After six months had passed, it was obvious Hanayo's wounds had healed for the most part, even if emotional turmoil sometimes threatened to break out and sometimes, Kotori couldn't stop that. She could only do so much, comforting Hanayo through the tears.

It had turned out that Hanayo had taken away a negative trait from her experience, as expected and now she couldn't stand to see anyone get angry without having traumatic flashbacks, or the idea that she herself was the one who had done something wrong to bring it about. Kotori had learned to vent her frustrations away from her and also to not get too annoyed when she accidentally pricked her own finger. They were only little things, but Kotori was always one to be careful.

Kotori had made a solemn promise to her as well, never to have alcohol within the house, not even so much as an empty bottle. In fact, she had even poured everything Kotori had formerly held within the house down the sink and throwing the bottles out without a moment's hesitation. Although Kotori enjoyed a drink every now and then, it was a small price to pay for Hanayo's comfort.

Today, Hanayo had made her way to visit Maki, as per her request that she keep checking in with her throughout the therapy that she had been offered. Maki had been awkward at first, but had grown far better at dealing with this the more times she visited.

"Do you feel like you've been getting better?" Maki asked, making herself some coffee and Hanayo some tea.

"Mmhm," Hanayo nodded, nodding a silent thanks in Maki's direction when she received her drink, "I think I'm getting better handling my triggers…"

Maki smiled to her and sat down next to her, "That's good to hear. Anything else?"

"Mm, not a lot. Kotori-chan's kept all of her promises."

"I'm glad. She's always had a force of will," Maki hummed out loud, before her phone suddenly rang and she raised an eyebrow, "Oh, hold on a second. It's… The hospital…"

There was a significant amount of bitterness in Maki's tone at that, before she answered the call with a small sigh, "Hello."

Although Hanayo couldn't quite make out what was being said, she noticed Maki roll her eyes, "No, I'm not coming in right now."

There was more hurried speech from behind the speaker and she could see her expression darken, "You'll have to take the patient, I'm not able to come in. What, I can't take off time now?"

There was a rising heat in both voices, "I don't answer to you, if anything, you answer to me, understand? It's my time off right now and I'm not going to break any promises I made, especially the one to stop working myself to the point of a breakdown. I'm not being unfair, I was in most days last months."

There was a rather annoyed sounding voice before the line was cut off by a Maki that was gritting her teeth as she turned the phone on silent and placed it back down on the glass table. If Maki hadn't managed to wean herself off cigarettes effectively, she would have needed to excuse herself for a stress smoke, but she had since gotten rid of everything, from the pack in the 'forbidden drawer' and the e-cig.

Maki soon turned back to Hanayo, ready to excuse herself for taking a work phone call, when she saw Hanayo's trembling hand against her leg and she was hit was a realisation. Tension had appeared within the room and whilst Maki hadn't meant any of it towards Hanayo, it had charged the atmosphere. All annoyance vanished from Maki's face, instead replaced with concern.

She moved closer to her on the sofa, slowly as to not make things worse, "Hey, hey, I'm not angry at you. Or anyone."

Hanayo didn't appear to respond, so she shuffled closer and carefully brought her arm around her, sighing quietly and allowing her to hug into her chest, "A-are you angry at me?"

"No, Hanayo, I'm not," Maki said, allowing her space, yet keeping her hugged close enough, "It's not your fault."

"But you're taking time off to see me," She said, sniffling quietly, "If you weren't taking this time…"

"This isn't just for you," Maki said, her tone soft, "It's also for me. Things were starting to push me over the edge. This is a bonus, okay?"

Hanayo nodded weakly and the two stayed like that in silence, even as Rin poked her head around the door, about to ask if they needed anything before deciding to not say a word and covertly sending a message to Kotori over text message that each of their girlfriends were actually quite cute together and doing well with progress, even Maki.

As for Eli, she had been undergoing a rigorous detox therapy and it was somehow relaxing, to have the grip on her head loosened and to have that little urge in her head finally begin to leave. Where she was staying kept her under a healthy amount of supervision, with a fitness programme and just about everything else she could possibly need. A safe and welcoming environment, with other people like her.

Of course, she had spent a lot of time coming to terms with what she had done. Therapy had definitely helped, but it was still difficult to make peace with something like that. But it wasn't her and she knew it. She knew that she couldn't shift the blame off herself and she recalled the sleepless nights she had had within the first couple of weeks. Those had long since passed though.

Alisa had come to visit her a few times, as had a few of the girls, such as Nozomi and Maki. For the most part though, she had requested time apart from the rest of the group, to collect herself, as she swore the next time they'd all see her, she would be completely clean. It had been a struggle at first, even with the assistance of detox drugs, but she had worked through it. She didn't want to break another promise.

She had also had her parents visit too. Whilst she didn't want them to see her in such a state, even her stern and stubborn father accepted with solemnity their daughter's problem. Whilst it definitely hadn't been as difficult as coming out to them, they had been as careful as they could with many of the subjects brought to their attention. It was difficult, but all of this was.

Alisa had visited her today specifically and Eli sat herself at the table where Alisa was waiting.

"Onee-chan, it's been just over six months right?"

"That it has," Eli nodded, having kept a strict track of all the time she had spent here, "Speaking of that, I have some news."

"Oh?" Alisa visibly straightened at that.

"I think I'm going to be allowed home soon. I think I'm clean."

"That's amazing news!" Alisa exclaimed, happily clasping both of her hands around Eli's, which Eli couldn't not smile at. Six months of hard work had paid off.

"I'm just worried that… If I go out there and relapse it'll all be for nothing. That's the thing."

Eli sighed whilst Alisa's expression softened, "You're not the type to go back on your word."

"I know, but… I have. Over alcohol."

"Well… I'll make sure you don't. You can stay with me for a month or so and I'll not have a drink in the apartment with alcohol in it and we'll see how you deal with things."

"It's… Kind of you to offer, but are you sure I won't be a bother?"

"You're my sister, you couldn't bother me with something like this."

Eli let a smile grace her features again, nodding as she took a drink from the glass of water laid on the table, "It means a lot Alisa. Thank you."

The two chatted idly, mainly about how Alisa was getting along with Yukiho and so on, before the time soon came that Alisa had to leave. She took her bag over her shoulder, standing up as did Eli, exchanging a tight hug.

"I'm going to ask my therapist out a potential release date. He agrees that I've done a lot of work to get to where I am right now."

"Okay," Alisa said as they ended their hug, "I'll see you soon."

As Alisa left the facility, she pulled out her phone and dialled up Yukiho, "You know the thing I said I wanted to plan out? Yeah, onee-chan might be getting out soon, now would be the time to sort things out."

"Kotori… Doesn't this seem a little excessive?" Umi stood by the stepladder, glancing around the room at the bustling around her. She had never been one for crowds, even if they were close friends. It was another reason why she struggled with family reunions.

"Honoka-chan, Umi-chan's questioning my decorative abilities!"

Whilst Honoka had never been particularly punctual throughout her entire life, Umi felt a wave of concern as she burst into the room with a purpose, striding her way over, taking Umi by the hand and dragging her away from a lot of the ruckus.

"I'm doing this for your own good, working up Kotori-chan is not a good idea."

"Was it… Really necessary to drag me out?"

"I only do what's best for you," Honoka answered honestly, giving her a kiss on the cheek, "And you know how Kotori-chan can get."

"True," Umi sighed, "You've been known to be misguided when it comes to doing the best for me though."

"I'll make you a full box of manjuu if you don't question Kotori-chan anymore."

"You do that for me anyway."

"You get an extra box then," Honoka shrugged, "Anyway, I have to go and help Yukiho pick the cake up from the bakery."

"Thank you I suppose," Umi chuckled, "Safe travels."

After a full kiss on the lips, Honoka happily exited the apartment with her sister, whilst Umi decided to enter the main room again, this time not commenting on anything Kotori had decided upon. She supposedly knew best after all.

Whilst Umi didn't have a lot to do, she figured she could just wander around for a while and see how everyone was doing. She spotted Hanayo sat down with Nico, letting a smile flicker and stay on her face as she paced through the rooms. Nozomi was helping Rin with some of Kotori's instructions and Maki hadn't quite arrived yet.

She took the opportunity to seat herself on one of the chairs close to the sofa where Nico and Hanayo were chatting about idols, most likely. What else would it be? Her presence went largely unquestioned by the duo, before soon Nico shifted herself to look in Umi's direction, "Hey, what do you think of this outfit?"

Nico's phone was quickly shown in her direction and Umi looked it over extremely briefly, before she came to a swift and laconic conclusion.

"Skirts are too short."

"You never got over the whole 'skirt' thing did you? Even after Kotori admitted she'd been making the skirts gradually shorter the whole time we were doing our idol thing?"

"Yes, and now I have trust issues because of it."

Umi's very tone was one that Nico couldn't deduce whether she was joking or not. But Umi didn't elaborate any further than that as Hanayo cleared her throat, "It still looks cute."

"It's not all about skirt length, Umi, you have to appreciate the rest of the outfit as well," Nico suddenly grinned, "You're a woman who's interested in thighs I take it, with how much time you spend lingering on skirts."

Umi's face was immediately one of horror, her face blushing up a storm, "Th-that is not true!"

"You've always been a terrible liar Umi and you always will be one. Anyway," Nico hummed, standing herself up, "Gonna go and check on Kotori. See if anything else needs doing."

Umi took her time to recover, standing up and sitting herself down in Nico's seat beside Hanayo, "How are you feeling?"

"Good, actually. As strange as it might sound, I'm looking forward to seeing Eli-chan again."

Umi nodded thoughtfully, "Same here. I regret not going to visit, but Eli didn't seem like she wanted any of us to go really."

"Yeah… I just want to see her well again."

Umi sighed quietly at that. Not that she disagreed with her statement, it was just even with her gone it was strange. To only have eight instead of nine had seemed odd to her now that she thought about it, but it needed to happen.

"Hey, Umi-chan… What would you have done?"

Umi glanced to her with raised eyebrows. Now that the wounds were less fresh and things had gotten better for the both of them, she felt as though she could answer the question. If she'd been asked any number of months before, she couldn't have.

"Well, I… I'm not as kind as you. Not many people are," Umi said, settling back on the cushions and looking away from her, "I hold grudges I suppose. But Eli did seem repentant about the whole thing. She looked a mess when I last saw her. So… I think I wouldn't have necessarily forgiven her, but accepted her apology. I would probably have forgiven her at a later date. When she'd put all the effort in to reconcile."

Hanayo nodded in understanding at an answer befitting of Umi entirely. She was about grace and firmness, but not necessarily cruelty, and Hanayo always appreciated her honesty and input, especially as she had learned to tone a lot of her strictness down, even though it was still present.

Just then, Kotori entered the room, pulling her hair out of the loose bun she had tied it in with a long sigh, "Do you mind if I sit down?"

When the both of them shook their heads, Kotori sat herself down on one of the other seats, not wanting to put herself between them.

"Everything's all done now. All we need to do is wait for the cake, Maki-chan and then Alisa-chan will be going to pick up Eli-chan."

"I just hope everything goes to plan…" Umi said quietly, whilst Kotori rolled her eyes.

"What can go wrong?" Kotori laughed whilst leaning hers back, "I don't want to jinx it, but I think everything will go just fine."

"If you say so," Umi said with a solemn nod.

Rin poked her head into the room, "Maki-chan'll be here soon! She's just finishing up!"

"Thanks Rin-chan," Hanayo said, whilst Rin grinned and disappeared back behind the doorway. It was a little bit worrying to think about what she was possibly doing on her own, especially with Nozomi, but no-one found themselves worried enough to investigate.

Wasting away the time idly chatting, Nozomi and Rin soon joined them, sitting themselves down cross legged on the floor.

"What were you two doing?"

"Well, with Alisa-chan's help, we made some traditional Russian food using family recipes from her grandmother. There's enough for everyone too," Nozomi answered, "And don't worry Nicocchi, we were fine with just the three of us."

"I didn't say anything!"

Nozomi was about to return a tease, before there was a knock on the door that, if Umi thought about it, sounded more like somebody slamming the end of a balled up hand on the door a couple of times, rather than just a gentle rap of the knuckles.

So, she supposed it was Maki, as Rin left to answer, likely along with Alisa. Soon enough, Maki entered the room as well, with a face, that whilst it had seen better days, she looked happy enough to be here.

"Sorry, someone needed emergency surgery and-"

"I'm sure everyone understand Maki-chan, don't worry," Nozomi said, Kotori standing to make a space for her on one of the few seats. And whilst Maki didn't want to take it from her, Kotori seemed to silently insist, sitting down cross legged on the floor.

As Maki appeared to fall asleep in her chair for a little bit, everyone else talked in hushed whispers to avoid waking her, whilst Rin couldn't hold back from taking a picture to taunt her with later, until Yukiho and Honoka returned, bustling their way into the kitchen to set the cake down and trying their best not to break into an argument, Yukiho having the belief that Honoka had braked too hard at least twice in their journey.

"I'm just saying that if you're not that confident in my driving abilities then you should've driven…"

"Not sure if I trust you in the back seat with the cake alone either."

"Hey! All that matters is it's not messed up anyway and it's not, you checked! So it doesn't matter!"

"Just because you get lucky being careless sometimes, doesn't meant to say that something bad won't ever happen," Yukiho chastised, "I can't believe I'm saying this to you when you're the older sister."

"You never respected me!" Honoka accused, but she couldn't stop herself from breaking out into laughter, as did Yukiho. Honoka had become more resigned about her role as the not-very-well-respected older sister and had since gotten over that fact.

"Okay," Alisa clasped her hands together and led Honoka and Yukiho back with everyone else, "Now that everything's sorted, just about in time for me to go and pick onee-chan up. I won't be long."

Alisa left the rest of them to their own devices, hoping, but also knowing, that they wouldn't burn her apartment down if they were all left alone together. Not that she thought they were dysfunctional, just that a few of them had still carried parts of themselves over from high school, naming no names of course.

It still felt strange driving to the rehabilitation centre, having not quite gotten used to the idea that her older sister was in there. Getting better, but also struggling. But now was the time to bring her home and make sure she integrated back into life properly, surrounded by close friends whom she regarded as family. Alisa considered herself lucky to be a part of that as well, even if she held a more minor role to the group of nine.

She pulled up to the centre, making her way inside and seeing Eli already at the front desk, back to her with her bag over her shoulder, leaning more casually than Alisa would've expected, until she made her way over and tapped her on the shoulder.

Eli broke into a smile upon even the slightest glance over her shoulder and seeing her sister, turning herself around and enveloping her in a bear hug that seemed somehow more crushing than before - then again, there was a gym here and exercising was part of rehabilitation.

"Happy to be coming back I take it?" Alisa said with a laugh as Eli released her.

"Definitely."

"Then let's get you out of here."

Eli savoured the feeling of stepping outside the doors and not having to go back inside after a certain period, a certain freedom from her addiction. Whilst she knew about the effort she still had to continue putting in, she could still return to a normal life, get a new job and overall have a fresh start.

"You were talking pretty personally with the receptionist onee-chan," Alisa teased as they arrived at the car, "You interested in her?"

Eli chuckled, "Well, she's nice and all, but… I'm not going to jump back into the dating pool right away. I have a lot of things to sort out in life before a girlfriend. Also recovering alcoholics have a lot of baggage and not a lot of people are into that." Eli laughed, despite the truth in it all.

Alisa shared that joke with her as they got into the car and pulled away, making their way back to Alisa's apartment, with Eli blissfully unaware of anything other than the scenery passing her by. She had free reign to get used to it all again after all.

"You're happy to be back then?"

"Of course I am," Eli sighed, "I've met some good people there, but… You know they try to make it feel homely, but it just doesn't compare to actually being at home."

Alisa nodded, "I'm glad to have you back. And I'm sure everyone else will be too."

"I hope so…" Eli went silent for a few moments, as her expression fell for a brief time.

"They're your friends. And you've put in effort to get better and show you're sorry."

"Yeah… You're right," She said, straightening herself up and put a smile back on her face, "We've known each other for too long, so I'm not going to screw it up now."

"That's the spirit."

The rest of the trip went silently enough, with Alisa not wanting to enquire too deeply on her process and also not wanting to interrupt the stupor that Eli had put herself into, with a slight tinge of worry, if Alisa was reading her expression right. Eli had always worried a lot more than she let on.

Alisa pulled up to her apartment complex, checking her phone to see that Yukiho had texted her that everything was okay and fully ready for them to arrive.

"Bring your things and we can get you settled back in."

Eli retrieved her bag from the boot of the car, groaning and stretching one of her arms above her head, "It's good to be back."

Alisa was glad to hear nothing from inside the apartment, having been harbouring doubts about a few of their abilities' to keep quiet. Opening up the door whilst the lights were turned off, there was a light scuffling, which Eli put down to noises from other apartments.

"Have you been cooking?" Eli asked, recognising the smell in the air.

"Yep. Can't have my big sister coming back without making it a celebration, right?"

Even though the Ayase grandmother was long since gone, which Eli supposed had at least one upside, that she hadn't witnessed her granddaughter struggle with alcohol addiction, her recipes and traditions had since been continued, especially when it came to the food she used to cook.

Eli let a warm smile grow on her face, "Thank you."

"That's not all," Alisa said cryptically, when all of a sudden the door to the next room slammed open and Honoka burst out of the entrance, the rest of μ's spilling out from behind her.

"Surprise!"

Eli was overwhelmed at first, glancing from face to face that she had come to have missed over the past six months, "Everyone… You're here to…?"

"Yep! Welcome home!" Honoka declared, a grin plastered on her face that looked much better than a tired, saddened one she had been unfortunate to witness one too many times.

Eli was quickly ushered into the next room, decorated in Kotori's style and plenty of goods from the Homura bakery, as well as drinks, careful not to contain a single drop of alcohol of course. And the cake laid out as the magnum opus had an abundance of chocolate present on the icing and on top.

"I… I don't know how to thank you all." Eli said, tears gathering in her eyes.

"A simple thank you suffices, considering your efforts," Umi said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You're here to enjoy the party, not to try and busy yourself with unneeded reconciliation."

Eli's shoulders relaxed a bit in response to that. She supposed that she had been on her guard the moment she had seen everyone, ready to curl up and bear the brunt of whatever they'd held pent up inside them for the past six months. But everyone had simmered down. Kotori seemed happy and Eli hadn't spent too long looking at Hanayo yet. The bruises had healed, but she knew she had dealt some damage not just on the outside.

From thereon, the party began. Questions were posed to Eli about her rehabilitation, whether it had been difficult, what had gone on, that sort of thing. Eli didn't have any problems answering them at all however, wanting to be as open with everyone as possible. They'd accepted her back with open arms and she had worked hard. There should at least be some semblance of normalcy back within their lives.

Soon enough, Kotori had sat herself beside Eli, cup in hand and leaning forward on her seat, "Enjoying the celebration?" She asked with not a hint of malice in her voice.

"Of course. I like the decorations too."

"Done by yours truly," Kotori said with a laugh, "Then again, there's not really any points for guessing that."

"No, there's really not," Eli smiled, "How've you been?"

"I've been perfectly fine. Making clothing takes a while, but it's rewarding when you get it done just right."

"I can imagine so," Eli nodded, "What about… You and Hanayo?"

Eli had been nervous to ask such a question, worried that she would find out that Hanayo wasn't doing well at all and it was all her fault and she knew it.

"She's progressing well," Kotori's tone noticeably softened, "And as for our relationship, we've been going for about four months now."

"Yeah?" Eli felt a pang in her chest, but she knew that Kotori was the better person for her, "I'm happy for you."

"I know this is going be tough, but… Do you still love her?" Kotori asked, genuine concern written on her face and as much as Eli tried to search for a trace of mocking or smugness, she found none. There was a noticeable pause.

"I'll get over it."

Kotori smiled to her, but she reached around her shoulder to give Eli a quick one armed hug and Eli gladly fell into the embrace, "We all still love you. Don't forget it."

Eli nodded, "Just take care of her. A better job than me. It won't be difficult to top, but…"

Kotori only nodded, releasing her and slowly standing herself back up, "I'll talk to you later."

Kotori had her eyes centered on a scolding Umi who was telling Honoka off in a hushed tone for taking so much of the mochi from the table and that they lived together, owning a family dojo and that she couldn't slacken on exercise, lest her weight suffer for it. Kotori went in and acted as the mediator even now, Eli thought fondly.

But Eli's gaze soon landed on Hanayo, whom Rin had just left in favour for pestering Maki for a few more minutes, whilst Hanayo looked on in affectionate silence.

Eli steeled herself. Yet another conversation to partially dread. She stood herself up and padded across the room, before she soon stood in front of her, nervousness stampeding through her chest like a horde of wildebeests.

"Can I sit down…?" Eli asked, figuring it was better to get permission first.

Hanayo nodded, even giving her a small smile to set her at ease, whilst Eli took a seat at a comfortable distance from her. Eli also took the opportunity to take a drink, to allow herself an idle pause.

"How've you been…?"

"I've been okay."

There was a slight falter on Hanayo's face and Eli couldn't hold back a flinch. She couldn't remember what she'd done, but she knew that Hanayo could. Kotori had wondered if Hanayo was okay with being here, but Hanayo had insisted, wanting everyone to be there and wanting something to help ease her triggers; to see Eli doing better. It wasn't like she was forcing herself to be there, but it did take a degree of effort on her part.

"Good. Good…" Eli took another drink, knocking it back.

"Welcome home, Eli-chan."

In that moment, there was a mutual understanding. Whilst Hanayo wasn't exactly comfortable around Eli right now, that would have to be a bridge that Hanayo had to cross on her own, even if the bridge was cracked and broken. Eli had her own issues to work on and recovering from alcoholism and retaining sobriety was an uphill battle for the rest of her life. The wouldn't make things difficult for one another. At the end of the day, they had been together for years, not just in relationship terms, but as friends as well. They'd work through this and come out at the end all the better for it. Eli had accepted her role as the abuser six months ago, but she would make sure that she wouldn't ever do anything like that to someone ever again, friend or lover.

So Eli returned the smile with relative ease, "Thank you."

There wouldn't be any physicality between them for the time being, simply a mutual distance of respect.

Maki had since woken up from what Rin had dubbed her 'beauty nap', picture tagged on social media as such for all to see, joining in the festivities as much as her mind would allow her. But thankfully, after getting food and drink in her, she had perked up a lot. The emergency surgery was long since out of her mind and she had even risen from her chair, what Nico had teasingly referred to as Maki rising from the dead. She had little energy to think up of any clever responses, so she simply let Nico win that round, having since lost mental count of who had more points out of the two of them, making idle conversation, or in Nico's case, idol conversation.

Soon enough, Maki had been able to settle back down in that seemingly favourite chair, glancing around the crowd that had become her friends and regarded to her as family. It was an odd family of course, one of unmatched blood, yet so tightly knit together. They'd hurt each other, reconciled with each other and always came back stronger than before. Even after this. And the road to recovery was steep, she knew that well enough as well, whilst quitting smoking hadn't been as hard for her as quitting alcohol must have been for Eli, her respect for her was back to its usual; kouhai looking up to the senpai student council president.

To see Hanayo and Eli sat beside each other once again, whilst even under difficult circumstances, it was heartwarming. Sure, this whole thing had been stressful, but they were all back together again, resilient and as stubborn as ever.

Maki reclined back on her seat, thinking about how things could have been much different if she hadn't been pushed to join μ's. It probably would be much more depressing, banal and full of depressive nihilism if she was honest with herself.

Even if things like this happened, she supposed, Maki knew she wouldn't have it any other way, amongst her odd, yet immensely loving family.

Author's note: here it is, the final chapter :000 hard to believe it took me over a year to finish it,,, not good tbh but hey, what can ya do? we're all wrapped up now and i wanted to thank everyone who's stuck with this story through thick and thin, whether they joined from the very beginning or picked it up partway through! feedback is very much appreciated, even if it is just something like "how dare you do this to pana"
princess pana and i have a new lil thing already in the works! we're gonna do one fic at a time, possibly dotted with a few one shots here and there if we come up with somethin' short (e.g. 'it won't last' which i wrote within the space of three days i'd say?), so please keep sticking with us! both me and princess pana are signing off for now, until next time!