Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Deep breath in...

There was a kind of tranquil peace in being the kind of person who doesn't stand out. To have that kind of lowkey aura where people may hardly pay attention to you despite your physical presnece being undeniable. Like your very person was easy to overlook. Or maybe it was more accurate to say they sort of forget you're even there.

Deep breath out...

To be honest, she'd always had mixed feelings about this inextricable trait of hers. What kind of great actress can command the attention of a rapt audience from the stage at one moment, yet once she gets off the stage goes right back to being a fly on the wall? People weren't exactly eager to make friendly with some girl who doesn't stand out, so unless you were the kind of person who wants to blend into the background, then what's the point? It wasn't a good feeling to know that in the other girls' heads you only stand out when you excel at a role in performance, only to be relegated off to the side and be called aloof, or distant, or creepy behind your back.

Or front, because again, they forgot you're there and the fact you still have ears.

Deep breath in...

Even so...

Hold.

Kurane lifted her gaze from the table, keeping a surreptitious watch of the other girls in the staff room whilst keeping her breathing under control. She cycled one visible eye across the room to gauge the mood.

Every girl present looked out of sorts. Avoidant, Kurane noted with familiarity. They were probably still stupified by the absurd horror of what had just happened.

Despite not being able to quell the nervous thrums of her heartbeat, Kurane at least felt relief she wasn't the centerpiece of this deadly drama. Yoshiko and Waruna more fit the bill in that regard than she ever could. In this case, for once, she was more than happy to offshore the attention to others and camouflage in her seat. She might as well be a ghost, a non-actor playing spectator.

Deep breath out...

If all Kurane had to do was act like her normal self for this deception to work without a hitch, then so be it. Remaining committed to a script was child's play for her. She's isn't regarded as one of the Theater Club's best pure actors for nothing.

All she could hope for, however, was that the others didn't fumble their lines in this grand deception.

Or worse, to one of the Peacekeepers.

To Kurane's displeasure, however, this uneasy if stable silence within the staff room quickly disappeared at the sound of the door opening and closing behind her. Everyone was alerted to the newcomer's arrival.

Kurane sharply twitched her head to the side before gracefully and quickly dipping it back to a hunched position. Not having seen the one who entered yet.

Calm down. Kurane mentally rehearsed, trying to maintain even breathing. It's fine. It's probably just someone who forgot her makeup kit or something. The Peacekeepers would be making much more of a scene. You're fine.

Kurane hadn't been called in for questioning just yet, but her overactive imagination was doing her no favors by hyperbolizing the terrifying thought of their plan going up in flames. Accompanied by the image of a squad of angry masked men bursting into the room to arrest her on the spot. Her worries were obviously overblown, but unfortunately Kurane was a girl always plagued with some form of anxieties, light or heavy.

In this case, she probably had nothing to worry about. So without turning her head this time and hearing the sharp clicks of footsteps move up behind her, Kurane glanced aside to see who came in.

Upon seeing the figure, she narrowed her eyes.

Yoshiko...?

Having gently shutting the door closed behind her, Kurane watched the honor student scan the room with uncertain eyes. Like she was taking in an unfamiliar space for the first time and doing her best to maintain bearings. Holding a comforting grip on her prop bag, Yoshiko's gaze swiveled around the room.

When her eyes finally met Kurane, her nervous expression quickly switched to panic before making haste to shuffle passed her. Her back went ramrod straight, but otherwise tried to appear like she belonged. She offered a shaky smile to some nearby girls.

The other Theater Club girls present in the room collectively unwinded upon seeing it was Yoshiko. She was always good at playing mediator for when petty fights broke out, or when one of them just needed an open ear and easy smile to hear out their troubles. Yoshiko had always been a reliable defuser.

But Kurane's troubles weren't feeling eased. Not at all.

Kurane kept her expression schooled to her usual blank face, but internally she had to stop herself from blatantly gawking as Yoshiko circled the room and talked to all the girls. Whatever conversations they were having were too quiet for Kurane to pick up on, not without getting up and moving closer, which she was not about to do.

Was there a problem all of a sudden? Kurane had confirmed earlier that Yoshiko had retreated to the rest area to be by herself, as she expected the girl was going to do. Their defacto leader had stated in no uncertain terms that she wouldn't accept any attempts to talk to her, and that each girl should stay in their lane for the time being. No doubt taking after Waruna's lead.

It was deemed for the best on all accounts that the three of them remain separated while the Peacekeepers conducted their sham of an investigation. This way there'd be less suspicion surrounding them as a group, and the rumor mill would be allowed to churn away as usual, further diluting the truth of what just happened.

But what Yoshiko was doing here... this wasn't in the plan.

Kurane watched Yoshiko shuffle in the corner next to the gossiping girls, sheepishly being chided by one of the more serious Theater Club members about standing too close to another girl's locker and not starting fights (again). The two gossipers finally realized they were being listened in on and promptly shut up. All the while, Yoshiko continued to make small glances at the porcelain white locker formerly belonging to Karen.

Kurane narrowed her eyes ever so visibly as she observed silently. Is she wanting to confirm something, or is she just anxious?

The plan dictated that Karen's script mustn't be kept out in the open, so Kurane was quick to snatch the binding in the wake of confusion immediately after Karen vomited blood and collapsed. The quick-footed Kurane made haste to the staff room ahead of everyone else to stow the script away in that very locker. Granted, she'd been in such a frenzied hurry that she had shoved the script in there haphazardly and with little care, but the task had still been completed. Yoshiko knew Kurane had that covered.

So why bother checking when she wasn't allowed to open the locker anyway?

Kurane also noted that Yoshiko was glancing her way. The girl was wearing a thinking frown, like she was debating whether or not to talk to her. Kurane genuinely couldn't tell if the trepidation on her face was authentic or not. Either way, the two of them weren't supposed to be in the same room in the first place.

To Kurane's surprise, Yoshiko seemed to steel herself at last and approached her side.

Although she hadn't expected this, Kurane didn't try to stonewall the production assistant like had been instructed.

Waruna would probably be mad, and maybe she was right to be. But it felt wrong for Kurane to do that, especially to Yoshiko. The other girl wouldn't just stupidly come up to her if it wasn't for a good reason, right? She had trusted the honor student long before the plan had come into being, so she wasn't about to start doubting her now.

So instead, she came up with a simple and direct approach. Gaining confidence, Kurane kept her gaze on the table as Yoshiko stopped in front of her.

"You managed it well." She complimented quietly, smiling ambiguously off to the side.

She spoke at enough volume that any of the girls who wanted to listen in could do so, but which still implied that this was a private conversation.

Yoshiko blinked a couple of times with that nervous smile still plastered on her face. "Huh? W-what do you mean?" She replied, her body language contorting with nervousness

Kurane's heart untensed, feeling like she could sigh in relief. A genuine reaction like that was perfect. If she was playing along, the girl was indeed doing a good job.

Although Waruna had warned them like a billion times already not to overcomplicate things and stay away from each other, Kurane knew full well from experience that a well-timed moment with just the right words or gestures thrown in could mess with people's perceptions harder than any hard truth ever could.

Kurane knew for a fact that the other girls present wouldn't dare ignore or miss something like this. Kurane and Yoshiko, chatting privately with one another? After a murder? Obviously, Kurane wasn't intending to let anything too implicative slip, but if they were gonna draw their own conclusions anyway, then might as well fan the flames a little bit!

Besides, her compliment was the truth anyway. Kurane had watched raptly as Yoshiko returned to the Theater Hall right on the dot, slipping the cup onstage during the blackout without nary a soul to suspect her. The context was just absent for anybody not in the know.

"You're getting good at playing dumb, too," she chuckled lightly. "Are you practicing for the Peacekeepers?" She changed her expression again to a practiced look of faux-jealousy. "You really are the top actress after all." She continued complimenting, although this time with layers.

Undertone suggestiveness mixed with the truth. For anyone with preconceived notions, her words would be taken completely the wrong way, in exactly the way she wanted them to.

"A-are you talking about what just happened?" Yoshiko tried confirming.

Kurane frowned a bit, genuinely this time. That wasn't what she expected her to say.

Yoshiko, despite her mild-mannered and friendly demeanor, usually didn't tolerate slights thrown her way, even from their other catty friend in private. Kurane had more expected Yoshiko to respond with something more subtle, like "if one of us were expected to feign innocence to the Peacekeepers, I feel you would better serve that role Kurane." 

She must be more nervous about everything going on than Kurane thought.

This was entirely unlike the usually peppy and enthusiastic theater coordinator the entire club knew and loved. Even once upon a time when Kurane had thought Yoshiko was like an overbearing, attention-hogging airhead, she'd never once thought of the girl as timid.

No... Yoshiko did, in fact, possess strength in spades.

Back in the early days of their acting careers, Kurane was far different and worse than her future self. Her clubmates would always describe her with all the classic descriptions of being a creepy loner, but in the times she was a new theater member you could also easily call her unmotivated.

Back then, Kurane was much, much less enthusiastic about the club and acting. The only reason she'd even joined  Aetheria Academy's Theater Program was due to pressure by her parents to be a part of something productive and prestigious whilst attending.

It would look good on her character, they said...

It didn't even matter that their only daughter was as far away as could be from a social butterfly, nor had any considerations been made on whether she even wanted to do acting. To put it bluntly, joining began only as an obligation.

Not helping her was that Kurane's personality isn't what you'd expect out of a diligent club member ready to help out the team when needed. Needless to say, she didn't earn many points in the other girls' books. Looking back, Yoshiko probably also didn't like her.

However, things had the opportunity to change during her first play.

Yoshiko had been picked to serve as Stage Director for the upcoming play, one of four which premiered throughout the school year to the wider city. The plot centered around the internal feuding of an affluent family, and their various power games in and outside of their home. That had been a particularly intense series of auditions and position hirings, since an excess of new members had only recently joined, including Kurane. 

As part of many compromises that went on around that time, there was a general agreement that the popular Yoshiko was... the most diplomatic choice for the position of Stage Director.

Things heated up when as part of her obligations to help decide the cast Yoshiko decided that the role of a pretty important character, a dutiful and witty servant, best fit the reclusive Kurane. Primarily due to her well-kept appearance and otherwise excellent mannerisms. As well as, in hew own words, "to give fresh blood a chance to shine."

Most of the Theater Club at the time questioned the casting decision, exacerbated by their already existing dislike for Kurane. Yoshiko's only saving grace being that her reputation was, as-ever sparkling clean, and broadly viewed as a trustworthy judge of character.

To everyone's surprise, Kurane chose to resist the casting decision, much to Yoshiko's bewildered annoyance. The girl only acquiesced when another main lead, Aiko, openly supported Yoshiko's choice and pleaded with Kurane to accept. With the highly respected actresses forcing her hand, Kurane eventually had no choice but to fold.

But she certainly didn't make the process easy.

There was a lot of figurative, and maybe even literal, hair-pulling at the time as the group-oriented Yoshiko clashed with Kurane's uncooperative nature. Yoshiko had to personally oversee many of her scenes in private to finally get the details right, with a couple of the better ones involving Aiko acting the role of the family's withdrawn daughter. She even chose to devote her valuable time to help the newbie actor with her scenes, and even share tips.

Neither of these three girls were quite friends yet, even with Aiko, but looking back that experience was a necessary one to kickstart the girls down the road to friendship.

Of course, Aiko wasn't always there to serve as a buffer. Aiko had a positive relationship with most everyone in the Theater Club, so her time couldn't always be devoted to them. Waruna, another longtime club member with an ambitious streak to her name, was often the one to drag Aiko away from their sessions. Often rather forcefully. The girls didn't know it at the time, but Aiko and Waruna were longtime friends. Aiko was just that well-liked.

Aiko apparently also had one other major close friend not part of the Theater Club, but none of the girls knew her.

Kurane had difficulty investing herself into these fictional characters, even if on the inside she might resonate with them like ones she related to in her romance novels. That gave her a useful starting point, which Yoshiko patiently began using to cement core acting fundamentals into her, as well as some more advanced improv techniques to align herself more with her character.

Kurane's first impression of Yoshiko was that she was a preachy people-pleaser, but Kurane eventually had to admit that the coordinator indeed knew her stuff. She actually possessed a lot of talent.

Eventually, Kurane could give a decent all-round performance, but that was never enough for Yoshiko, who always demanded more out of her. Obviously this annoyed the ill-motivated Kurane greatly.

During a particularly grueling session onstage afterschool, long after Aiko and the others had gone home, Yoshiko insisted that Kurane give a perfect delivery during a crucial scene her character had with the family daughter. Something about propelling her role to enhance the entire play, or something like that...

Although Kurane despised what she saw as Yoshiko being an overbearing taskmaster at the time, but she would soon come to realize that the other girl's motivations, unlike so many of the other spiteful girls in the club, were fully altruistic.

"—key to answering this broken cycle lies..." Kurane swallowed quickly, trying to retain her bearings at recounting her character's intense monologue. "...beneath your breast, young Mistress." Kurane took another breath, preparing the next delivery.

"Hold," Yoshiko stopped her.

This prompted an undignified groan out of Kurane, as she mentally anguished at how many times Yoshiko had interrupted her to correct a mistake.

Yoshiko stepped up to her with a firm expression, her eyes calmly washing over her student. "Your tone is exactly right, but the pause you made in the middle weakens the buildup to the Servant's crucial advice. It needs to be one unified string of words without breake or pause." She instructed, ignoring Kurane's disbelieving stare. "Please try again, Kurane."

"Ugh!" Kurane stomped petulantly, grabbing fistfuls of her hair. She dropped the cane she'd been propping herself up on as part of the act, before sharing her complaints. "This is so dumb! It was just a little pause!"

Her senior shook her head. "Little pauses perhaps won't obstruct the performance by themselves," Yoshiko conceded. "But little mistakes added up from the beginning of the act to the end take away a lot from the collective whole."

The girl really liked talking about things in collectives, Kurane observed with petty glumness.

"This is why we practice." Yoshiko tapped the script she was holding against her palm. "To smooth over those little bumps to improve the overall quality of your act. An actress who has devoted herself wholly to stamping out every inconsistency is a higher caliber than one who does not." Yoshiko spoke her mantra lightly, smiling.

"They're not gonna notice the difference, you blind little..." Kurane whispered, deliberately making sure not to say the noun aloud. Yoshiko frowned slightly at Kurane's whining, but did not pursue it.

"Maybe not consciously, but an attentive audience will know when corners have been cut." Yoshiko countered. At Kurane's incredulous glance, Yoshiko offered an example. "Think of it like a work of literature. Although a reader can never know how much effort the author put into their work, the correct way to judge such intentions is by just reading it. The emotional resonance and investment the reader feels is what reveals the author's sincerity. I'm sure you yourself have felt that before, right Kurane?" Yoshiko said with a knowing look. Especially since Kurane often read by herself in the back of the room.

Kurane bristled as she crossed her arms.

She hated the fact Yoshiko had made a decent point with that analogy.

Witnessing her coldness, Yoshiko closed her eyes in thought, ignoring Kurane wrapping her arms around herself as the girls struggled to bridge their understandings.

All Kurane felt was disdain for the whole thing. Despising the fatigue, the constant practice, the feeling of not being good enough... And here she was, being forced to give more and more into something she hadn't been given a choice on in the first place.

What did Yoshiko want from her?

"Look," Yoshiko tried again, adopting a serious expression and in a tone Kurane was forced to address. "I can't say I know why you joined the Theater Club if your only intent were to obstruct things." Yoshiko brushed away some of her hair to the side, ignoring Kurane's shaking fists. "But everyone else is putting their all into this performance, and want to see you do your best as well. So, can you please give the same effort in kind?" Yoshiko asked.

Even though the request was gentle, Kurane didn't feel the least bit soothed as the perceived unfairness of it all made her snap.

"M-my best? Are you kidding me?" Kurane asked in disbelief.

Did this girl really not see it?! Here they were, spending hours upon hours across multiple days getting her ready for a stupid play she never even wanted to be in. And now she was pulling the "do it for the team!" card? When that very team looked down at her with disdain?!

Kurane started to pace in a frantic back-and-forth. "You know that the lot of them want to see me flop on stage! 'Want to see me do my best'? A-as if!" She mocked.

Yoshiko had taken a step back, clearly not expecting this reaction. However, she didn't say anything, and allowed Kurane to get everything out of her system.

She kept going. "E-even now, a week before the play, they're still talking about how someone like Karen would do way better than I could! And they're right!" She lamented with a yell, which reverberated across the Theater Hall. "I-I'm not cut out for acting to this degree! I... I should've never joined in the first place." She trailed, all her doubts and insecurities seeming to pour out without resistance.

She wasn't sure why all these doubts had culminated in this confession in front of Yoshiko. Maybe because of her gentle aura?  Maybe because she was a pain in the ass? Either way, Kurane couldn't stop herself.

" What's the point of it all...?" She asked rhetorically, Yoshiko opened her mouth as if to respond, only to refrain and let her continue. "And... what does it matter about giving it my all anyway? No one's gonna c-care. So long as I'm just a part of the club, whether I do good or not, it's not gonna matter..."

Kurane pressed a fist against her forehead, feeling the stirrings of a headache come on to her. She began to feel emptier, as if her burdens had been a literal physical substance she was actively pouring out.

"I-it..." She said lowly, her voice having died down by a lot since she started. "It doesn't matter to them if I'm good or not, it doesn't m-make a difference..." She finished weakly, not entirely sure whether she was referring to the students, the audience, to Yoshiko...

Or to her parents.

Maybe it was a bit of 'all the above'.

"You're wrong." Yoshiko countered gently, stepping forward and bending down slightly to look Kurane straight in the eyes. Although they were about the same height naturally, Yoshiko's heels led to her standing above the majority of girls at the school.

Kurane quickly flicked away any moisture, but did look at Yoshiko. Her gentle smile was so warm, so motherly. Was this what the other club members talked about when they said Yoshiko had a soothing presence?

"Perhaps some of them secretly wish for you to fail, but that is on them, and they don't represent what everyone feels." Yoshiko assured, never once dropping her smile. "What about Karen, or Waruna, constantly practicing after school to get their roles right? Or myself, who very much wants you, and everyone performing, to give it all they've got? Or Aiko especially, working together with you and offering you advice and encouragement?"

"..." Kurane looked away with a shaky frown.

"Or..." Yoshiko drew the word out, gingerly extending her hands toward her. Although Kurane jumped with a start, she didn't move or jerk away as Yoshiko enveloped her hand in a gentle fold. Kurane was entirely unused to touch from anyone outside of her family, but even though it was unfamilar... she couldn't say she disliked it. In embarrassment, Kurane jolted her shoulders up and looked away sheepishly.

"...What about myself?" Yoshiko laughed breathily, referring to herself in a joking tone. "Do you truly think I would spend all this time with you if I thought you weren't worthy of being here? If you are of the thought that many in the club look down on you, does that include myself?" She asked genuinely.

...So this is what it meant to be shut down by kindness. It almost felt unfair how good Yoshiko was at quieting someone's worries. They weren't outright gone, but still.

"This is your first major debut on-stage." Yoshiko let go of Kurane's hands, who pulled to press one against her collarbone. Yoshiko continued in a firm tone. "Everyone is counting on you, whether they want to or not, to give it your absolute best. I believe you have an obligation to do that for the Theater Club as a whole, Kurane. You possess as much of a pivotal role in everyone's success as the next actress, so please live up to that expectation." She sighed, smiling tiredly. "And if nothing else, I would ask that you put your all into this upcoming play to at least see if acting is the right fit for you. No matter what your initial reasons are for joining, they don't have to be the same ones for you to stay."

Kurane let out a breathy sigh, placing a fist against her chest upon hearing Yoshiko's words.

A reason to stay...?

"Now, let's try that line again, Kurane." Yoshiko restarted with renewed spirit, of which Kurane had no idea where the girl constantly drew from. "With conviction! From the top!" She cleared her throat, lifting the script back to eye level as Kurane reluctantly returned to position. "'The key to answering this broken cycle lies beneath your breast, young Mistress. Were you to lift your heart and raise your melodious voice from beneath this loathsome field of thorns, your path forward shall be clear!'"

After that day, Kurane would not complain about Yoshiko's interventions again.

Such sanctimonious fervor kind of pissed her off at the time. It was then she had concluded that between the two forceful personalities, Yoshiko could indeed be more stubborn than the bull Waruna. But regardless of all that, Kurane decided to continue forward anyway.

And when the day of the big show arrived, despite everyone else's expectations, Kurane infused enough of her newly awakened passion into her role that her casting in the play was a major success! In fact, the scene she and Yoshiko had practiced for involving the servant and the daughter became the crowd favorite.

Kurane could still remember the warm feeling coursing through her at the post-play celebration with everyone. How good it felt to hear Aiko compliment her raw acting abilities, and express enthusiasm at opportunities to work together in the future. That was the the most enthused anyone had ever been at the prospect of working with her on something.

Or how Waruna had given her a genuine compliment on her underdog performance, warning Kurane however that the next top spot wasn't guaranteed to go her way. However, the way Waruna had said it felt like it was in good spirits, so her words didn't repel her like they often did before.

Her present self could also easily identify this point as the origin for where her relationship with Yoshiko began to thaw, and indeed blossom. The girl who guided her every step of the way was the catalyst for Kurane's acting career. Her influence was undeniable. And yet, Yoshiko had merely offered her heartfelt congratulations for exceeding expectations, otherwise treating her normally. She and Aiko been both elated to see her success. And it bookmarked the beginning of many thrilling performances in their future, ones Kurane actually felt a great excitement for now.

She had finally found a reason outside of her parent' wishes to devote herself to this.

Those... were good times.

But those times were also, unfortunately, over now. And the reality of her and Yoshiko's relationship isn't what needs to be showcased right now. Kurane had to remind herself of that, however reluctantly. She and Yoshiko, her bitter rival, can't be friendly with each other. And talking about Karen's murder, and by extension how they were feeling right now, was a big fat No.

"You really wanna say that so loudly?" She decided on, sighing. Kurane didn't know what Yoshiko wanted her to say or do in this situation. Speaking candidly with each other now was a really bad idea, and whatever was eating at her clearly nervous senior would have to wait for when the waters died down.

Yoshiko nervously looked down at the ground, folding her arms beneath her chest.

Glancing around, Kurane noted how none of the other girls were looking directly at them, but it was clear the two of them were the center of attention. Thinking quickly, Kurane decided she couldn't leave Yoshiko with nothing. So she decided to go with something with enough ambiguity to leave the others guessing, whilst hopefully conveying something comforting to the obviously uncomfortable girl.

"Hehe," she laughed lightly with an ambiguous smile again, folding her hands in her lap. "Don't worry, I know how to keep a secret." She said assuringly, turning away from Yoshiko for good.

Jolting up at her words, Yoshiko looked upon her rival in shock in response to her words. Most likely processing them in a completely different way than anyone in the room would. She looked pensively to the side with a complicated expression, before nodding with a shaky smile. All the while, Kurane held on to her questionable grin.

Yoshiko promptly excused herself, moving off to the side to check her locker after some hesitation. She looked inside there for a while, definitely longer than what was considered normal, before closing it and moving back toward the door. Kurane watched her intensely the entire time, not bothering to hide her stare now. When they looked at each other one last time, Kurane had already schooled her expression back to normal and refrained from changing it by an inch.

She at least hoped the honor student knew how she felt.

The best guess Kurane could come up with for her strange behavior was that the poor girl wanted to double check everything to make sure there was absolutely nothing that could link the crime back to any of them. And with Yoshiko's pristine reputation, walking around and getting information under the guise of hearing the other girls' problems was a decent way of doing just that. Other than that, Kurane came up blank.

All three of them had chosen to sully themselves, and thus each girl was each other's bedfellow. Once upon a time, she had thought her time here at Aetheria would be spent in accompanied solitude, performing the motions of each day with mechanical and dull routine without nary a soul to share the journey with. And although she'd say there were many parts of such a journey she would've preferred without, she can't say the same about the company she'd been joined with. This wasn't how she thought things would go, not by a longshot...

But she didn't regret it.

And hopefully Yoshiko felt the same way.

They had done it. Now, they were just waiting for the results. Whatever the outcome, they would face it together.

tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap

Drumming her nails against the used countertop, she stared listlessly at the seafoam green eyes reflecting in the mirror, swaying her head side-to-side. She alternated between watching her star earrings fiddle back and forth, and staring at her eyes in the vanity. The eyes that directly witnessed a murder.

The eyes belonging to a murderer.

tap-tap...

Waruna stopped with a displeased frown.

Shaking her head fiercely, Waruna glared back to her reflection with a quiet growl, trying to muster up some enthusiasm and fire.

It was just the three of them sitting in the makeup room, Waruna and her second friend group. It made her feel a bit better to be in decent company, since Waruna didn't feel so exposed that she couldn't show any vulnerability. Now, around the other Theater girls? Hell no. Any show of weakness around those gossip hyenas would only come across as a guilty conscience in their little worlds. Even though Waruna wasn't as tight with these two as her other friends, they'd followed her around loyally since her initial falling out with Yoshiko and Kurane. And they at least had the good sense to realize that maybe standing in front of someone who freaking died would be traumatic, y'know? That was the reason Waruna felt so shaken up.

Yeah, that was it. That's what she was feeling. It wouldn't have mattered whose death she had witnessed up close, whether it be that of a loved one, a stranger, or a hated enemy. She only felt this way due to seeing someone die, not because she regretted the death itself.

After all, Waruna absolutely didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about what they just did. Despite her earlier trepidations about this nefarious scheme, Waruna felt quite differently now. Karen had this coming to her, without a doubt. You don't just get to kill someone, disguise your homicide like your victim just offed herself out of nowhere, and walk away scot-free! Kanai Ward and the Peacekeepers may conveniently overlook your little oopsie like the little shits that they are, but not her.

Not them.

Not for killing their only ray of sunshine in this gloomy, secret-infested wastedump of a city.

The three of them had tried to do this the correct way, the legal way, and for what? What did they have to show for it?

Yoshiko was right. She had been right all along...

But if that's all there was to it, then why was she only getting more upset the longer she thought about it?

Was she unsatisfied with the results? Waruna didn't think so. The snooty girl had gotten her just desserts: she reaped the benefits of her stolen lead role with innocent blood as currency, and in turn lost the spark of her life at the climax of her career. Karen hadn't gotten so much as a slap on the wrist for her actions and had escaped from justice for half a year up until today. This was just the pendulum finally making its swingback. It just required a few high school girls to do the damn police's job in the end.

So then, what...? Did Waruna want to inflict an even worse punishment on Karen?

Maybe? But also sort of not really?

Waruna would be the first to admit that Karen was a bitch. Passionate about being an actress? Oh hell yeah, no doubt. Even if she hated the blue-blooded hack there was no denying her talent. Her expert handling of the character Natasha was clear proof of that. But that wasn't due to being a team player. If anything, Karen shunned away any opportunities to refine her acting skills with the rest of the club or be a team player, trying to get by on her own and take all the credit for her successes. And that attitude of hers always pissed Waruna off, from day one.

Now, she could get being super competitive and not wanting to lean on others all that much. Yoshiko can stomp and seethe about teamwork all she wants, Waruna was here to be the best damn actress she could, on her own terms. But at least she didn't go prancing around like a diva wanting to outshine all the peasants. The rest of the girls were Waruna's rivals; rivals she wanted to beat, sure, but she wasn't the type of person to dismiss offhand them like Karen did. They deserved some respect.

Aiko had taught her more than anybody that a good rival can really make you soar to new heights...

Was she feeling... vindictive then? Did she... want Karen to suffer even longer from the poison, or maybe do something far worse? 

Really inflict the pain?

Waruna paused, thinking about this with more than a little worry.

No, no... The poison was definitely enough, she assured herself. Whilst Kurane and Yoshiko had bleedier hearts than her, even Waruna didn't feel all that much need to make Karen suffer more than she had to. The haughty girl took Aiko's life, so she lost her own in return. Tit for tat, and all that. If she thought she could get away from justice because the hand meant to dish it out was playing favoritism, justice would be served another way. But nothing beyond that. Say what you want about Waruna: she's mean, she's insensitive, she's sometimes a little dense about people's feelings. But she's no sadist.

So... why then? Why is she not satisfied with this outcome? What is wrong with her?!

"Ugggggh!" She groaned out, half-furiously and half-pathetically. She tightly gripped the countertop with her head down so she couldn't see her furious face, scrunching her nails uncomfortably against the quartz countertop. "This sucks..." She mumbled.

"Hey, Waruna... You hanging in there?" A feminine voice came from behind her. Usually a pretty foul-mouthed person like her, but this time demonstrating a modicum of concern in her voice.

Immediately loosening her grip, Waruna manually eased her frown and eyebrows in the mirror reflection. Going on a meltdown right here was a pretty pointless thing to do.

Even though she really, really wanted to hit something.

Whatever the reason, the deed was done, and nothing could change that.

Ugh, and now these two were gonna start pitying her for that pathetic display... Great.

Waruna got up for a second, grabbing the back of the chair to swing it around to face the girls. Plopping herself back down, she was relieved neither of them looked like they were gonna start throwing a pity party for her. Good thing too, because she did not like pointless sympathy.

Crossing her leg, she just gave the girl on the left who had spoken first a look. "What do you think?" She asked with a deadpan tone.

The girl smirked in response, seemingly pleased their defacto leader hadn't lost her sass. But before either girl could continue, or Waruna could go back to alone time, the sound of the door handle creaking broke the moment.

Waruna narrowed her eyes suspiciously and looked to her left. She had made it perfectly clear that the makeup room was her territory, hadn't she? Whoever was coming in had better have a good reason for disturbing them.

Upon seeing the figure step through the entrance, Waruna's face instantly went stricken with several negative emotions. "Ah!" A shocked sound came from her throat as she jumped from her seat, watching as Yoshiko swiftly shut the door behind her. The atmosphere in the room immediately froze into a suffocating choke clamped around the two girls' necks. For very different reasons.

Yoshiko was one of the last people Waruna wanted to see right now.

Staring in an open-mouthed stupor for a few more seconds like a goldfish, Waruna's face quickly turned stern as she turned to her underlings. "Can we have some time alone for a bit?" She hissed in a tone that brokered no argument.

They were not allowed to be privy to this, even if it was a farce.

The two girls didn't need a second warning. Turning around, they filed passed the vanity mirrors near the half-wall and made for the adjacent room. All the while both stared at the honor student, defacto leader of the Theater Club, with mixed reception. One looked at her while nervously folding her hands against her chest, the other sent Yoshiko an unkind glance before grabbing the door handle to leave.

At the click of the closing door a few moments later, Waruna wasted no time in crossing the room in several long strides, no doubt exasperating whatever nervous feelings the short-haired girl was currently harboring. And she was right to be nervous.

Because Waruna had a very important question burning inside her mind right now:

What the hell was is she doing here?

"Um..." Yoshiko started bravely, no doubt sensing the disapproval at her presence coming off of Waruna in waves. "About what happened..." She whimpered out, already trying to placate her.

Oh no you don't, Yoshiko! Waruna internally countered with a scowl. I'm stopping you right there. I warned you!

Creasing her eyebrows together fiercely, Waruna adopted an aggressive stance. "How could you show your face here after murdering Karen?" She spat, the accusation burning like acid in her mouth. But she didn't waver, channeling her already existing anger and amplifying it towards her friend.

"Huh?" Yoshiko mumbled quietly, stepping back. Her expression practically advertised confusion and surprise, and more than some amount of hurt. Wide floral eyes eyes taken aback by the immediate hostility. Like she was shocked at how angry Waruna already is when she's hardly said anything yet.

All the doubt and frustration that had been building up for the past hour was manifesting itself right now. And Yoshiko was the poor soul unfortunate enough to take the brunt of it. Even so, Waruna saw no sense in letting up. She had told them that this was gonna happen if either one broke their covenant and tried to approach her.

And it looks like Yoshiko didn't listen...

Still, it's not like Waruna didn't expect something like this couldn't happen. Hell, wasn't she getting all pitiful and unsure of herself only a freaking minute ago?

However, she had expected Kurane to be the one to break first, not Yoshiko. Weird, but Waruna guessed that even Miss Team Manager wasn't immune to the pressure, despite literally beings the brains of this whole thing.

Either way, she had to do something about this.

"You're not supposed to be here. Listen, the Peacekeepers are everywhere." Waruna relayed, her intense expression masking an underlying plea for the girl to just leave. Glancing at the door the girls walked out of moments ago, she continued. "So stay away from me, got it? Murderers should just..."

Not meet up immediately after doing the deed, you dimwit!

You, of all people, shouldn't be breaking our rule!

Why? Why why, why the hell are you here, Yoshiko?!

But she couldn't say any of that to Yoshiko...

This whole facade, the entire scheme, rested on their ability to leverage what everybody thought was the truth. Three top actresses at each other's throats. Poised to pounce on any of the other rival's weakness if they dared to make a misstep. All three possessing equal incentive to win at any cost, including murder. Each carries a motive, but none can be found individually culpable. Conquer then split, each girl taking a primary piece of their collective crime with them. Each individual piece useless without the other two, protecting all three as a result.

That was the genius of it. Those were Yoshiko's own words spoken in private confidence. Words that had fired Waruna up. Because if all they had to do to make this plan work after doing the dirty deed was just continue the status quo of their perceived rivalry, then that was easy! Waruna, as a result, was the one who harped up the fiercest about maintaining this cover, no matter the situation. She and Yoshiko were completely on the same page for once.

But now Yoshiko was going back on her word...? For what? To talk about what they'd already done out in the open? That made no sense! Yoshiko was literally all about the individual sucking it up so that the group benefits. And it sure as hell didn't sound like whatever thing she's going through was an emergency, given her clamoring and foot-shuffling. If Yoshiko genuinely felt like she or any of them were in imminent danger, she wouldn't be going about it like this. Least of all taking this verbal beating like a limp noodle.

If this was important, Yoshiko would be standing her ground in front of Waruna. Because the two of them were friends. And whatever else she and Miss Honor Student got on each other's nerves for, Waruna knew Yoshiko wouldn't be all pussyfooted like this when it was important.

"W-wait..." Yoshiko interrupted in a frenzy. "Who are you calling a murderer...?" She cried out her desperate question with abandon.

...And that is precisely the reason why this behavior was only pissing her off even more!

"Enough!" Waruna exploded and jumped forward, pointing her finger into Yoshiko's trembling face. She was unwilling to tolerate this pathetic display from her friend for a second longer. Yoshiko clearly needed a boot to the backside to wake her up and get back to her senses!

Besides, even if she wanted to act a little nicer, no doubt her 'friends' were listening in raptly from the other room...

Eh, niceties were never her strong suit anyway.

"I have nothing to say to you! Shut up and get out of here!" She wildly gestured to the exit. She was ready to escalate this if needed. She just hoped Yoshiko would drop the stupidity and take the damn hint.

Slower than she expected her to respond, Yoshiko's face frozen in confused shock finally signalled defeat. With placating hands and a very uncomfortable smile, she started backing away from Waruna toward the hallway door. Still maintaining an aggressive stance and hawk-like stare the entire time, even seconds after the scared girl vacated the room, only after did Waruna finally unwind a bit.

Her arms flopping agaisnt her side, Waruna let out a tired sigh. "What the heck, Yoshiko...?" She whispered to herself.

Not even half a minute later did the other door at the end of the room open again, her other two friends coming back in. Both with expressions bearing curiosity, and one also showing off vindictive intrigue.

"Man, Waruna," the foul-mouthed girl shined an evil grin. "You really let her have it there!" She laughed. "I wish I could've seen her face! Like, snrsk, Yoshiko comes in here, totally knowing we're using the makeup room, and thinks her honor status will help her? Like, she thinks she can waltz in here like that no problem? Nice job running her off. She totally had it coming!"

"But, I don't get it..." The other girl, nervously hunched over and peeping up the least among the three, admitted. "Yoshiko knows we tend to hang out in here after school. Even with... what happened, she should've still known that, right? So, what did she want...?"

"Beats me," her friend replied. She turned back to the group leader. "What do you think, Waruna? I'd wager she was here to blow smoke and spread a rumor that Kurane was the one who killed Karen. Sounds like something she'd do, if only indirectly." She directed at their posse leader.

But her efforts were immediately stonewalled as Waruna had tuned the two of them out a whole minute ago.

Brushing her mouth with the back of her hand, she stared at the door and contemplated.

Whatever it was Yoshiko wanted to talk about, it clearly wasn't important enough to warrant breaking cover. She was still acting like they were bitter enemies, sheepishly walking into the makeup room to talk to the Big Bad Waruna with toothless diplomacy just to avoid a major fight. If it was important to meet out in the open like this, Yoshiko would have made a greater effort to bridge the gap, her other friends be damned. Unless their plan suddenly went horribly wrong, Yoshiko had sworn beforehand that she would maintain cover with exception. So... maybe she was feeling anxious or something?

Ugh... feelings like this sucked.

Kurane, despite her tough front, was already more than enough emotional baggage for the entire friend group over. Waruna didn't want to deal with a 1-more in Yoshiko, too. Hopefully she can deal with whatever problem she has going on by herself. And, Waruna noted with annoyance, that Kurane had also run Yoshiko off like she was supposed to. There was a reason they had put this rule into place! For moments like this. And thanks to her mean genius self, they were none the wiser!

However, this was definitely coming up in the meeting. She'd get her chance to ask Yoshiko what she wanted in a few days once the heat died down, so for now the nervous girl needs to find comfort elsewhere. Her two followers didn't suspect a thing, but that was still irresponsible of Yoshiko to put her in that situation. It was really out of character, even if she was feeling out of sorts about what they just did...

Waruna just shook her head, giving a passive stare at the door Yoshiko exited from. "Bad move, Yoshiko. You're better than that..."

She really was. There was a time for boldness, and this just wasn't it. Waruna recalled the last time the honor student's bold actions had not only left her impressed, but saved their friendship...

Even though the school had finally deemed to install a safety fence, it still didn't feel right for her to be up here... even 2 months later.

When Waruna came to school today, Yoshiko was in the bottom 3 list of people she wanted to see. In fact, if she could've gone until Judgement Day without seeing her dumb face, or hear her stupid little giggles while making friendly with a club member, or feel that infuriating sense of loss every time they had to be near each other, Waruna could die happy. She had a new group of gals to do stuff with who weren't soaked in the blood of her damn best friend.

However, when the girl you couldn't stand being around was the defacto face of the Theater Club, there was only so much you could do to avoid her. But man, if Waruna tried. And up until today, she'd done a pretty good job of avoiding her two former friends. And she was prepared to reject that hack once again when she cornered the blonde in the restroom like all the times before, then go about her day.

But then, Yoshiko said something she never thought the socially pristine girl would ever say.

'"Waruna, right now, I need you to shut up and listen to what I have to say. I have something to give you, and I won't tolerate you avoiding me this time." Yoshiko said with such intensity, Waruna had been stunned. "Are you listening...? Okay, good. Here, read this and wait for me after school. I'll find you. Do not avoid me again Waruna, or I swear..."'

If there was ever a way for the bimbo honor student to command her attention, that was it.

Ever since... the incident, Yoshiko had made multiple attempts to flag her down and talk. But Waruna viciously shot down every proposal offered by the popular girl, sometimes even in the company of others. And every time she did, Yoshiko would wear this frustrated, if resigned face, then promptly walk away. The rest of the club hadn't known that the two girls were once friends, but it didn't really matter now, did it? Because they weren't anymore. And with Aiko gone, it was clear that an uncrossable division had seared itself deep within the Theater Club itself, dominated by four brilliant actresses with wildly different personalities. And so long as each girl stayed in their own lane and left her the hell alone, she could tolerate this new status quo. Not like it, but tolerate it.

At least, until now...

The gentle opening of the metal door to the rooftop behind her alerted Waruna to the presence of another, but she didn't turn around. Gripping the interlacing metal wiring of the fence frame, she just stood still and allowed herself to get drenched. She was wearing her sweater and trendy red-trim rain jacket, but she hadn't bothered putting her hood up. For once, she wasn't in the mood to shield herself against Kanai Ward's gloomy downpour. Thankfully, the never-ending rain of Kanai Ward was rarely more than gentle, so aside from her twin-tails losing their pristine shape she honestly didn't care right now.

The audible and loud click of the door closing shut reverberated for a second before, again, only the pattering of droplets filled the silence. It had been seven hours since Yoshiko approached her that morning, and for the last six Waruna's remained in this stupor.

A throat clear. "Waruna."

Silence.

"Waruna."

She... needed a bit more time to digest this.

"Waruna..."

Yoshiko drops a mega bombshell in the form of that file she gave her, and she expects Waruna to be emotionally ready to talk? Feh, she always was a pushy one...

"...Waruna, please."

She didn't know what to think right now. Her mind was firing off in all sorts of directions, and she couldn't trust herself to not say something dumb.

"...Waruna." The girl's voice was a shaky tremor now.

What the hell did Yoshiko want her to say?! They effectively stop seeing each other for two months and now this big newsdrop is suddenly supposed make things all hunky dory between them again? As if! If she really thought the two of them could go back to the things were before, she was more of a naive dreamer than Waruna thou—

Two hands suddenly and erratically gripped her shoulders from behind, stopping her thoughts in their tracks. "Damn it, Waruna! Why won't YOU LOOK AT ME?"

"The hell?!" Spinning around on a dime, Waruna shoved back the hands that were making a vice grip on her shoulders. She heaved a frustrated groan. "What do you want me to say?!"

"Something! Anything!" Yoshiko yelled back, unnerving Waruna even more. In all their time together, Waruna couldn't remember a single instance of Yoshiko displaying this much raw emotion, let alone anger. "You read the file I gave to you, right?!"

"Alright, alright! Yes, I read the stupid thing. No need to get hysterical..." Waruna huffed out, trying not to look as staggered as she felt right now.

What had gotten into Yoshiko...?

Yoshiko's lips were closed again, but Waruna could tell she was gritting her teeth hard. "And?" She dragged out with thinly held patience. "What did you think?"

A million things.

'Aiko's death... really wasn't a homicide?'
'The investigation's reported cause of death was falsified?'
'I was right that she was set up?'
'The three of you... really didn't conspire to kill her?'
'It was Karen?'

'It wasn't Kurane, or you, Yoshiko?'

"I-I..."

Too many thoughts were going off at once. She really didn't know what to say. But she also didn't want Yoshiko to explode like that again, so Waruna at least made an effort to look at the unusually dishevelled girl.

This was... the least put-together Waruna had ever seen Yoshiko in her entire life. Heck, it might even be true in general. Waruna always had this mental image of Yoshiko coming out of the cradle bearing an ironed sailor uniform, a neat little pencil kit, and a perfect smile ready to tackle any challenge of the day. That was just how the girl appeared to everyone, with rare exceptions. But right now...? She looked miserable. All she had on was her white sweater over her uniform, both of which were getting wet in the rain. Her well-kept shoulder-length hair matted and stuck to her head in wet clumps. And her eyes, whilst still showing resolve, looked clogged with unshed tears.

She had better not cry... Waruna didn't like having this conversation, but she could deal with it as long as it remained professional. But sobby feelings were a big no-no for her.

Before Waruna could even try to say something, the girl opposite her let out a quick sigh, sucking in a calming breath. "...Very well, then I will start. You were right all along, Waruna." Yoshiko gestured, her voice reverting back to an even tone.

"H-huh?" Waruna mouthed in response.

Yoshiko didn't seem to mind her slowness, if not openly. "The circumstances surrounding Aiko's death were undoubtedly fishy. It just didn't make sense, did it? Why Aiko, of all people? Why would 'the greatest light of our lives snuff herself out like that?'" She asked, placing extra emphasis on the last part.

Huh?

Yoshiko's eyes hardened as she gazed back at Waruna, even in her less orderly state. Like she was gauging for a reaction.

Oh... Oh no...

Yoshiko continued. "You were the first to voice such doubts, Waruna. I think you summarized our feelings quite well, at least in part, when you said 'it makes no freaking sense. There's no reason for Aiko to kill herself. It's just impossible. So, if that's the case...'"

Jeez! Yoshiko was actually going to do this?! Waruna's heart rate was spiking, and some of the water running down her face wasn't the rain. Because she knew where this was going. She didn't know the girl was even capable of a vindictive streak!

Did Waruna... did she deserve this?

"'...Who, then? Who did this? What kind of monster wearing human skin would kill Aiko?'"

"..."

"Waruna. Please finish the line."

Karma was a real bitch.

Waruna let out a shaky sigh. "W-who do you think, Y-Yoshiko?" Having her own words thrown back in her face like that, especially ones said in a moment of weakness, felt like acid.

For the first time since the conversation started, Yoshiko finally turned her head away and looked forlorn off to the side, cradling her left elbow. The intense gaze she'd been wearing finally shed its thorns and shifted into something more vulnerable.

"When you said that to me after the Peacekeepers announced the results of the investigation, I didn't know what to think." Yoshiko admitted shakily. "You... thought I was responsible? And the way you looked at me when you said it—W-well, not just me. Kurane as well, and—"

"I hurt you when I said that, didn't I...?"

"..."

"N-nothing was making sense at the time." Waruna tried justifying, bringing up both of her arms. "I just, I knew for a fact that Aiko wouldn't do it. She wouldn't do that to me! Like, come on, she leaves her shoes on the roof, but doesn't even bother to leave behind a note or something? How does that even make sense?! S-so, the only other option was... somebody killed her! Somebody close to her had to have done it!"

"And you suspected Karen, Kurane, and myself." Yoshiko interrupted, her voice absent with the girl's usual kindness. Waruna thought she sounded so wrong with that tone. "The three of us did it. And thus, you would no longer speak to any of us." Her tone was ice.

Waruna pressed her lips tightly together, her ears burning.

She couldn't touch that yet. Waruna wasn't mentally ready to deal with this emotional baggage. If she could choose to, she'd just leave it to rot in the rain and never look at it again. But she can't. Waruna knew she couldn't keep dodging the point forever, but just a little bit more time...

"But, it was actually Karen? She did this? Are you serious?" Waruna deflected, but still desiring that confirmation.

Yoshiko narrowed her eyes, but decided to acquiesce, and nodded. "Completely. I asked my parents some time ago if I could use one of our connections in the Peacekeepers to gather confidential information about Aiko's case. That file I gave you is the culmination of all of our findings so far. Kurane and I have made sure to be quite thorough. Forensics analysis, crime scene photos, witness testimonies, you name it." Yoshiko listed off, with Waruna looking at the girl in atunned amazement. "We also discovered discreet financial transactions and an internal memo to the investigation team lead from a certain related official at Amaterasu Corporation. Add onto that the investigators left out a discrepancy involving Karen's testimony as the first witness in the final report, then it's all made quite clear."

They'd... really put their souls into this, hadn't they?

But then, that means...

Waruna crossed her arms, shifting her gaze down to the courtyard below behind the 3 meter fence. "...That settles it." She had somewhere to finally direct her anger now. And righteously this time!

"What...?"

"That settles it," Waruna echoed, impatient. "I... wasn't totally sure who'd have been the murderer among you all, honestly, if not all of you. That's why I haven't done anything, 'cause there'd be no point without any proof. But, like, this confirms it! That rat Karen did it! She's the murderer who took Aiko away!" She yelled, feeling herself get more fired up and pissed. Meanwhile, Yoshiko was looking at her with an ever more complicated expression. "If I- If I can just get her to say it, then it's over for her! The Peacekeepers will have to make up for their mistake and take her into custody. She'll be finished! I... I've gotta settle this right now." Waruna paced anxiously as she started haphazardly putting a plan together.

But someone wasn't having it. "This settles nothing, Waruna." The voice said tightly.

"What?!" She rapidly unwound her arms and put her hands into fists. "Why not? Now that I know who did this for real, I can finally do something about it! You brought me this info, so now we can go down there and ruin this skank for good without dilly-dallying! Isn't that what you wanted?"

Apparently, that had been the wrong thing to say.

"You have not been paying a single bit of attention if that is what you think I want Waruna!" Yoshiko's face contorted into a fierce scowl, reverting back to her unkempt but also really unnerving state from earlier. Before Waruna could let out another peep, Yoshiko grabbed her by the side of her shoulders really tightly, locking her into place. Waruna flailed in disarray, but the other girl's grip on her was ramrod tight. Yoshiko looked down at Waruna with the sternest expression she'd ever seen from the honor student. "Why are you always only ever thinking about yourself?!"

"I-I what?" Confusion and indignation soured her tone as she grabbed each of Yoshiko's arms on her sides, squeezing them back painfully hard. But her mind was cloudy like the sky above. Waruna couldn't get a single coherent thought down from her brain to her mouth. "I-I do not! Who are you to—?"

"I have always tolerated your denseness, but this is going a step too far!" Yoshiko interrupted abruptly. Because Yoshiko was naturally taller than her, and with her heeled shoes accentuating that difference, Waruna felt like an adult was actually lecturing her. And honestly, Yoshiko might as well have been one. "When you leave your friends behind whilst accusing them of being murderers, you don't just get to come back to lead the charge against the villain like some sort of warrior princess, Waruna!" Yoshiko exclaimed tightly.

"Eugghh!" Waruna grunted painfully, relieving the squeezing pressure she was placing on Yoshiko's arms as she recoiled at the accusation.

Yoshiko's voice took on a desperate pitch. "I know you have been suffering these past few months Waruna." Yoshiko scrunched her eyes sympathetically, but not letting up. "Aiko's passing has been heavy on all of us, but to you, especially... The one who has known her the longest and cherished her friendship since before the academy... You were hit the hardest when the news sank in, weren't you? And you have carried that pain with you since..." Yoshiko narrated sadly.

She was not going to cry here... Yoshiko was picking the dirtiest combination of words she could possibly use to get underneath Waruna's skin, and she knew it. And dammit, if it wasn't working...

"...But that doesn't give you the right to make your own calls! You don't have the right to ignore everything that has happened and use this to charge off on your own again! Not when this involves all of us!"

"Who? You and Kurane?" Waruna spat bitterly. She knew damn well this was her fault, but she couldn't just let this go. Not yet. "My supposed friends? The ones who've been g-gone all this time?" She looked her rival straight in the eye with a blazing look. "Is that what you mean, Yoshiko...?"

Yoshiko's eyes briefly flashed fury at her hurtful words, but they didn't remain that way for long before the second wave of emotions hit the girl.

Before she could stop them, Yoshiko's eyes began to leak tears she'd been holding this entire conversation. Waruna's words had finally unveiled a deep hurt the normally stalwart honor student tended to hide away, probably having stowed these feelings away for many, many weeks. The flowers of her irises seemed to wilt within her pain-stricken eyes.

"Y-yes. Your friends..." Yoshiko hiccuped in a half-sob, beginning to breath more erratically. Her grip was beginning to shake as she attempted to remain steady.

Oh crud.

"W-wait wait, no! I—Uggggh! I'm not good at this!" Waruna screamed out in the rain. She genuinely felt slapping herself. Why did her words always come out so wrong when she was angry? "I didn't mean it like that!" She shook her head furiously, eyes clamped shut in immense frustration.

But they immediately flew back open when she felt Yoshiko's weak-grip let go of her shoulders, and instead wrap her arms from underneath Waruna's armpits to around her back. The confusing mental anguish Waruna had been feeling numbed significantly on contact, freezing her in place.

She hadn't been hugged like this, by anyone, in so long...

She unconsciously raised her arm and placed a hand against the back of the taller girl's shoulder in a familiar gesture. Waruna felt herself relax, if only a tiny bit, upon hearing a peaceful if shaky sigh in response.

Waruna, despite her stupor, glanced to her right shoulder and watched Yoshiko's head bury into the wet material, her entire frame shaking. Waruna had never seen the other girl display such vulnerability before. The closest obviously was immediately after the incident. But even then Yoshiko never dropped her impressive countenance, even as the devastating news rocked them all to the core. Kurane, the one possessing the best poker face among the three, had broken down the hardest in their shared privacy. Symbolizing their shared disbelief and anguish in the face of such a tragedy.

Thinking back, in those moments of grief and mourning, Waruna could've never asked for better company to share the misery with.

And then... their fight happened.

"Waruna..." A light whimper prompted her to refocus. Yoshiko hadn't moved, but she continued speaking. "Please, I beg of you, answer what I'm about to ask you." Her request came out muffled, but Waruna heard it clearly.

"Yeah..." She affirmed weakly. "Yeah, I can do that..."

"Thank you." There was a pause. "Waruna, d-do you hate me?"

A dreadful, suffocating feeling emerged from the pit of her stomach. What... what kind of question was that?

Her silence dominated the air around them for the several seconds it took her to form a response. "O-of course I don't hate you! Jeez, I—what?!" She exclaimed disbelieving at the audacity of the question.

"Are you being honest...?" Yoshiko's muffled voice asked, but Waruna could hear the earlier anxiety rear back up.

"No! Wait, I mean yes! I mean—"

Waruna stopped herself. She was just making a bigger mess of things than they already where. If she kept going like this, things were only gonna get harder and more painful. She needed to take a second to calm down.

Tightening her grip on Yoshiko's back to confirm she was still here, Waruna took a much needed deep breath. Then she held it for several seconds, controlling it just like Kurane taught her. Then... Breathe out. And again...

One more time...

That's better...

"Sorry." She apologized quietly. Huh, she couldn't remember the last time she'd honestly said that to anyone, let alone Yoshiko. "L-let me try that again." She stood still for a few seconds to think, absentmindedly noting that Yoshiko was rubbing soothing circles against her back. She probably didn't even notice she was doing it, nor if it was for Waruna's benefit or herself. But she wasn't really in the mood to complain about the physical gesture. Especially not when it was actually kind of helping.

Okay, she's got it now. "I really mean it, Yoshiko." She started softly. "I don't hate you. Or Kurane for that matter. I... this has all dropped on me so fast, I-I'm kinda having a hard time keeping up. But... I promise, I don't hate you, Yoshiko."

She felt a weight lift itself from her shoulder but didn't turn to look, as Waruna couldn't bear looking at her yet. "You... you really mean that?" Waruna nodded twice, still fixing her gaze forward in their makeshift hug. "Even after all this time? I... I felt like you—no, Kurane and I, sorry, we felt like—"

"God, you really need to stop doing that." Waruna rudely interrupted.

"H-huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me. I mean pulling the 'oh, it's not important what I feel, but what we all feel!' card... blegh!" Waruna mocked, feeling a familiar irritation rear its head. Only a mild one, but still. "Listen up. Kurane isn't here, so you can't speak for what she's feeling. You can only speak for yourself, dummy. I can get the scoop from her later, y'know? So..." Some of Waruna's bite in her tone loosened up. "Stop worrying about everyone else for once and think about yourself..."

Man, a full two months has passed since they last spoke decently to each other, and some things still don't change. It'd gotten them into more than a few fights, the good 'ol individual ambition of Waruna vs. the same old collective teamwork represented by Yoshiko. It always annoyed her to no end when their personalities clashed like that.

Even so, why did Waruna feel strangely happy right now regardless?

But instead of the response she expected from the girl over this old argument, Waruna was instead treated to... giggling? What?

Yoshiko's shoulders shook up and down lightly, and even if she couldn't see it Waruna knew the tall girl was wearing that little grin she always wore when she was amused. Granted, Yoshiko was still hiccuping slightly, probably still racked with those strong emotions from earlier. But still, as long as she wasn't crying, Waruna would take a semi-happy Yoshiko over a depressed one.

"B-but," Yoshiko's voice tremored due to her giggles. "That's my job. It's my duty to always think about others. When there's harmony, someone needs to maintain a firm grip to keep things balanced. And when there's discord, someone needs to correct it and make sure all parties' problems are resolved. Worrying about others is how I think about myself!"

Waruna scoffed lightly. "Sounds like a lot of thankless work to me. I'll pass." She denied offhandedly.

Even though Waruna knew Yoshiko disagreed, like she always did, her giggles evolved to straight up laughter.

Even though there was nothing funny about this situation and she thought it was stupid, Waruna couldn't help herself, and felt a laugh escape her throat too.

There they were, two idiot girls laughing over pointless stuff in the soaking rain. The picture only felt half-complete with just the two of them, but she could worry about that later.

Before she knew it a full minute, maybe two, passed with no more words exchanged between them. Yoshiko's aura seemed to finally glow again back to its normal levels. Not that Waruna had gotten to experience such a thing for a long time...

Oh... that's right.

Even though they'd been hugging for a good long while, Waruna only reluctantly retracted her arms from behind the girl's back, gently pushing Yoshiko away. Yoshiko stepped back on the wet roof. looking at her questioningly before her eyes widened as Waruna made a deep bow in front of her. A very rare gesture for Waruna to perform.

"I..." Waruna started awkwardly, a deep embarrassment permeating her being. She knew she had to suck it up and say the words; Yoshiko deserved to hear them after the shit Waruna had pulled. But that didn't make it any easier to do it. "I need to apologize to you. A-and Kurane too, but I promise I will after this. There was... If what you gave me is true, then it's obvious that you two had no idea what was happening, same as me. You guys were just as much in the dark as I was, but I didn't see that. And... I jumped the gun and destroyed our friendship because of it... I cannot begin to express how sorry I am for hurting you like that."

"Waruna..."

Waruna stood back upright but continued, not wanting Yoshiko to interrupt yet. "Looking back now, it makes no freaking sense what I was thinking. You three, or just you and Kurane, teaming up and killing Aiko out of nowhere? It's dumb, I know! But I didn't care... Because there was no way Aiko could've killed herself! And if that was true, the only ones who would even want to kill such a sweet soul... was one of you. And I couldn't decide. And when the Peacekeepers came and said what they'd found out, I was furious!" Waruna exclaimed angrily. "How... how dare they say it was a suicide?! Someone had to have paid them off or something! And the only ones who could've done it was someone in the Theater Club, it had to be ! So..."

"I see now." Yoshiko said with clarity, seemingly clicking a final piece to a puzzle in her mind. "There was no way to prove anything at the time. So, instead of trusting us..."

"Yeah..." Waruna's shoulder slumped in shame. "I just blamed all three of you."

To be honest, she'd always had her doubts. All four of them were definitely ambitious to various degrees, but Waruna genuinely couldn't see murder entering one of their hearts. Competition was always fierce within the club, and there was no avoiding hurt feelings and some amount of resentment when the top spots got announced and one's dreams were setback even further. But that wasn't a good enough reason to kill somebody! Especially not Aiko... that girl was the last person in the world who deserved to die for someone else's rotten ascension.

But it was undeniable, even at the time it happened, that someone had to have killed her. So, that in turn meant Waruna was wrong about the character of one of her clubmates. Even Karen, as cold as she could be, Waruna couldn't imagine her stooping so low. And her friends, as much as she thought she knew also loved Aiko, were always in fierce competition with her. Everyone had an incentive, no matter what their relationships might suggest. As a result, there was no way to trust anyone. Not even her friends.

"But..." Waruna continued, her gaze falling to the ground. "This changes everything. The Peacekeepers were covering it up for someone. And the only who could've leveraged those connections and lied about the suicide was... Karen." Waruna finished with a growl.

Yoshiko nodded, adopting a deadly serious expression. "Yes. It took a lot of evidence-gathering, but this should be a sufficient amount for us to get started with. And even if it's not enough to reopen the case just yet, we'll keep getting more evidence and talk to the right people until they can't ignore us anymore."

For the first time in months, Waruna actually felt herself hope again. "Yes! Yes, Yoshiko! Let's do it! Ohoho, we are so back! There's no way Karen is getting away with this any longer! Where's Kurane at? Now that the team's back together, there's no way we'll lose!"

Yoshiko gave a faint laugh, but her smile spoke of a quiet determination. They would do this. "Indeed. And, Waruna?"

"Hm? Yeah?"

"I forgive you. And... it is good to have you back. Kurane and I dearly missed you."

A blush of humiliation dotted her cheeks as she crossed her arms and looked away. "D-don't mention it." She tried to make it sound dismissive, but her voice remained soft. Her eyes found their way back to her re-kindled friend, smiling with that pleased look like they'd just nailed a full-house show together. For the other girl's sake, Waruna did give a little smile.

"It's good to be back."

"Hm," her quiet friend hummed. "What was that, Waruna?"

"Dammit..." Waruna felt and looked stricken. Before her friends could question it however, she snapped her gaze toward them and sounded off. "Hey, did one of you put on too much perfume or something in the other room?!"

"Huh?" Her nervous friend jumped at the sudden question. "N-no."

"Don't go lying to me! Which one of you did it? Or was it Yoshiko? Ugh, y'know what, I don't care. One of you get me a tissue. My eyes are starting to water." Waruna spun on her heel and made her way back to her seat.

"Hey, did you put anything on while I was listening in on the door?" One of them whispered.

"N-no. Did you?"

"No! So if it wasn't me, then it was you. So cough it up!"

Whilst they were arguing over actually nothing, Waruna sat back down and started fiddling with her hair.

There was nothing wrong with it; it was as pristine and pretty as ever. However, giving it attention meant she didn't have to give a thought any to the wetness covering her cheeks.

"This is all for you guys." She whispered. "Don't mess it up. I know you're better than that, Yoshiko..."