Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Honami watched as the walls of Miyamasuzaka Girls High turned into the walls of the School SEKAI. She walked into the classroom, immediately being greeted by her bandmates.

“Hona-chan! You made it!” Saki ran towards Honami, giving her a hug.

“What caused you to be so late?” Shiho asked, as she tuned her bass.

“I’m sorry, I was putting some extra books away after the bell rang,” Honami muttered. “The teacher asked me if I could help her out, since everyone else seemed to dash through the door.”

“That’s alright. I understand. Now, let’s go rehearse for our show this Saturday!” Ichika grabbed her guitar. “Is everyone ready?”

“Mhm. I just finished tuning my bass,” Shiho got up from her seat.

“Always been ready!” Saki practically jumped toward her synth.

“Uh, yeah, I am!” Honami grabbed her drumsticks.

The four girls have been working on this new song for quite a while now, and on that Saturday, they finally get to perform it in front of the crowd. The song was almost perfect. There shouldn’t be any distractions, right?

Honami sat into a chair, while the other three followed suit.

“Alright, you guys, let’s take five,” Honami heard Shiho announce.

“So, Hona-chan, you’re going to Yoisaki-san’s house after rehearsal today, right?” Saki asked.

“Yeah, I am. Why?” Honami responded.

“Oh, nothing, just wondering when you’re gonna tell her,” Saki winked.

“Uh, about what?” Honami turned her head to face Saki.

“Ah, I see. About your feelings for Yoisaki-san,” Shiho nudged Honami’s shoulder.

“Oh, that.” Honami had this crush on Kanade for at least a few months right now. She never really paid mind to it all that much, at least until now. Saki never asked about when Honami would confess, which was why she didn’t give it that much attention. “Saki-chan, why are you asking me this now?”

“You’ve had this crush for months!” Saki yelled. “Isn’t it about time you tell her?”

“Saki! No need to force her or anything,” Shiho scolded.

“Exactly. Just because she’s been crushing on her for a while now doesn’t mean she has to tell her the next time they meet!” Ichika agreed.

Saki sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

“You guys, we should get back to practice,” Shiho interrupted. Saki walked over to her synth, while Ichika grabbed her guitar. Honami hesitantly picked up her drumsticks. “Wait, why am I being so shaky all of a sudden…?” she thought.

They played through the song again, however, Honami’s drumming was inconsistent and unsteady. It didn’t take long for everyone else to notice.

Ichika stopped singing. “Honami? You alright? Your face is red.”

“I think she’s overwhelmed about her crush on Yoisaki-san now. Thanks a lot, Saki,” Shiho said sarcastically, side eyeing Saki.

“Hey, how is it my fault?” Saki whined.

“You did just pressure her into thinking she should confess to Yoisaki-san just a few minutes ago,” Ichika said.

“It was a joke, I swear! Hona-chan, I’m so sorry!” Saki hugged Honami.

“It’s fine, I guess…” Honami was embarrassed. They were doing so well with the song, only for her to ruin it. She wanted nothing more than just to walk out that classroom door and go home. Maybe even curl up into a ball and die.

“Calm down, you guys,” Miku walked into the room. “Anyway, I found these flowers growing near the rooftop. I put some of them in this vase!” She held up the vase.

“Carnations? Wait, aren’t those Yoisaki-san’s favorite flowers?” As soon as Shiho said that, everyone in the room looked at Honami.

“Great, now the SEKAI’s teasing me too,” Honami hung her head down.

“Uh, anyway, we should get back to practice now. Thanks Miku for telling us about the SEKAI update!” Ichika walked back to her microphone.

“Yeah, let’s polish up that drumming, shall we?” Shiho glanced at Honami with slight concern.

“Yeah, we should. I don’t want to ruin the show or anything,” Honami muttered. She gave the counts, and Leo/need started the song again.

Honami silently walked down the street. She couldn’t stop thinking about how badly she screwed up. Normally, her first instinct would be to tell Kanade, but that wouldn’t be an option, since that would require her to actually tell her about her feelings. She could talk to Saki, but constant teasing wouldn’t get her anywhere. She could try talking to Shiho, but since the day of the show is approaching, she’s much busier now. And Ichika isn’t an option either, since she doesn’t necessarily know anything about love itself. So now, she’s completely alone on this matter.

She approached Kanade’s house and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, Kanade opened it. “Oh, good afternoon, Mochizuki-san.”

“Good afternoon,” Honami could barely manage a stutter. “What do you need me to do today?”

“Could you clean the bathroom and kitchen please? Thanks a lot for your time,” Kanade led her into the house.

“Okay,” Honami said as she took off her shoes. She couldn’t even look at Kanade right now. She was too embarrassed from rehearsal and way too flustered to have a normal conversation with Kanade.

“I’ll be upstairs if you need me, alright?” Kanade walked up the stairs.

“Yeah, sure.” Honami brought out the cleaning supplies. “How could I even fix this? And right before the show too?” She thought hopelessly as she started to scrub the floor.

Chapter Text

About an hour later, a thought entered Kanade’s mind. Was Honami really okay? Her face was red, and she looked horribly tired. What could’ve happened at that rehearsal? The thought of Honami having to deal with… well, whatever she was dealing with was unbearable. 

Without a second thought, Kanade got up from her chair, walked out of her room, and approached Honami. Turns out, Honami was already finished with her work and was just about to leave.

“Wait, Mochizuki-san!” Kanade impulsively grabbed Honami’s wrist.

“Yoisaki-san?!” Honami turned her head.

“Oh, shoot,” Kanade realized just what she did. “I’m so sorry for grabbing your wrist like that…”

“No, no, it’s fine! Uh, did you need something?” Honami shook her head, as if to shake off the redness on her cheeks. 

“Yeah, I just wanted to ask if you were alright. I mean, you seemed tired, and your face was noticeably red when you arrived.”

“Oh. Something happened at rehearsal. I’m just a little more tired than usual, I guess.” Honami averted Kanade’s gaze. 

“Are you sure?”

The room went quiet. Kanade immediately noticed the discomfort on Honami’s face. “Did you guys get into a fight or something?

“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just something personal.”

“Oh, I understand. If you don’t want to talk about it right now, that’s fine.” Kanade smiled. 

“Okay, thanks for looking out for me.”

“No problem. We are friends after all, aren’t we?”

“Yeah…” 

The two girls stood there for a few minutes. That is, until Kanade looked down, only to realize that she still held a firm grasp onto Honami’s wrist. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Kanade immediately let go. 

“No, no, it’s fine!” Honami stammered. “I should go.”

“Alright then, I’m sorry for making you wait…”

“It’s no problem…” Honami mumbled as she walked out the door. 

The door closed behind her. Kanade stood there for around ten seconds, gazing at the hand that seemingly grabbed Honami’s wrist on its own, as if that feeling would come back to her. Eventually she snapped out of that trance and walked back up to her room.

Kanade stared at her computer. The song that her group was planning to release that week was finished. All that was left to do was add Mizuki’s animation and record vocals. She sent the file through Nightcord.

K: <Here’s the song file. Enanan, Amia, you two are free to make the MV now.>

K: <pretendtheauthormadealegitimatefilename.mp3>

Amia: <Behold! Your Highness K, Ruler of All Music has spoken! We can make the MV!>

Enanan: <Amia since when did you create a whole title for K??>

Amia: <Why, is someone jealous??? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)>

Enanan: <NO????>

Amia: <Aw, the princess is jealous~!>

Enanan: <SHUT UP AMIA (╥_╥)>

K: <I swear I could never tell what’s happening with you two…>

Amia: <Okay, in all seriousness, I’ll work on the MV once Enanan sends me her art!>

Kanade exited Nightcord. There was nothing left for her to do. She could check on Mafuyu. 

“Oh, right. She’s on an outing with Mizuki and Tenma-san…” Just then, she heard a notification from her phone. 

Mizuki: <Hello Kanade!!!!! Mafuyu and I are having a blast here at PXL with Saki!!!>

A photo was attached to her message. And surely enough, it was a selfie of Mizuki, Saki, and Mafuyu, who seemed to be shoved into the photo, most likely by Mizuki. Kanade laughed softly at the photo and messaged back:

Kanade: <I hope you guys are having fun.>

Mizuki: <We are, don’t worry! Also, Mafuyu says hi!!!>

Kanade turned off her phone. She went back onto her computer, and started to create a new song. Unexpectedly, her mind wandered to Honami. More specifically, that moment. Her mind then raced to other memories of her. The first time they met, the bridal festival, and even the tea party Kanade and Ichika hosted during White Day. Those memories seemed to affect the composition, because the second she snapped out of it, she was already adding strings to the song. She played the track so far, and…

It was the most beautiful song she had ever heard. It almost seemed to be created out of her memories of Honami, each note seemingly filled with care, appreciation, and most importantly…

Love. It only took one encounter and a song for Kanade to fall in love with Honami.