu smiles back. Then she had been right. Yuu-chan is going to apologize for neglecting her all this time.

“What I wanted to tell you… it’s even farther ahead.”

“What?”

“I have a dr-”

Ayumu can’t take it anymore! Yuu-chan is playing with her poor fragile heart too much. For once, her body reacts before she can even think through the best course of action. Ayumu tackles Yuu-chan to the couch. “No!”

“Ayumu?!”

“I don’t want to hear it. You said you’d see my dream through with me. You said you’d stand by my side. I want to be a school idol just for you, Yuu-chan. So please… belong to only me.”

Now’s the part where Yuu-chan tells her she’s being manipulative. But whatever names Yuu-chan might call her, she’s not. This is just so that they can stay together forever. It’s better for both of them this way! Maybe if Ayumu cries a little bit, Yuu-chan will probably forgive her without any name-calling.

Yuu-chan doesn’t say anything at all.

Ayumu’s phone buzzes. “I’ll go home now.”

Yuu-chan doesn’t stop her.

Ayumu doesn’t sleep all night. Setsuna has to go.

She gets up early, waits for Yuu-chan outside their complex for three hours.

“Yuu-chan!

“Oh, Ayumu. Listen, about yesterday-”

“No, I’m sorry for saying something so weird. Let’s just forget about it, okay?”

“Oh… okay. I-”

“Can we walk to the clubroom together today?”

“Sure. I have a meeting with Shinonome and Touou later, though.”

“I see.” Ayumu chatters mindlessly about the festival. It’s better if she acts like everything is normal. Besides, she doesn’t need to talk about last night. Once Setsuna is gone, everything will go back to normal.

In order to prepare for the upcoming festival, everyone separates and goes to their own stages. Ayuma has conveniently already been avoiding her own fan club, so they won’t think it’s weird that she’s not at her own venue. Even the other clubs that usually have practice now dispersed, roped into helping the School Idol Club set up the festival.

Everyone knows that the only person currently still at school is their own hardworking student council president, Nakagawa Nana.

Ayumu finds her on the school rooftop, exactly where she always is. Setsuna likes to hide away here, on the back side of the school, where no one can see from below. No one can access this particular section of roof without a master key borrowed from the student council.

Setsuna jumps and turns at the sound of the door opening. “Ayumu? How did you get up here?”

“You left the door unlocked.” It’s not true. Ayumu pickpocketed the second key from the vice president.

“Oh… but what are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be preparing your stage?”

“Shouldn’t you?” Ayumu advances towards Setsuna, who shifts nervously.

“Well, I have some final student council duties to finish up… hey, why are you acting so weird? Ayumu?” Setsuna backs up slowly as Ayumu keeps coming closer.

Finally, her back is pressed against the railing. “Ayumu, please talk to me. You’re scaring me.”

Ayumu smiles. “I’m just kidding! I came here to find you for your fanclub. They want you at your stage early today.”

Setsuna relaxes. “Oh, you scared me! I-”

Ayumu pushes her over the railing, then catches her by the ankles.

Setsuna screams. “Ayumu? What- please, don’t let me go,” she sobs.

Ayumu strips Setsuna’s shoes off.

“Ayumu-san, please, I don’t understand, please,” she cries. “Don’t let go! Please, don’t-”

Ayumu lets go.

Setsuna screams all the way down. There’s no one around to hear.

Ayumu places the shoes down and pulls a sheet of paper out of her waistband. She stacks it neatly on top of the shoes.

Then she goes home.

It’s the day before the School Idol Festival, and no one has seen hide nor hair of either school idol Yuki Setuna or student council president Nakagawa Nana. Both are needed in order to pull off the event successfully.

No one speaks in the clubroom. The low hum of the air conditioning drowns out the sounds of nervous fidgeting. Someone taps her fingers on the table. Someone kicks her chair as she swings her legs. Kanata sits up, wide awake.

Rina snaps har laptop shut and turns around abruptly, face as flat as ever, but Ai takes one look at her expression and stands up. “Rinari, what’s-”

The door slides open. “Excuse us.” Two policemen enter the room, followed by a couple who can only be Setsuna’s parents. They look just like her.

Yuu-chan stands with such force that her chair slides backwards. She opens her mouth, then closes it and bows instead.

“You all are members of this school’s School Idol Club, yes?” Everyone nods.

“We just have a few questions to ask about what happened yesterday.”

Kasumi, who’s been chewing her nails in silence for the past hour, finally puts her hand down. “What do you mean ‘what happened’? Where’s Setsuna-senpai?”

One of the policemen holds his hand up at her, and she falls quiet again, but her tight lips and furrowed brow betray her frustration.

“Are any club members missing?”

“Um, yeah,” starts Kasumi, but Yuu-chan cuts her off.

“No, we’re all here.”

“Were all of you at school yesterday?” Slow nodding around the room. “What were you doing here?”

“We were preparing for our upcoming concert. Planning costumes, putting together decorations, stuff like that.” Yuu-chan takes the role of club spokesperson.

“Did you see Yuki Setsuna-san at all?”

“Yes, she was here as well.”

“What about Nakagawa Nana-san?”

“We know she’s the same person! Will someone tell us what’s going on?” demands Kasumi.

“Please answer the questions first,” continues the policeman. Kasumi screams in the back of her throat, but he keeps talking as if she hasn’t made any noise. “When did you last see Nakagawa-san, then?”

“Um, it must have been around 5 pm. We were all in the clubroom, and then we dispersed to prepare all the different venues around the city.”

“Did any of you remain at school past 5 pm?”

Everyone trades uneasy glances. Some shake their heads. Some say “no” softly.

At this, Setsuna’s mother lets out a sob.

“No one remained at school with Nakagawa-san? Why was she left here alone?”

“Since she’s the student council president, she said she had to fill out some last minute paperwork for the festival.”

“How could you just leave Nana-chan alone like that?” bursts Setsuna’s mother, fully sobbing.

“Please, it’s not their fault,” says her father, pulling the mother close and stroking her hair.

“Um, I’m sorry, but could someone please explain what happened? Is Setsuna-chan okay? Did something happen to her?” Yuu-chan’s voice cracks mid-sentence.

“Please,” adds Kasumi.

“She’s gone! Jumped off the school rooftop yesterday, while you all left to play your idol pretend games!” Setsuna’s mother covers her mouth and runs out of the room. One of the policemen follows after her.

Yuu-chan sits back down in her chair, hard. She puts her head in her hands.

“What?” whispers Ayumu.

“Is that…” whimpers Kasumi, holding eye contact with Setsuna’s father.

He dips his head and takes his glasses off, polishing them and avoiding eye contact. “I’m sorry for that. She’s not… coping with Nana-chan’s passing very well. And…” he looks up and around at each of the school idols in the room briefly before going back to polishing his glasses. “Thank you all. It seems that this club brought Nana-chan much joy in her… in the last few months.”

He coughs, and the room is silent for a few moments. “I should go find my wife.”

He and the second policeman leave the room, leaving eight girls reeling in shock in a very, quiet room.

The air conditioning sputters off.

“Setsuna-senpai…” whimpers Kasumi, and that tiny utterance shatters the fragile peace. Suddenly, everyone is crying.

“What do we do now?” asks Shizuku. “We have to… we have to cancel the festival.”

Yuu-chan nods shakily and pulls out a notebook, uselessly wiping away tears only to immediately replace them with more. “We’ll have to inform the other performers.”

“What do we do about her double identity? Or… do we do anything?” asks Karin.

“Does she… would she want it to stay secret?” Kasumi says, making no effort to wipe away the tears on her face.

Rina opens her laptop again. “It’s too late for that already,” she whispers, and holds the screen up.

On the Nijgasaki Gakuen message boards, pictures of Setsuna’s suicide note are already circulating. It’s already accrued hundreds of likes, and even more comments.

bunny1203: I can’t believe Setsuna-chan was the student council president

Reply to bunny1203: How can you talk about that? That’s not the important part at all!

xxflower22: This is an outrage! This note shouldn’t be circulating on social media!

The laptop moves out of Ayumu’s sight before she can read anymore. Rina puts it down. “I think I’m going to throw up,” she states, then runs out of the room.

“Rinari!” Ai immediately chases after her.

“The festival, her identity, that’s not important right now,” says Emma. “How did we miss it? How could we let her down like that?” Another wave of tears rolls down her cheeks. “We could have… we should have been there for her!”

Yuu-chan runs over to Emma. “I know, Emma, I know it hurts so much, but we can’t start blaming ourselves. That will only make things feel even worse. I don’t think Setsuna-chan would have wanted that for us.”

Ayumu stands. “Shut up,” she mutters, but the sound is obscured by Kasumi shouting.

“We don’t know what she wanted!” Kasumi continues hoarsely, “She never said anything about this to us. She doesn’t even… she doesn’t even say anything to us in her letter.”

“Kasumi…” Yuu-chan says, arms dropping from where they had been wrapped around Emma.

“Shut up,” says Ayumu again. No one hears her.

Outside the door, there’s a shout, and then a bang. A voice that’s distinctly Ai’s screams, “I’m leaving! You freak!” Rina hastily slips inside and pulls the door shut. She leans back against it and slowly slides down to the floor.

“Rina-chan?” asks Yuu-chan, cautiously.

“Ai-san…” is all she has to say in response.

“What happened?”

“She asked me… why I couldn’t cry.” Rina curls into a ball, hides her face behind her knees.

Yuu-chan runs over to Rina.

“Am I a freak?” she asks, looking up. Her face is perfectly dry.

“Shut up.” says Ayumu.

“Ayumu!” chides Kanata, but Ayumu ignores her. She grabs Yuu-chan’s arm instead.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Ayumu?!” she cries, but Ayumu forces the door open and hops over Rina, who falls over as her support disappears. She drags Yuu-chan with her and they’re out the building before Yuu-chan manages to pull Ayumu’s hand off her arm.

“Ayumu, I know things are terrible, but just talk to me-”

“No! No more talking! It shouldn’t be your responsibility… you shouldn’t have to take care of everyone! We all suffered the loss, but Setsuna’s dead and we can’t bring her back, so let’s just go home. The festival is off. There’s no reason to be in that room anymore.”

“But we’re… we should be there for each other. Now more than ever.”

“You don’t have to be there for them! You always act like it’s your responsibility but it’s not! It’s better if we all just go home now. Come on, Yuu-chan.” Ayumu holds out her hand.

Yuu-chan lifts hers hesitantly, then clenches it into a fist. “No. I have to be there for them. Ayumu, if you want to be alone now, if you need to go home, please do. But not everyone needs that right now.”

Yuu-chan turns around and runs back into the building. Ayumu feels like a fireman watching someone she’d just saved run right back into the burning building.

It’s no matter. Yuu-chan has made it clear where she stands, so Ayumu knows what she has to do now.

“Everyone has to go.” Ayumu hesitates, then turns and runs right back into the flames.

“Ai?” she calls, scoping out all of Ai’s favorite haunts. Ayumu finds her in a corner of the courtyard, hiding between two benches.

“Ah, Ayumu.” Ai’s eyes are dry when Ayumu gets there, but her eyelids are puffy and there are dried tear tracks on her cheeks. “I really screwed up, didn’t I? I made things all about me when they should be about…” She hiccups. “About Setsuna.”

“It’s alright.” Ayumu sits down next to her. “We’re all emotional now.”

“Is Rinari… is she okay?”

“I don’t think so,” replies Ayumu honestly.

“Oh god,” breathes Ai. “How can I even begin to apologize for this?”

“I think she’ll forgive you. Just take a little time for both of you to process things. You don’t have to apologize right away.”

“You really think it’s better to wait it out?”

“Well, we’ve all just gone through a terrible loss. Sometimes you just have to focus on working through that first before dealing with anything else.”

“I just feel like Rinari needs me…”

“It’s too soon. She’s probably very emotional right now. It’ll be too confusing for you to hurt her and then try to help her through the pain of losing Setsuna.”

Ai still looks slightly doubtful, so Ayumu adds, “I think I know how she feels. I lost my parents, a few years back, and it was while I was fighting with Yuu-chan. I felt so alone, with no support system. We were able to make up, but I don’t think I would have been able to right after it happened. Just give her some time, okay?”

After a moment, Ai nods. “Okay. I’ll do that. I’m sorry about your parents.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” Nothing Ayumu said was false. The fight had been about how Ayumu should listen to her parents and stop sneaking over to Yuu-chan’s house at night. Then, her parents didn’t tell her to do anything anymore. Once the fight was forgotten, she was able to sleep over with Yuu-chan more than ever before.

“I think I’m just going to go home now,” says Ai. She stands up and stretches her arms above her head. She looks at the sky for a long moment.

“I’ll see you, then,” says Ayumu, and they part ways.

Ayumu waits for Yuu-chan wordlessly outside the clubroom for two more hours. Finally, the last of them heads out, and they walk home together. Just like usual.

Ayumu calls into the kitchen. “Mom, dad, I’m home.”

Then she pulls out her phone and texts Rina, who responds immediately.

Ayumu: I talked to Ai after she left today.

Rina: Is she okay?

Ayumu wrinkles her nose.

Ayumu: She told me she just needs time to think. I’m sure she wants to apologize, but if it takes a while, it’s just because she’s trying to gather her thoughts.

Rina: That’s good.

Rina: I guess I’ll leave her alone, then.

Ayumu: I know it sucks, but it seems like that’s the best for now.

Rina: I hope you’re doing alright, Ayumu-san.

Ayumu laughs out loud.

Ayumu: Thank you, Rina. That means a lot to me. I hope the same for you.

Ayumu tosses her phone aside. Rina put up much less of a fight than Ai. This is too easy.

The weekend passes quietly. The other clubs have heard the news by now, and wordlessly they pack the stages away into little boxes. All over the city, Ayumu spots props and ribbons shoved into public trash cans. It occurs to her to check out what her own stage would have looked like. She hadn’t helped set it up at all.

At her scheduled location, there’s nothing but a trash can stuffed full of paper flowers. Ayumu takes one out and twirls it in her fingers. The police hadn’t caught on that she was the only one not at her venue. The investigation must have been more for the parents’ closure than for any true suspicion of foul play.

Ayumu crushes the flower in her fist.

“Ayumu?”

She whirls around. “Yuu-chan…”

“You’re here too, huh?” Yuu-chan walks up to her and takes the mangled flower out of her hand. It’s the first they’ve talked to each other since their fight.

“I hand made this one for you,” she says, gently smoothing out the petals. When she’s done, it still bears creases, but Yuu-chan tucks it behind Ayumu’s ear nonetheless. “Ayumu, I’m sorry.”

“Eh?”

“I think I’ve been neglecting you too much. I’m trying to be there for everyone, but it seems like I’m not really being there for anyone at all. I couldn’t be there for Setsuna.” The flower falls out of Ayumu’s hair. She doesn’t bother to pick it up. “Now you’re pushing me away, too.” Yuu-chan draws Ayumu into a tight embrace.

“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter anymore. As long as you’re here now.” Ayumu hugs her back.

The following Monday, not everyone shows up to the club after school. Besides Ayumu and Yuu-chan, only Rina, Kasumi, and Emma show up. Ayumu is surprised that Ai isn’t there. Maybe she thought it’d be easier to give Rina space this way.

The reason doesn’t matter. It’s useful for Ayumu.
Yuu-chan starts the discussion. “So, what do we do now?”

“Is the club getting disbanded again?” asks Kasumi.

Yuu-chan shakes her head. “Not unless you want it to. Is anyone against continuing?”

Emma frowns. “Is it… disrespectful to Setsuna-chan’s memory?” She wrings her hands.

Yuu-chan looks at the ceiling. “It’s hard to know. But the Setsuna-chan we all knew and loved… she wasn’t that spiteful. I don’t think she would have wanted any of us to give up on our dreams for her.”

“And none of us thought she would have wanted to kill herself!” exclaims Kasumi.

“Kasumi-chan!” warns Emma, looking at Yuu-chan in preparation for a fight.

“No, Emma, it’s okay. She’s right. There’s no way to know if we’re hurting Setsuna by doing this. But I made a promise to support all your dreams. As long as even one of you still wants to be an idol… I’ll still be here.”

“I want to give it a try,” Rina says. “If it feels too bad to keep going, I can always stop later. But for now, I would like to try.”

Yuu-chan nods. “That’s Rina, then. Do the rest of you want to continue as well?”

Ayumu raises her hand. “I, too, would like to give it a try.”

“I’m not ready to give up on my dream yet,” adds Kasumi.

Emma hesitates and looks around at everyone else’s determined faces. “I feel really terrible saying this, but… being a school idol is why I came to Japan. There’s no real reason to be here otherwise. So… as long as I’m here. I’m willing to try again.”

“I, too, will continue with the School Idol Club,” announces Yuu-chan. “As for everyone else, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if they come back again.”

No one has anything to say to that. It seems like no one ever has much of anything to say, these days.

“For today, let’s all just go home.” Yuu-chan finishes, and no one disagrees with that. “Ayumu, you can go ahead without me. I have some things I want to do.”

Ayumu supposes “things” entails tracking down the other club members. She doesn’t disagree, instead bidding goodbye to Yuu-chan. When everyone else has gone, she follows Rina and pulls her aside.

“Ah, Rina. Ai said she wants to meet you at your house tonight.”

“My house?”

“I’m not sure why, but she said it’s important. She said get there at 6 exactly and it’s important not to be early.” As she talks, Ayumu texts Ai the same information, saying 5:30 instead.

“Oh. I guess I’ll wait at school for a bit then.”

“Great. And Rina,” Ayumu says.

“Yeah?”

“I sincerely hope it works out between you two.” Rina nods in thanks.

Then Ayumu texts Rina. Before Rina can check it, Ayumu cries, “Wait! That was from Ai. She said it was actually for me. Don’t check it. Can you unlock your phone so I can delete it?”

Rina hands over her phone.

Ayumu disables her supplemental home security system and deletes the text. “Great. I’m going to head home now. See you soon.”

They wave goodbye, and Ayumu does exactly as she said she would. From her parents’ room, Ayumu grabs a hoodie that will cover her face and changes out of her school uniform. Then, she heads out again to Rina’s house.. Without the added security installed, it’s easy enough to break in. Nothing Ayumu hasn’t done before.

Ayumu looks around the kitchen, finds the longest knife there is, and sets it on the counter in preparation.

At precisely 5:30, someone rings the buzzer. Ayumu, hands gloves, unlocks the door from inside.

“Rina? Can I come in?” Ai calls from outside. Ayumu doesn’t respond. After a minute, Ai cautiously opens the door herself.

“Where are you? It’s so dark in here,” Ai says. As soon as she turns around to close the door behind her, Ayumu grabs her from behind and slips a bag over her head.

“Wh- hey! Rina? Is that you?”

Ai’s struggle is impressive. She’s far harder to hold under control than Setsuna, though Ayumu had had the added help of dangling her off a rooftop. This must be why all the sports teams loe Ai. But Ayumu is stronger.

“You’re not Rina,” growls Ai. Ayumu exhales a short huff, though she doesn’t fully laugh.

“What do you want from me? Let me go!” Ai wriggles to try and escape Ayumu’s grasp, and finally Ayumu is able to pin both her arms. She pushes Ai back against a wall in the kitchen, then grabs the knife and cleanly stabs her through the chest, pinning her to the wall. She trusts that Ai knows if she tries to rip it out she’ll bleed out.

Ayumu makes sure there’s not enough blood on her to track around when she leaves, then climbs out the window and hangs on the ledge, watching and waiting. The blood hadn’t splattered much. Ayumu’s stab was just too clean. Both hands firmly clamped on the windowsill, Ayumu mentally pats herself on the back.

Even so, the steady trickle running from the wound in Ai’s chest grows as her voice, calling for help, gets weaker. Ayumu had stabbed Ai in something of a wall sit, and she notes that Ai’s knees are starting to buckle as she grows weaker. The wound drags larger and larger as Ai’s full weight sinks onto the serrated edge of the knife. It had been good, then, to stab serrated side up.

By 5:50, Ai’s cries fade to nothing.

By 6:00, her body is already cooling.

Rina arrives. “Ai-san!”

She mumbles incoherently in distress, desperately trying to get Ai to answer her. Finally, Rina pulls out the knife. Ayumu almost gives away her cover by laughing. Actually, maybe it’s not such a stupid move. After all, dead is dead.

After another moment passes, Rina’s wits recover enough for her to call the police, but when they arrive, Rina’s blank expression immediately leads them to think she’s a sociopath. Despite her cries that she just found Ai this way, the fact that it’s her own house, and her high tech security system cause them to immediately take her into custody.

Rina’s weakness was always leaving her defenses down to people she trusted. Ayumu notes that by now even she can read Rina’s emotional tells - her voice quivers, and Ayumu hasn’t seen her wide golden eyes blink more than twice in the past minute.

But Rina doesn’t even mention Ayumu’s meddling to the police. Too trusting. It works out well for Ayumu, though. Satisfied with the way things played out, she shimmies down the building and runs home.

Days later, Ayumu is finally taken in for questioning. Rina finally remembered to be suspicious of her, huh? But having talked to Ai and Rina separately and alone, there are no more witnesses. She can tell the police are only questioning her to be thorough. They’re already convinced it was Rina. It’s her house, the security disabled using her phone, and her fingerprints on the knife.

Plus, the little freak is a sociopath. Everyone knows it.

The news spreads immediately. It’s too juicy a story for the locals to put down: the second death in a week at the same school, and members of the same club, too.

But the next week, everyone left, surprisingly, is back in the clubroom. It’s as sunny as ever outside, but somehow the room is cloudy. Beyond the dead silence, the whiteboard hasn’t been updated for weeks, and the text is starting to fade. Several posters have started peeling off the walls. No one bothers to pin them back up.

This time, Emma begins the meeting, tears streaming down her face. “My parents don’t want me to stay in Japan anymore. They said this club is cursed and they should never have let me come here in the first place. They already booked the flight. I’m going back to Switzerland in two days.”

Everyone sadly hugs Emma goodbye. She doesn’t hug them back, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.

Yuu pulls back and says to no one in particular, “The School Idol Club isn’t cursed. What happened was terrible but… I don’t think Rina did it. I just can’t believe that she would ever hurt Ai.”

“But who would?” asks Ayumu quietly, and Yuu-chan doesn’t have an answer for that.

Emma picks up her bag and excuses herself to go pack all her belongings. Karin offers to walk her back to the dorms, but she shakes her head and rushes out, gaze glued to the floor, before anyone else can say anything to her.

“I do think it’s best if we take a break from the club for now but… I hope no one else wants to quit.” Yuu-chan doesn’t make eye contact. “The School Idol Club used to bring us joy. As long as you’re still passionate about it, we can keep going.”

After a long pause, she continues, “You don’t have to answer now. Shall we all go home?”

Then Kasumi stands. “Being a school idol has always been my dream. This club… it represents my hope for the future. I don’t know how to process the losses we’ve gone through, but losing the club on top of losing my friends… I couldn’t do it.”

A beat later, Shizuku says, “That’s exactly how I was feeling, Kasumi-san. What we’ve gone through is horrible, but I hope that through our club, we can help each other heal.”

Ayumu hasn’t seen Kanata asleep since before the weekend of the School Idol Festival. Her eyes are rimmed with red and purple, and her voice croaks when she speaks. “The School Idol club was the first thing I ever did for myself that I loved. I’m not sure I’m ready to let it go yet.”

“I’ll stay,” says Ayumu simply.

Yuu-chan nods. “Karin?”

Karin stands slowly. She clenches her fists, then looks Yuu-chan dead in the eyes and screams, “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? Two girls DIED. One of them KILLED THE OTHER.” She takes a deep breath, then says more quietly, “I only came here to say goodbye forever. This club… it’s not worth it. I hope you guys can see that for yourselves soon.”

Ayumu privately hopes the same of Kasumi, Shizuku, and Kanata.

But as long as there are school idols at Nijigasaki Gakuen, Yuu-chan will keep supporting them. So as long as there are other school idols at Nijigasaki Gakuen, Ayumu will have to do something about them.

On the way home, Ayumu turns to Yuu-chan and says, “I think Karin might have been right. Maybe we should just give up now.”

Yuu-chan looks back at her wearily. “Ayumu, you don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t want to leave you alone with them.”

Yuu-chan stares at the ground. “It’s okay. I want to keep supporting all of you and helping shoulder your burdens. It’s what I set out to do.”

“When we started this, you said it was for me. That you’d help me chase my dream.”

“Ayumu? You said that before too…” Finally, Yuu-chan really looks at Ayumu, confused.

Before Yuu-chan can jump to any conclusions, Ayumu adds, “Did I? All I mean is that I want to do the same for you. I’ll keep going to the club with you to help you shoulder your burdens. I would do anything for you, Yuu-chan.”

Yuu-chan smiles for the first time in a while. It’s not as bright as it usually is, but Ayumu is grateful to see it. “Thanks.”

Ayumu will do whatever it takes to protect that smile.

In the following weeks, the police presence around Nijigasaki increases. They’re keeping a close eye on the students, both to protect them and to watch for threats. Ayumu acts quiet. Ayumu acts shy. Even after the questioning about Ai’s death, she just doesn’t register on their radar.

Other school idol groups, upon finding out that Nijigasaki idols aren’t disbanding, send their condolences. Ayanokoji Himeno and Shido Misaki stop by with a care package.

“Sorry that it’s open,” says Himeno. “The security guards insisted on searching it.”

Yuu-chan assures her that it’s okay.

Shinonome sends Haruka to speak with them. Yuu-chan and Ayumu run into her just outside the main door.

“Oh, Haruka. What are you doing here?”

She shuffles a bit. “We just wanted to offer our support. Y’know, let you guys know we’re here for you. Are you having a meeting today?”

“We haven’t met for a long time.” Ayumu frowns.

“That… makes sense. I’m sorry, should I leave?” Haruka glances frantically over her shoulder, for all the world looking like a cornered rabbit.

“No, no, go ahead to the club room,” responds Yuu-chan. “I’ll let everyone know they should show up today.”

Haruka scurries off, and Yuu-chan pulls out her phone. She doesn’t send anything, just staring at the screen.

“Yuu-chan?”

She shakes her head and creaks back into action. “It’s nothing. I just wasn’t sure which group chat to use. I guess it’s just as fast to individually tell everyone by now.”

Ayumu looks at her own phone. The old group chat they’d used with all ten of them has fallen off the screen in her messaging app, her private texts with Yuu-chan at the top.

She tells them that Shinonome’s group is always there to offer a listening ear, or help organize any future shows or practices. Loud footsteps fade in and out of earshot just outside the door. Though the door is closed, the clacking footfall lands heavier than that of any student. Haruka shivers. “There’s an awful lot of police officers on your campus.”

“We’re used to it by now,” says Shizuku glumly. Haruka snaps her mouth shut guiltily.

Ayumu nods. Haruka makes a good point. It’s harder to get rid of the Nijigasaki idols with the police milling all over like little ants. Shinonome, without the deaths, doesn’t have nearly as much security. What Kanata has gone through must seem like nothing but a scary story to Haruka.

“Thank you so much for coming here,” says Kanata to her little sister after the short meeting is done. When she pulls Haruka into a hug, Ayumu sees her smile for the first time in weeks.

In the following months, Ayumu sees less and less of the members of the school idol club. She spends most of the newfound free time with Yuu-chan, but it’s still not right.

“I’m worried about Kanata,” Yuu-chan confesses one day as they sit in the park eating pastries.

“Hmm?” Ayumu mumbles around a mouthful of custard.

“She doesn’t sleep in school anymore, but I don’t think she’s sleeping at home, either. Have you seen the way she looks?”

Ayumu considers carefully. She doesn’t really look at anyone except for Yuu-chan, but she remembers Kanata’s sunken eyes and green-tinted complexion, and has to agree.

“I spoke to Haruka the other day, and it sounds like Kanata’s been spending all her time babying Haruka like she used to. Cooking and cleaning for her, taking care of her, and she’s back to her part time job.”

“Are you planning on doing something about it?” asks Ayumu. She figures this is where Yuu-chan is getting to anyway, and she doesn’t care for the particulars.

Surprisingly, though, Yuu-chan shakes her head. “Sometimes I feel like I can’t do enough for you guys. I just hope that she’ll be able to rest up on our off day next week.”

“Oh, I almost forgot about that.”

Yuu-chan nods. “Shinonome doesn’t have that day off, but Haruka is pretending like they do to try and get Kanata to sleep in.”

“That’s nice of her,” says Ayumu, wondering why Haruka needed to tell Yuu-chan about this.

Yuu-chan falls silent after that. Ayumu stands up to throw away her wrapper and reaches out to take Yuu-chan’s, but her bun has only one bite taken out of it. “You’re not hungry?”

“I guess I’m just too used to Kasumi’s handmade bread rolls,” sighs Yuu-chan. “I’ll save it for later.” She puts it back in its packaging and slides it into her bag.

Later, as they walk, Ayumu grabs Yuu-chan’s hand. “Just having you with me is enough for me.”

Yuu-chan squeezes back. “Where’s this coming from?”

“You said earlier that you feel like you can’t do enough for us. You’ll always be enough for me.”

“Thanks, Ayumu.”

Back at home, Ayumu taps her lips in thought, staring at her planner. How terribly rude of Haruka, to bother Yuu-chan about this. Kanata too! How awful of her to make Yuu-chan worry about her, even when their club isn’t active. Ayumu will have to speak with her about this.

She’s got a good day to do that in mind.

The next week, in the early morning, Ayumu sets out in the general direction of Kanata’s house. The buildings are less crowded here. Other than a few telephone poles and some short trees planted into the concrete sidewalks, nothing stands between the sunlight and Ayumu’s bare skin. She can feel the residual nighttime cold melt away under the new sun hanging just above the horizon. The walkways are similarly uncrowded; many schools are on holiday today. Shinonome seems to be the exception. Given the still, empty streets, Ayumu spots Haruka sitting on a rock wall by a street corner, staring dismally at a bento box.

“Haruka!” Ayumu calls out, waving across the intersection.

“Ayumu-san! What are you doing here?” she calls back.

When the light turns green, Ayumu jogs across the street to meet her, waving a flyer in the air. “I’ve been wanting to try out this place’s breakfast special, but it’s so out of the way from my usual path to school I had to wait until today.”

Haruka smiles at that, then her stomach growls. “Breakfast sounds nice,” she sighs, holding up the bento to show Ayumu the contents. It’s already open. Had she just been sitting here staring at it?

When Ayumu peers inside, she thinks she understands. All she sees is a single burned egg, and a clump of dry looking rice.

“I really tried, but it was louder than I thought, and I was worried I would wake nee-san, and I just… gave up.”

“Well, you’re welcome to come eat with me. This place is just a couple streets over. And it looks like there’s no one around right now, so there shouldn’t be too long a wait. You could also probably grab lunch while you’re there.”

Haruka’s eyes light up. “Could I really, Ayumu-san?”

“Of course!”

Though the restaurant on the flyer is barely five minute’s walk away, there are so many stoplights on the way Ayumu and Haruka find themselves stranded together on the empty sidewalks for longer than expected, the awkward silence highlighting how little they actually know each other.

“So… there’s an awful lot of trucks around, huh?” says Haruka.

“They were probably driving overnight so as not to interfere with regular traffic,” responds Ayumu. “Look, that guy looks almost asleep behind his wheel.”

Haruka looks where Ayumu is pointing. “You’re right! That seems pretty dangerous.”

Ayumu doesn’t respond, leaving Haruka to look away and laugh to herself uncomfortably.

Haruka is mid-yawn when Ayumu nudges her forwards. “Green light.”

“Oh!” she exclaims, hastily stepping into the road herself.

Ayumu isn’t sure if the truck horn blares before or after it flattens Haruka into a little bloody pancake, but either way, it’s not very useful as a warning.

The driver, good on him, pulls to a screeching stop several dozen meters down the road, before he comes sprinting back. Ayumu already has her phone out calling for an ambulance when he gets there.

“Oh my god!” he says, evidently unable to come up with anything else to say.

“How could you!” demands Ayumu through fat crocodile tears.

“I could have sworn… I thought the light was mine…”

“Have you been driving all night? How irresponsible, to take the wheel while unable to see clearly,” Ayumu sobs. “Haruka-chan… Haruka-chan!”

“I’m so sorry… I drive every night, it’s my job,” he mumbles in shock. He stares at Haruka’s decimated body, scattered in tiny, bloody chunks across the road. There’s likely a similar stain on the front of his truck. Everything points to vehicular manslaughter.

“What will I say to Kanata? This was supposed to be her one good day,” cries Ayumu. She sinks to the ground, hands shaking as she lifts her finger to the call button.

The truck driver seems to have run out of words, but tears have silently started to fall out of his eyes.

Ayumu can already hear sirens in the distance. “Kanata? I think you need to come here… Haruka is… she was hit by a truck…” She rattles the street names off through tears, then lets her arm drop. Her phone falls out of her hand, skittering a few inches to the side.

This neighborhood’s police force is separate from Rina’s and the one monitoring the school. They don’t recognize Ayumu. When the ambulance arrives, they take their time taking Haruka’s body. Ayumu mentions that Kanata is coming, and they nod and step aside. Less than a minute later, Kanata runs out from around the corner, still in her pajamas.

She rushes directly into the street, rolling Haruka’s remains over gently, just to see a broken, bloody mess where Haruka’s face once was. Ayumu watches from the sidewalk as Kanata wails over her sister’s body. One of the emergency personnel gently touches Kanata’s shoulder, takes both of them into the ambulance.

Ayumu is left behind with the police and the driver. After a short round of questioning, they take the truck driver into the cruiser with them and let Ayumu go. On the way home, Ayumu massages her face. Fake crying for that long had put a cramp in her jaw.

When she gets back, Yuu-chan is on her way out.

“Yuu-chan? Where are you going?”

“I just got up. I’m going for breakfast. Wanna come with?” offers Yuu-chan.

“Right now? I was hoping to shower,” says Ayumu, curling a fist around the slip of paper in her pocket.

Yuu-chan blinks in surprise, then squints at her shirt. “Is that… what’s the stain from?”

Ayumu looks down in surprise. “Oh, I hadn’t even noticed. I witnessed a car accident this morning.”

“Are you okay?” cries Yuu-chan.

“I’m fine, thanks. Haruka and Kanata, though…”

“What happened?”

Ayumu puts her sad face back on as she explains the events of that morning, with that horrible and irresponsible truck driver. As Yuu-chan’s eyes start to water, then spill over, Ayumu feels her fake sadness turn real. She puts a protective arm around Yuu-chan.

“Let’s just eat at home, okay? It’s no good to starve yourself when you’re mourning. Even if you’re sad, keep up your strength.”

Ayumu and Yuu-chan enjoy a delightful breakfast, alone together. Well, Yuu-chan doesn’t eat or talk much, but she’ll get over Haruka soon. She barely even knew her!

Yuu-chan only gets one more text from Kanata after that.

“Karin was right. This club is cursed. I should have never let Haruka come here to visit.”

When she tries to respond, her texts won’t go through. Ayumu hugs Yuu-chan and strokes her hair, telling her that Kanata just needs time to grieve.

Shinonome won’t let them send a response envoy either, when they try to extend the same friendly gesture that Shinonome had sent Nijagasaki before.

The new student council president, Mifune Shioriko, doesn’t bother them. Their numbers have dropped to four, which is below the required amount of members. Though she seems to get into everyone else’s business, she never so much as appears near their clubroom.

“They think we’re cursed,” mutters Shizuku.

“There’s no curse,” denies Kasumi.

“Kasumi is right,” Ayumu adds.

Shizuku turns on her and stomps forward, putting her head right in Ayumu’s personal space. “You saw her die. How can you be so calm?”

Ayumu looks at her with one eyebrow cocked. “I watched my parents die. I barely even knew Haruka. Why wouldn’t I be calm?”

Next to her, Yuu-chan sighs. “I told you to stop using that to win arguments, Ayumu.”

“Is it true?” demands Shizuku, and Yuu-chan has to nod.

“Let’s not talk about that. We’re here to discuss how to proceed…” Again hangs silently in the air. Yuu-chan shakes her head in an almost imperceptible twitch, then continues, “It’s the same as always. As long as there are idols at Nijigasaki, I will continue supporting them.”

Kasumi sets her jaw. “Then it’s the same for me. As long as I can, I will pursue my dream. Just… let’s take a break until the next school year.” It goes unspoken that since there are no longer any third years to consider, this plan has no issues.

“Kasumi-san…” Shizuku breathes, clearly still doubtful. Kasumi’s pleading eyes make up her mind for her. “If you’re all still here next year, then I suppose I’ll come back.”

Yuu-chan doesn’t bother asking Ayumu. Good.

Immediately after they disperse from the final meeting of the year, Ayumu follows Shizuku. Take out Ai, take out Rina. Take out Haruka, take out Kanata. Two birds, one stone.

Take out Shizuku, take out Kasumi, the most stubborn bird of all. It may be more effective to just get rid of Kasumi, but Ayumu’s curiosity is piqued now. If three deaths aren’t enough to make Kasumi give up, will the death of her little girlfriend?

Kasumi’s problem is that she’s greedy. She already has Shizuku clinging to her every word, following her like a shadow, and she’s still going after Ayumu’s Yuu-chan. Maybe she’ll still go after Yuu-chan even after Shizuku is gone. No problem, Ayumu will just kill her then.

The curiosity, though, is too powerful to ignore.

As the cold weather sets in, so too do long nights and early sunsets. By the time they set out for home, it’s already pitch black outside. The courtyards of Nijigasaki Gakuen are only lit by the dim glow of low-reaching electronic direction signs, and it’s all too easy to slip behind the herbage in wait, Ayumu’s own shadows blending into those of the trees around her.

When Shizuku passes by, Ayumu can just barely make out the expression on her face. It’s sickening. If she’s so torn about staying in the club, she should just leave.

Ayumu can’t resist growling, “Why won’t you just GO AWAY?” as she slips out of the bushes and slides a knife between Shizuku’s ribs. Ayumu covers the target’s mouth with her free hand, but she lets out a muffled scream of pain nonetheless. Ayumu rips the knife out and plunges it back into Shizuku’s chest again. Again. Again.

“What’s going on?!” cries a familiar voice. Ayumu inhales sharply, pulling the knife out for the last time before disappearing back into the bushes.

“Shit,” she whispers.

“Shizuko…? Shizuku! What happened? Just hold on, okay? I’m calling for help!”

“Kasumi…” Shizuku’s voice sounds weak and wet. Ayumu must have gotten a solid hit in the lungs. “Never give up on your dreams, okay? I’ll keep supporting you no matter what, so…”

“Shizuku! SHIZUKU!”

Shizuku coughs, the sound of it nothing but a burbling exhale.

Ayumu can barely see, but it looks like Kasumi is cradling Shizuku’s body close. Helpful. If she knew any kind of first aid it would have been annoying. “Shizuku, stay with me, please. Don’t leave me too. Don’t leave me. Please.” Her voice deteriorates into raw sobbing.

The security guards on campus come running shortly thereafter. Ayumu can’t tell if there’s blood on her clothes. When she makes her escape she might leave tracks, and the police will have flashlights. Ayumu curses out loud, and someone points in her direction and shouts. She curses again and risks it, escaping around the corner of the building, still concealed behind the leafy landscaping. Another month, Ayumu muses, and these leaves would have fallen.

Then again, she would never have waited another month. This is all for Yuu-chan. They’re so close to being together again.

As soon as she’s in the clear, she breaks into a full run. Ayumu ducks into an alleyway, and a quick glance with her phone light confirms that her clothes are covered in blood, but her shoes are clean and if there’s blood on her leggings, no one will be able to see it in the dark. She hastily throws her blazer on over her shirt and twists the skirt around to place the bloodstain in the back. Thank goodness for winter uniforms.

Avoiding street lights as much as possible, she manages to make it home without anyone stopping her.

School is canceled for the next week. They investigate the whole idol club, especially Ayumu, having had her name involved in two of the previous cases, but Ayumu could fool a polygraph if she needed to. Rumors spread that the suspect could be someone random, unrelated to school. More likely, it’s one of the Theater club members, having been passed over twice for Shizuku’s lead role months ago. After all, the murder weapon was found among the prop weapons in the theater club closet.

Either way, the police make no arrest.

When the students return to school, they find security personnel patrolling every square foot of campus, including the courtyards. At night, new lamps erase every trace of shadows. It’s bright enough to be daytime. Yuu-chan mentions that the atmosphere is suffocating. Ayumu doesn’t know what there is to be scared of.

In the next school assembly, Mifune Shioriko declares that they will soon be handing out ID cards and introducing card swipe locks to every main entrance of the school, and that metal detectors may be installed at every entrance further down the line. The usual perpetual low level of noise during these assemblies, the whispering, the shifting in the seats, has dropped to nothing.

Even so, rumors continue to catch like wildfire. Ayumu hears the girls in front of her mention the curse on the School Idol Club.

“Don’t be rude. They’re just unlucky. Who would have something against school idols, of all things?”

“What if it’s one of them?”

“One of those three? Have you even seen them? There’s no way. Plus, I heard that even the police can’t find evidence to say that it’s anything but coincidence.”

“Three girls die and one’s sister? Who is also a school idol? That sounds targeted to me.”

“But remember? They already took away that first year who murdered Ai, and the sister died in a car accident. There’s no way it could be one person.”

“A whole group working together!”

“Like an anti-school idol mafia?” At this, the girl turns to her friend to laugh. She catches sight of Ayumu and the color leaves her face faster than a corpse stiffens.

“What?” asks the other girl. “Is it the mafia?” She unsubtly turns to look. Ayumu cocks an eyebrow at her.

The pair of them hurry away. Ayumu thinks she hears the word “cursed” mumbled under a breath.

That night, Ayumu hangs out at Yuu-chan’s house. Yuu-chan has been in a bad mood recently, and Ayumu supposes she understands why, but as long as they take a moment tonight to remember that all they need is each other, Yuu-chan will be right as rain.

“All of this is for you,” says Ayumu.

“What is?” Yuu-chan looks around.

“I mean tonight, I’m all yours. Let’s not think about the bad stuff, okay? We haven’t been able to just enjoy each other’s company for a while.”

Yuu-chan slowly nods. “A distraction would be nice.” Ayumu frowns at the weariness in her voice. Poor, poor, Yuu-chan.

A text notification shakes Ayumu out of her thoughts. At first, Ayumu thinks it’s her phone, then she remembers the only person who ever texts her is Yuu-chan.

Which means someone else is texting Yuu-chan. “It’s Kasumi. She’s asking if she can call,” reads Yuu-chan.

“Sure. I’m going to grab something from my place while you talk, okay?” says Ayumu. Yuu-chan’s phone is already ringing. She smiles absently at Ayumu as she picks up her phone.

Ayumu gives them exactly one minute to talk. Yuu-chan is hers tonight. But when she gets back, they’re still on the phone. As she gets closer, she realizes they’ve even switched to video call.

“I can’t do it! Shizuko, her last words were to keep following my dreams, but I’m so scared. Someone killed her in cold blood. Someone is targeting us. I’m certain of it.” Kasumi’s voice crackles over the speakers.

Ayumu puts her hands on Yuu-chan’s shoulders and leans into the camera. “Kasumi, I know we’re suffering through a lot, but I think you’re being paranoid. Maybe it’s better for you if you just quit the club.”

“Ayumu,” chides Yuu-chan, looking a bit scandalized.

Kasumi doesn’t notice. “But Shizuku… her last words… and someone murdered her…”

“Clearly, you’re suffering.”

“Ayumu-senpai, how can you be so relaxed? It’s like you… like you…” Kasumi’s breath hitches softly.

“Like I what?”

“Nothing. I think… I’ll consider it more on my own time. Sorry for bothering you.”

“Wait, Kasumi!” Yuu-chan fails to stop her, the video blinking away before she even finishes speaking. She turns on Ayumu. “What was that for?”

“I feel like she’s forcing herself. She shouldn’t stay a school idol just because Shizuku choked it out with her last breath.”

Yuu-chan shivers. “Don’t say things like that. You weren’t even there. And what about you, Ayumu?”

“Me?”

“Aren’t you forcing yourself, for my sake?”

Ayumu blinks. Isn’t that obvious? “Of course not. Like I said, as long as we’re together, that’s enough. If anyone’s forcing it, it has to be you, Yuu-chan. You’ve been so down about the School Idol Club, but you won’t quit because of Kasumi. If she leaves, then it’s okay for you to leave too.”

“Aren’t you forgetting someone important?” Yuu-chan touches Ayumu’s cheek.

She leans into the warm palm. “I’m okay to stop whenever. Yuu-chan, all I ever wanted to do was be a school idol just for you. But if you don’t want that from me anymore, we’ll just find something new to do. Just as long as it’s the two of us together.”

Suddenly, Yuu-chan pulls her into a hug, shoving her face into Ayumu’s shoulder. After a beat of surprise, Ayumu starts to feel Yuu-chan shaking, and a warm wetness starts to seep into her sleeve. She wraps her arms around Yuu-chan and caresses her hair. “You don’t have to work so hard for anyone else anymore. Just being here is enough for me. We can quit the School Idol Club.”

As the clock hands spin by, Yuu-chan’s heaving, silent sobs smooth into the slow, even rhythm of sleep, and Ayumu lets herself slip away too, huddled together on the couch.

Ayumu wakes up to a loud clattering sound. She’s alone, but a fluffy blanket is tucked tightly around her shoulder. “Yuu-chan?” she mumbles, rubbing the sleep off of her face.

“Ah, sorry. Did I wake you?” Yuu-chan emerges from her room, dragging her keyboard after her.

Ayumu stills, remembering a darker time.

“Hey, do you remember when I was trying to tell you something, all those months ago?”

“Yeah.” Ayumu answers, pursing her lips.

Yuu-chan doesn’t see, eyes drawn to the keyboard. “I had wanted to switch into the music course. But I missed the transfer application deadline with… everything. And I’m pretty crappy at the piano anyway.”

Her gaze lingers.

“Yuu-chan?”

“I don’t… I don’t know what was so appealing about it anymore.”

“Then,” says Ayumu, standing up. “Let’s get rid of it together, hm?”

Yuu-chan nods slowly at first, then faster as she turns to face Ayumu. “Yeah. I think I’d like that.”

They hoist the keyboard into the complex dumpster together.

“I feel like we could have donated this,” Yuu-chan frowns at the last few keys peeking out over the rim.

“It’s more symbolic this way,” responds Ayumu, shaking her head. “More final.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

With a final look at that little corner of black and white, Yuu-chan turns around. “Let’s go, Ayumu.”

“Yeah.” They reach out to each other. It’s finally time to move on to the next dream. Hand in hand, Ayumu and her Yuu-chan step forward into the future.

Ayumu and Yuu-chan had moved on from the School Idol Club. So why, the next day, is Kasumi here, interrupting Ayumu and Yuu-chan’s precious walking-home-together time?

“I have to talk to you both.”

Ayumu rolls her eyes. “The School Idol Club is over, Kasumi. We don’t need to talk about anything.”

“We can’t just give up! We have to get justice for our club. I’m certain someone, or something was targeting us. Whether it be a person or the curse. We have to work together-”

“You sound like a conspiracy theorist, Kasumi!” Ayumu yells.

Yuu-chan grabs her arm. “You don’t have to yell at her. It’s okay.”

“Why are you siding with her?” Ayumu demands.

“I’m not trying to pick sides, I just-”

“Well, you are!” Ayumu all but screams. Huffing out angry breaths, she sees the hurt look on Yuu-chan’s face and oh no, no no no, this is all Kasumi’s fault. “I’m so sorry Yuu-chan, it wasn’t you I was angry at, I didn’t mean to yell, so don’t make that face, okay?”

Ayumu gently pats the hand holding her sleeve, then turns the full force of her anger on this… interloper.

“You and me, let’s talk. Don’t follow us, Yuu-chan. Okay?”

“Okay…”

Frog-marching Kasumi to a more secluded location, out of Yuu-chan’s earshot, Ayumu glances at her watch. Only a few minutes before the next night patrol reaches this section of school.

Kasumi starts talking before Ayumu can chew her out. “Ayumu-senpai. You know something about the murders, don’t you? Because all of them. They were murders.”

“You don’t know anything. You had better leave us alone or-”

“Or you’ll kill me?” Kasumi demands. Ayumu’s hands twitch. She’s being too loud. Yuu-chan won’t be happy if she hears them yelling. “I know you were the only one there when Haruka died!”

Too loud. Ayumu smirks. “Finally caught on, huh? Little bitch.” She lunges for Kasumi, tackling her to the ground and smashing her face on the ground. Not hard enough to bleed. If Ayumu gets blood on her clothes again, she won’t be able to walk home with Yuu-chan.

Kasumi twists her head as far back as she can to glare at Ayumu. “Let me go!”

Ayumu leans down to whisper in her ear, “For someone who’s usually so stupid you had to pick now to be smart, didn’t you?”

“Because being a school idol is my passion! I have to get justice for our club!”

Ayumu puts a hand to her chest in a mock gesture of scandal. “Our club? It’s not your club anymore. I was the last idol standing. Which means I ended as the number one idol. And now, it’s over.”

“What are you talking about?” Kasumi struggles under Ayumu’s weight, but she’s pinned like a butterfly on display.

“I am Yuu-chan’s favorite school idol! I’m the cutest! I’m the coolest! You’re just a nobody.”

“You’re insane,” whispers Kasumi. Ayumu doesn’t care what Kasumi thinks.

She wraps an arm around Kasumi’s neck, pulling her into a death embrace. Kasumi sputters and tries to scream for help, but Ayumu’s chokehold closes off her windpipe.

With a few last desperate, guttural noises, Kasumi’s eyes roll back into her head and she falls still. “You look funny, Kasumi,” giggles Ayumu to herself. She can’t stop laughing. It’s so funny!

“Ayumu? Kasumi?” Yuu-chan’s voice ripples into Ayumu’s consciousness. She can’t seem to hear like normal. Yuu-chan’s voice sounds so silly! “Kasumi! Is she…”

She stares at Ayumu, who puts on her best stage smile under the spotlight of Yuu-chan’s attention. “Ayumu… you…”

“Me? No~o,” sings Ayumu. “I just found her here like this!”

Yuu-chan doesn’t respond. Why? Ayumu loves her laugh. She’d do anything so that they could laugh together. Suddenly, nothing is funny. Everything is desperately sad. Ayumu throws the thing she’d been holding aside. She wraps her arms around Yuu-chan, pulling her into a loving embrace. Yuu-chan sputters and tries to speak, but Ayumu doesn’t want to hear it.

“Yuu-chan, I did this for you! So we could be alone together again. So you’d be mine again.”

“You did this for me?” Everything is so sad! Why does she sound so sad?

“Yes! Setsuna, too, and Ai, and Haruka. I did all of this for you. I worked so hard for you, Yuu-chan. I did this for your love!”

“They’re all dead because of me?”

“Oh, Yuu-chan, it’s not your fault. I should have never let you have other friends. It’s their own fault, for trying to steal you.” Satisfied that Yuu-chan understands why this was all absolutely necessary, things are starting to look up again. Maybe it’s not so sad, after all! What had Ayumu been worrying about? Right, the guards. Ayumu lets go of Yuu-chan to glance at her watch. Without Ayumu’s support, she sinks to her knees. The security patrol is due to arrive any second.

“We have to go, Yuu-chan! They’ll think we were doing something naughty here.” Yuu-chan still doesn’t laugh. Is she looking at the thing on the floor? That’s boring! She should look at Ayumu.

“Is someone there?” shouts an adult voice from around the corner. Quick, heavy footsteps thunder towards them.

Yuu-chan seems too shell-shocked to move. With no other options, Ayumu grabs Yuu-chan in a princess carry and makes a run for it.

“There!” shout the adult voices. No fun allowed! Those people are stopping Ayumu and Yuu-chan from having their happy ending.

Ayumu is strong. Ayumu is fast. She runs all the way to the rainbow bridge, but carrying Yuu-chan like this and trying to outrun this many guards is too much, even for Ayumu. Several bad guys stand at the edge of the bridge, cutting off their path forward. The other bad guys are still behind her.

Yuu-chan is still scared stiff. That’s okay. Ayumu will take care of her.

In a final burst of speed, Ayumu runs off to the side and plunges off the bridge. She lets go of Yuu-chan briefly to dive smoothly into the water, but when she surfaces again, Yuu-chan seems to have just hit the surface, like splat! She floats on top of the water, motionless.

“Oh, Yuu-chan, it’s okay that you belly flopped! There’s no need to be embarrassed. I’ll take care of you.” She grabs Yuu-chan with one arm and swims away with her other three limbs. It’s hard, and Ayumu is tired, but she’ll be strong for Yuu-chan!

Far below where the bad guys are, even their flashlight beams can’t catch Ayumu and her Yuu-chan down here. Farther down the channel, she finds a concrete overhang to hide under, and she pulls Yuu-chan onto land with her.

It’s pretty dark, but is that darkness in the water a bit red tinted? “Yuu-chan, are you hurt?” Ayumu checks her body. To her shock, there’s a huge bloodstain on Yuu-chan’s side! “Oh no!” exclaims Ayumu, but then she feels a sharp pain in her side.

“When did that happen…? But what’s important is that you’re okay, Yuu-chan. It’s only my blood. I’m fine! I would sacrifice anything to be with you, Yuu-chan. And now that I killed everyone, we can be together forever. This is all I wanted. Us to be happy together.” Ayumu snuggles closer to Yuu-chan. It’s getting cold. They’re both soaking wet.

“Why won’t you talk to me? Are you scared? There’s no need to be scared. See? Ayu-pyon!”

That usually works! “Hey, Yuu-chan, why won’t you laugh?”

“We can be happy now!”

“Why won’t you laugh?”