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"Wooo! Hey, Rui-san! That was our best run-through yet, wouldn't you say?!"
Touko grinned widely, throwing her arm around Rui's shoulder. Rui seemed mostly unbothered by this, sighing and placing her violin down on a nearby table.
"You say this every time, Kirigaya-san." Rui huffed, removing Touko's arm from around her shoulder. "Although, I do admit we have been improving...-"
"Hahah, see? See? Even you admit it! It's not long at all until we'll be performing gigs all around the world!"
Nanami giggled at their argument, shrugging the strap to her bass off her shoulder. "That's a bit farfetched, wouldn't you think...~?"
"Huh? Of course it isn't! I've seen worse get one hundred times the amount of gigs we get, and-"
Mashiro blushed, brushing her hair out of her face. "A-ah, I don't think we should be putting others down to make ourselves feel better..."
Tsukushi watched as the four began to banter, grasping her drumsticks tight ny her lap and beginning to smile.
Something about seeing the band, HER band, joke around like this, made her feel extremely...
"HEY! Tsukushi! Stop zoning out over there, and agree with me!"
"W-waugh-!"
Tsukushi almost leapt out of her own skin at Touko's sudden yell, throwing her arms up in reflex and flinging her drumsticks across the room.
"...Ahaha! Tsu-chan, you weren't paying attention, were you~"
Tsukushi's face erupted with bright red at Nanami's teasing, and she opened her mouth to rebute, but only incoherent stuttering came out. Mashiro looked over at her before smiling sympathetically, and began walking over to grab her drumsticks without a word.
"H-hey! Y-you don't..." Tsukushi began to plead, face still red. "I can pick those up myself, you know~!!!"
"Then why aren't you...?" Rui huffed, looking over at Tsukushi.
...Which just made her even more flustered.
"W-well, um... Fine! I'll go pick them up!" Tsukushi blurted out, puffing her cheeks out in frustration.
"Ahaha, Tsukushi, you really don't..."
"Nope! I'm the leader of Morfonica! I can pick up my own drumsticks!"
Mashiro giggled a little at Tsukushi's insistency, backing up a little as her bandmate got onto the ground to grab them.
"...Hey, Nanami-chan." Mashiro began, voice warm. "Would you mind if we all stay at your place tonight?"
Nanami looked over to Mashiro, tilting her head slightly. "...Sure. That would be nice."
---
Tsukushi was the last to make back to the ateiler that night, and, with her, she wore a backpack that seemed stuffed to the brim.
"Hey, Fusuke!!!" Touko came running as soon as she heard the doorbell, throwing her arms around her bandmate in a hug. "What took you so long, you dork!"
"I-I'm not a dork!" Tsukushi blurted out, pouting. "My sisters just, uh, didn't want me to leave..."
"I bet you're such a wonderful older sister, Tsu-chan~" Nanami hummed as she began to make her way towards the door as well. "You worry about them a lot, don't you?"
"D-don't try and flatter me..." Tsukushi blushed, beginning to take off her backpack. "They just need my help with everything nowadays..."
"We should head downstairs so you can unpack." Nanami smiled. "You seem to have brought a lot."
"Well, I didn't want to come here unprepared! That wouldn't be leader-like at all!"
"This isn't a vacation, Fusuke! It looks like you brought a week's worth of clothes in there!"
Tsukushi groaned, tapping her foot.
"No, I did not!"
She slid her backpack off her shoulders, beginning to unzip it.
"You brought a whole board game, Tsukushi-chan...?"
"Well, we need to do something to pass the time, right?"
In no time, Morfonica was back to their normal banter as Rui sat near the TV and began to set up a movie, giving the four questioning glances from time to time.
"Hey, Tsu-chan! I brought down some pocky~" Nanami called from upstairs, humming to herself as she made her way to the others.
"Aw, sweet! Hey, Shiro! Wanna play the pocky game with me?" Touko smirked, leaning in toward the white-haired vocalist who quickly scooted away.
"A-ah, I don't know, that seems kind of..."
Mashiro blushed slightly, and Tsukushi gave her a questioning glance.
"Pocky game? What's that?"
"You don't know what the pocky game is, Tsu-chan? Well, basically..."
Nanami took one stick from the box, and put it up to her lips as if to begin to eat it. "You bite one end, another person bites another, and you see how close you can get before someone backs away, ooor..." She moves the pocky away, and moves her face dangerously close to Rui's. "Smooch~!"
"Huuh!? You kiss!?" Tsukushi blurted out, blushing furiously as Rui sighed and gently pushed away Nanami's face from hers.
"Hey, we're all girls, here!" Touko chimed in, lounging back and popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. "I've kissed my friends tons of times before."
"Have you...?" Mashiro murmured, still blushing slightly. "I doubt that's, well... normal..."
"Oh, is it not...? I've seen two girls kiss all the time in the mangas I read, though~..." Nanami deflated, fidgeting with the pocky stick in her hand.
"...I'd rather not play the pocky game." Rui stated, brushing her hair out of her face. "Games like these might complicate the relationships within our band."
"Oh, you mean like two of us might start dating?" Touko chimed in, eyes wide. "Hey, Rui-san! If you had to date anyone in this room, who would it be~?"
Rui paused for a second, glancing around the room. Tsukushi caught her eye for a split second, and felt her heart race.
"...Definitely not you, Kirigaya-san."
"Darn!" Touko blurted, laughing to herself. "Hey, Shiro! Who'd you date?"
Mashiro's eyes widened, face turning red. "Uh... U-ummm... D-don't put me on the spot like this, Touko-chan~!"
Touko laughed, punching Mashiro on the shoulder playfully. "Don't worry about it, Shiro. You're secret's safe with me."
"Wh-what's that supposed to mean~!"
"Alright, who's up next?" Touko scanned the room before settling on Nanami. "Hey, Nanami! Who would you pick?"
"Hmm... How about me and Rui-rui~?"
"As expected! You really like her, don't you, Nanami!?"
"Ahaha, that might be a little..."
"...I suppose it's not bad."
Tsukushi's mind was spinning at how quick everyone was talking back and forth. Just the thought of everyone possibly dating made her feel... bewildered. She'd never even considered these things, especially with...
...With everyone already given their piece to the conversation, she realized that everyone's eyes were on her.
"A-ah, uhm... Why is everyone... looking at me...?"
The room went silent as Tsukushi's face turned a brilliant red.
"Y-you don't expect me to... Right?"
Touko was the first to butt in, throwing her arm around her violet-haired leader.
"Nah, it's fine, Tsukushi-chan. I already know your answer."
Aaand she winked.
"W-wait, Touko-chan, you're getting the wrong idea-"
"You're too full of yourself, Kirigaya-san. There is no evidence to suggest that Futaba-san would be romantically interested in you, of all people."
"W-wait, let me-!"
"Huuuh? Are you blind, Yashio? I just don't think you know what romance would be like."
"Do not make assumptions about me, Kirigaya-san. I'm pretty sure I would know more than you ever will. And I know that you shouldn't be as reckless as you are."
"W-wait, does that mean Rui-rui...?"
"G-guys, let me ta-"
"Well, I guess you could be right. Fusuke follows around Shiro like a magnet!" Touko chimed in, cutting Tsukushi off once more.
"I-it's not like that! It's not like that at all!!! Right, Tsukushi-chan!?"
"Hmm, I don't know, Shiro-chan. If anything, I would say it seems like-"
"GUYS, LET ME TALK~!!!"
The room fell silent as all eyes fell onto Tsukushi once more, who was blushing madly and panting as if she just ran a marathon.
"W-well, I, uh...
I...
I can't choose~~!!"
"Wait, does that mean-"
"I-I... I think I have a crush on all of you!!!"
"Tsu-chan...!"
"Wait, are you-!?"
"A... c-crush?!"
"..."
Tsukushi immediately grabbed a blanket and covered her face, shrinking into herself.
"A-ah, um..." Nanami began, cheeks red. "We were... j-just..."
"Fusuke, we weren't, like... serious, you know-? You aren't joshing us, are you...?"
Tsukushi scrunched up even further, making her small stature seem even smaller.
"Tsukushi-chan, if I knew you felt that way, I..." Mashiro muttered, visibly stunned as well.
Rui said nothing, turning away as Tsukushi began to uncover her face.
"A-ah, I... this isn't leader-like at all... I...
...Ah, no... Why am I..."
"Wait, Fusuke, are you...!"
Touko was the first to her side, hand hovering over the other's shoulder.
"I-It isn't that serious, y'know? I-I don't, we don't..."
"I don't think any less of you, Tsukushi-chan." Mashiro murmured. "How long have you... felt like this? For me? For us?"
"...A while." Tsukushi sniffled, holding the blanket close.
"Oh, Tsu-chan..."
"...Ugh...
Can you all just... forget I said anything...? Please?"
"...No. No! I'm not going to!"
And, with that, Mashiro suddenly grabbed Tsukushi and pulled her into a tight hug.
"M-Mashiro-chan!?"
Nanami was the next to leap in, then Touko, all joined together in a group hug.
"We love you too, Tsu-chan. Please don't say things like that."
"Y-yeah, dude! You're... I know I make fun of you all the time, but I have you to thank for a lot! Really! Truly!"
"...!"
Rui sat and watched from a distance, eyes wide. Although she didn't move an inch, Tsukushi felt her presence in the hug as well. Maybe she had her own way of showing her love.
"G-guys... you..."
Tsukushi pulled back after a little, wiping her tears a little with her sleeves.
"Does this mean t-that... we all..."
"Sure, dude. If you want it to be."
"I wouldn't mind that, Tsukushi-chan."
"...Sure, Tsu-chan. For you."
"You guys... thank you! Thank you all so much!!!"
---
...
......
.........
"Futaba-san, can you not sleep?"
"...Rui-san? You too?"
"Probably from a completely different reason from you, I'd guess."
Tsukushi let out a soft laugh before turning her gaze toward her bandmate, warm and understanding.
"...Rui-san. Are you worried about what will happen to the band now that we're all...?"
"...Yes."
Silence.
"...
Rui-san. Things will turn out okay, I promise. I don't know what things happened to you, but... I'll make sure you heal from them. Alright?"
"...Do what you will."
"Alrighty, then. Good night. I... love you, Rui-san."
"...Good night.
And... thank you, Futaba-san."