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The last place Anon wanted an argument was at the tram station, and yet, she almost should have expected it.
Taki and Soyo had been sniping at each other throughout practice, a snide remark here and a rude remark there, all of the little insults cumulative to this moment.
Try as she may to broker some peace between the two, their ire turned to her.
"Anon, you're too relaxed about this" Taki snapped.
"Huh? What did I do?!".
"Why didn't you call her out when she messed up?".
Soyo rolled her eyes, "I did not mess up. Besides, I don't need Anon-chan of all people to pay attention to me. Not when she is still making silly mistakes".
"It was twice! And the second time was because Raana-chan started to improvise" Anon protested her innocence.
"You are the rhythm guitarist" Taki pointed out, "It's your job to keep her in line".
Anon was growing frustrated as Soyo and Taki's complaints about their practice were piling up, layer after layer, each suffocating her.
They were pissed off at each other and now they were taking it out on her as a result of the dissolution of their communication skills, or lack thereof.
"It's our third year together, why are you messing up like this, Anon-chan?".
"Just because you have improved doesn't mean you can start slacking!".
"Maybe you should focus less on showboating and more on performing when we play. There is no need to flirt with the audience".
"That really pisses me off too..is having two girlfriends not enough, Anon?".
Okay, now it was getting personal.
They were question her fidelity to them?
Anon glanced between the two whom were staring daggers at her, not to mention the other onlookers that were immersed in what was being said. They had drawn a crowd and she definitely noticed some uniforms from Tsukinomori, not that Soyo had realised.
"Nothing can satisfy Anon-chan's need to be at the centre of attention" Soyo commented and folded her arms across her chest.
"Yeah, that won't change".
The guitarist finally snapped, "Unbelievable.." she muttered, "You two are the worst".
Anon ignored the tram arriving and turned the other way before she started to sprint home, her chest aching.
"Anon!".
"Anon-chan!".
She could hear their footsteps but it would only be a matter of seconds before she could outrun them easily, her pink hair flowing behind her against the sunset.
In hindsight, Anon knew what she was getting herself into when she decided to accept both Taki and Soyo's confessions months earlier, not wanting to break either of their hearts.
Not to mention that she had feelings for them too, so it felt like a dream when Soyo and Taki agreed to this arrangement even if they didn't like each other.
But this constant verbal degradation was wearing thin, especially when she was doing nothing but try to keep them both happy, and at peace.
Anon ran till their voices became distant, her lungs being pushed till she got home, away from being an apparent disappointment to the two girls she liked.
Speaking of which, the sudden quietus resulted in Taki and Soyo stopping to catch their breath as Soyo got her phone out to contact Anon.
"Damn it, why is she still so fast?" Taki clicked her tongue, "That girl..".
Soyo placed the phone to her ear as the ringing tone went on and on, "She isn't picking up".
"What were you expecting?".
The sky was getting darker due to the early winter settling and the lights of the homes around them indicated that they should be heading back too.
However, Soyo was now incensed, "Taki-chan, you are awful to her".
"I don't want to hear that coming from you" Taki refuted, "I was saying something true but you had to talk about what she does during performances".
"Excuse me, you have always been rude to Anon-chan, and you know her performance at practice was good but you're such a perfectionist".
Taki's signature exclamation rang out as the two girls squared up to each other, their tempers alight.
"Cut the bullshit, Soyo, you're worse to her".
"And you are no better" Soyo pointed out.
Thinking back to what they had said to Anon and how they had treated her, Soyo and Taki realised that they were two sides of the same coin when it came to their behaviour with Anon, especially today given their unconscionable attack on her.
They pulled away from each other and started to make their way back whilst trying to get in touch with Anon.
Anon wasn't at fault and yet, Taki and Soyo had directed their frustrations at her.
They knew they had gone too far.
***
The following afternoon, the group was set to meet for practice but given the lack of communication from Anon, Soyo and Taki were unsure if the guitarist was going to appear.
Raana was rearing to go while Tomori appeared fidgety as she looked at Taki, "Is Ano-chan not coming to practice? She didn't say anything at school..".
"I'm sure she's on her way!" Taki exclaimed, almost dropping her drumstick, "I'll try calling her again so don't worry, Tomori".
Soyo could only shake her head and checked her own phone to send Anon a message too.
She and Taki had realised just how much of a difference Anon's presence made when considering the lack of goodnight and good morning texts, followed with a conclave of stickers.
It felt anomalous to not have that even for a day.
The door to the room would burst open a moment later, a flash of pink running in and breathless, "Sorry I'm late!" she gasped.
Tomori was just happy to see her here, "It's okay. Ah, here, have some water!".
Taki and Soyo exchanged a look while Anon set up, "Thanks, Tomori. Raana-chan, here".
She tossed the girl her usual candy as an apology for being late and Raana was content, "Let's play".
The guitarist grinned at her smile and could feel Taki and Soyo's gaze on her, the latter saying, "You're late".
Anon's own smiled dropped since she had her back to Raana and Tomori now, not wanting them to pick up on the tension and didn't respond.
She knew Taki was waiting for a start to their usual bickering which would be a sign that they were okay, but Anon was far from in a forgiving mood now.
She went to her spot and set up, leaving Soyo and Taki to look at each in bewilderment when they realised that this wasn't just going to be swept away, and rightfully so.
The session went off without a hitch but it was much more quieter than usual without Anon's commentary.
Usually, she would turn around and grin at Taki and Soyo, clearly flirting with them while showing off her continuous improvements, other times she and Raana would flank Tomori's side as she sang.
However, it was too peaceful of a practice.
Raana stared at Anon before she left the room but Anon was packing up so she couldn't tell, though Soyo and Taki were then under the scrutiny of the girl's stare.
It was impossible to not feel exposed when Raana looked at one in this way.
After a moment, Raana grabbed Tomori's hand and led her out before saying to Taki and Soyo, "Fix it".
The fact that Raana had caught onto the tension was problematic, so they had to amend this now.
"I'm off" Anon simply said and started to head towards the door but Taki quickly got up and blocked the exit, "Rikki, can you move?".
"No, we have to talk"
"I have nothing to say" Anon shrugged, "But I'm sure you both prefer it that way".
"That isn't true" Soyo said as she walked up to Anon, "Anon-chan, we said too much yesterday".
Taki nodded, "It wasn't your fault either..and we got carried away".
Anon inwardly sighed, "They're exactly the same, why am I dating them both?" she mused and then said "Is that all?".
"Look, you have every right to be upset but at least give us the chance to fix it, Anon".
"What exactly is it going to take?".
Looking between the two, Anon could see how genuinely remorseful they were in their own reticent ways, but perhaps this was the right moment to see how far they would be willing to go to amend things.
So Anon put her guitar case down, a sense of dread filling Taki and Soyo as to what she would ask of them and whether it would mitigate the situation at all.
"I want an apology from you both".
Taki wasn't expecting this, "Really? That's all?".
Anon smirked a tad, "Yep, apologies and mean it. Then we're all good. Deal?" she said and looked between the two.
The bassist didn't know what to expect of this simple request, but she acquiesced nonetheless, "Okay, I suppose that is fair".
"Alright, ready when you are" Anon said, her arms folded over her chest, a slight twinkle in her grey eyes.
Soyo and Taki wondered why Anon seemed almost smug?
And they would find out when they both tried to apologise.
"Anon, I'm..you know" Taki mumbled, "About what I said..I didn't mean it, so what I'm trying to say is that I'm..well, I feel bad and I wanted to say that I.. ".
Soyo didn't fair any better, "As frustrating as you can be, what I said was too much, and not all of it was true. So, I..wanted to say that I..I regret it, and that you're not that bad".
"Anyway, like I said..I was..wrong, you know? So I guess I do owe you an apology".
"It was not fair to take it out on you, so I suppose an apology is necessary".
This went on for a while, both girls unable to add 'sorry' even once to their words.
Soyo and Taki were notorious in their inability to apologise in general, but with Anon, it seemed to be twice as worse and Anon was well aware of this.
Anon was dying inside, trying to keep her cold facade up but this was too hilarious, "I wish I could have recorded this. They're unbelievably cute like this".
As amusing as this was, she was still pissed off and was not letting this go without that word being said.
Taki and Soyo were getting agitated, stopping their tangent when they themselves knew what word they were evading like the plague.
The drummer sighed in exasperation before she reached forward and grabbed Anon by her tie to pull her in closer, purple meeting grey.
"I'm sorry!".
Anon didn't have a chance to respond because Taki then kissed her, and nothing chaste either, she was going for a full on lip lock that stalled Anon's breath in her chest.
And when Taki released her, Soyo also sighed and grabbed Anon by the tie too before leaning down, their eyes meeting.
"I'm sorry, Anon-chan".
Anon's lips were covered by Soyo's a second later, overlapping the previous warmth which was just as fervent as Taki's given the way Soyo was kissing her.
Soyo then let her go and quickly moved her face away before grabbing her bass case, the entirety of her cheeks as red as Taki's when Anon stared at them both with wide eyes.
Her brain wasn't catching up quick enough with her mouth to say anything, all thoughts focused on the way she had been kissed.
"There, we should be forgiven now" Soyo muttered, "I'm leaving. Be sure to text me when you get home".
Taki avoided Soyo and Anon's eyes as she collected her things too, "Same here, don't forget to message. Bye!".
And then they were gone, leaving a dumbfounded Anon alone as she pressed her fingertips over her tingling lips.
Not only did she get that apology, but she also got them to initiate a kiss too, a rare occurrence.
That went better than Anon had anticipated.