"Good, you two are here," Kanan says as Yoshiko and Chika enter the headmistress' room, motioning towards the two seats across from her. Beside her, Mari has a similarly grim expression. "Let's just cut to the chase then. I assume you two know about what's going on with Dia?"

Chika and Yoshiko nod hesitantly.

"Right. Okay then," Kanan manages to smile a little, hoping to ease their worries. "So, Dia isn't really in a good state of mind right now, which is somewhat my fault." Mari shoots her a glare, but she ignores it. She's not feeling up to arguing with her right now. "Did Dia tell you everything?"

"Not everything," Yoshiko shakes her head. "She just told us about what you told her, about her being a workaholic. And then..." She stops, looking uncomfortable as she tries to find the right words to describe what happened yesterday. "And then she was a bit...self-deprecating. Or a lot."

Kanan sighs, although it really shouldn't have come as a surprise for her. Dia's always been really hard on herself. I guess this isn't any different. "...that's why I called you two in here today. If it's not too much trouble, could you two try to help Dia out?"

"Us?!" Chika asks in disbelief. Kanan nods. "Why us?"

"Well, you two are her friends," Kanan states factually. "But I understand that you have classes and the idol club to think about. So if you two can't do it, it's oka-"

"We'll do it!" Yoshiko shouts, surprising everyone else in the room. "It's not a bother, we'll do it." She then seems to remember that the deal didn't involve just her, and glanced at Chika for permission, who also nods her head.

Kanan blinks at them, stunned for a few seconds before finally continuing. "Okay then, thanks a lot, you two! She's pretty stressed out right now, and usually, she'd work it off, but I think that's just going to make it worse. If you can help her de-stress any other way, like playing games, that would help her recover faster."

"In other words, we're just supposed to cheer her up?"

"That's the short version of it," Kanan answers, "Try to keep this a secret from Dia; you two know how she is. If she finds out, she'll just think that she's being even more of a burden."

"Which is bad," Chika concludes. "So we should just hang out like we normally do."

"Exactly." Kanan smiles. "I'm sorry that we have to ask this of the two of you, but someone has to keep the student council running while Dia's away, and since there's no vice-president, I might as well do it. Plus, I'm trying to get rid of as much of her workload as possible for when she comes back."

Mari goes through a small stack of papers before finding the one she needs, handing it to Chika and Yoshiko. "Dia will be absent for around a week, so give that to your homeroom teacher in case she asks."

"A week?!" Chika exclaims, surprised that Dia will be gone for such a long period of time.

"When you're sick, you should rest a lot. This isn't any different," Kanan says. "Anyway, that's about it. If you have anything you want to ask about the whole workaholism thing, you can always ask me. I can help you with pretty much anything"

Yoshiko stares at Kanan curiously, her eyes feeling like they're peering into her soul. "Personal experience?"

"You can say that." Yoshiko nods upon hearing her response, and Kanan can't shake off the feeling that she knows more than she lets on, as well. She takes a look at the clock in the room, realizing that classes had started a few minutes ago. They must've missed the bell.

"You two should head to class," Kanan advises. She notices out of the corner of her eye how Chika and Yoshiko follow her gaze to the clock, their eyes widening when they notice the time as well. With the paper Mari gave them in Chika's hand, they run off, hoping that the teacher won't punish them if they're not too late.

As the door closes behind them, Kanan turns her gaze towards Mari. The blonde's eyes are locked on her phone as she scrolls through her messages. "How mad are they?"

"The board?" Mari asks off-handedly, tossing her phone carelessly to the table. Kanan winces as she hears it clatter loudly. "Everyone except my dad is pissed off at me. He's not a fan of the idea either, but I think he has a soft spot for Dia."

Kanan has to resist the urge to plant her face on the table. There was no way the school board would approve of Mari allowing Dia to skip school with no repercussions, yet she ignored them and did it anyway. Even with the Ohara's influence, there's no way Mari is getting out of this one with her reputation unscathed.

"How bad is it?"

"Not...that bad," Mari says, the pause in the middle of her sentence telling a different story entirely. "Nothing beyond empty threats, I assure you. They're starting to regret appointing me as headmistress, but they're not going to do anything about it yet." She shrugs, showing that she either doesn't care, or she's pretending not to care.

"For your sake, I hope you're right," Kanan mutters. "But did you really have to give Dia a week off?"

"I didn't, but I wanted to." A cat-like smile forms on her lips as she spins around on her seat, stopping once she's facing Kanan. "Besides, I also know how these things affect people. Having Dia in school wouldn't just be bad for her, but everyone else."

"Is it worth it losing the board's trust, Mari?" Kanan asks more forcefully than before. Just like before, Mari shrugs it off.

"Are you saying that you wouldn't you do the same in my position?" Kanan's brow wrinkles, and Mari giggles. "We both care about her well-being. I want to see her back to normal as fast as possible. And it's not like they put much faith in me before. I can't lose what I never had."

She stands up and begins walking to the door. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I need to meet up with some teachers to organize Dia's schedule for when she comes back. You should head to class, too, Kanan. Don't think I don't notice you skipping classes by hanging out with me here."

"Welp, you caught me," Kanan says, rolling her eyes at Mari's joke as she stands up.

"It's fine, though." Mari smiles, letting Kanan exit the room before her. "I enjoy your company a lot, Kanan." Mari gives her a small pat on her back, her hands lingering for a second before she walks in the opposite direction from Kanan's classroom. "Ciao, Kanan!"

"Don't push yourself too hard." Kanan sighs, turning around and making her way to her classroom, her footsteps echoing loudly. She knows that Mari is strong, and she doesn't need her help.

Still, she worries.

The door to the classroom slams open. No one looks up except for Riko, her eyes meeting Chika and Yoshiko's as they frantically look around the classroom. When they see that the teacher hasn't come in yet, they smile and give each other high-fives. "We're not late!"

"Yes you are," Riko grumbles as the two go to their usual seats. Dia is still absent, just like yesterday, so Riko guesses she'll be responsible for keeping these two under control. "Just because the teacher isn't here yet doesn't mean you're not late."

"We're not going to get in trouble, though. That's good enough, right?" Chika asks. Riko exhales loudly, unable to find it in her to argue with her. The first-period teacher arrives not long after, and after greeting the class, asks them to turn in their homework. Both Chika and Yoshiko turn to look at each other with shock etched on their faces, and Riko quickly deduces why they reacted that way.

"Did you forget your homework?" Chika turns towards Riko, tears in her eyes as she gives her a pleading look. "You know that it's too late to help you now. You shouldn't put them off until the last second, or else this will happen."

"We...weren't putting them off." Chika pouts, her expression becoming dejected. "We just forgot about it."

Yoshiko nods, supporting Chika's statement. "Usually Dia would remind us to do our homework, study, and stuff like that. But since she's sick, we forgot about it."

"Seriously?" Riko asks, almost in disbelief. "Don't you two think you're relying on her too much?" Neither of them answers her verbally, although the guilty looks on their faces are enough indication. It makes her feel like she kicked two puppies, for being the reason they look so sad.

"What if I help remind you two in Dia's place?" She offers. "At least until she gets better. Does that sound good?"

"Really?" Chika is smiling, and although it's not as cheery as her regular one, it's close. "Thanks, Riko-chan! You're the best." Her happiness wouldn't last long, however, as the teacher soon arrived at their table, and Chika and Yoshiko were chewed out for forgetting their homework.

Riko feels sorry for them, because if they really did forget everything for today, they probably didn't remember—and haven't studied—for the exam next period, either.

With the day's struggles behind them, Chika calls the other members of Aqours to her class. But instead of meeting for the sake of practicing and preparing for their live, the reason for them to meet that day was the exact opposite.

"As everyone may know, Dia's not feeling so well right now." No one questioned her, because yesterday's canceled practice was enough to give her statement credibility. "Yoshiko and I have to visit her while she's sick, so that means everyone's on their own for about a week."

"A week?" Riko exclaims. She and the others react in the same manner Chika did, with complete, utter shock. "I thought she just had a cold! Is she going to be okay?"

"She's gonna be fine," Yoshiko reassures. "Mari just asked us to check up on her to give her the homework she missed." No one buys the lie, as expected. You don't leave school for a week for no reason. But Chika and Yoshiko seem to have things under control, which is enough for the others.

"Buuuut, the live show's coming up soon and we still haven't finished everything. So we were thinking if everyone wouldn't mind working on it by themselves?" Chika knows that her request is selfish, especially considering that she's the leader. Luckily for her, none of them find any problems with that, which she's incredibly thankful for. "Hanamaru, since we already have the lyrics done, could you help Ruby with the costumes?"

"Alright, zura!" She replies cheerfully, smiling brightly at her childhood friend. Ruby returns the smile with equal intensity, a rare sight from the timid girl.

Satisfied, Chika moves on to the next two. "You, Riko...can you two handle the composing and choreography without Dia?"

Riko shrugs, her eyes going towards You. "I wouldn't mind. At least it means we don't have to stay up late waiting for Dia anymore, right?" You giggles at that, smiling at Riko.

"Yep, I don't mind either," she says, unaware of the mischievous look Chika is giving her.

"Thanks a lot, everyone. Ruby, I'll bring you the costumes from my house tomorrow, alright? Just relax for today," Yoshiko says, preparing to leave. Just like Chika, she feels bad for leaving a lot of the work with them, but she can't help it. Try as she might, she's unable to forget about Dia breaking down yesterday, sobbing while she told them about everything she did wrong.

Even though she and Chika tried to calm her down, it didn't do much to quell her worries. It really felt like she could only watch as Dia struggled through her own problems alone, problems she wasn't even aware she had. At that time, she was unable to help Dia, even though she was right there.

So when Mari told her earlier that morning that she could help Dia somehow, she jumped at the chance immediately. She wasn't going to pass the opportunity to help her, even if it's something as small as this.

Rapid taps on her shoulder pull her back to the present. She looks up at Chika's beaming face, and almost jumps back at the closeness of the other girl. She can see the other four members getting ready to leave as well.

"Come on, Yoshiko. Let's head to Dia's house!" Chika says with clear excitement, taking Yoshiko's hand before walking with her. If not for her mind being in a state of disarray, she would be extremely happy to feel Chika's soft hand against hers, holding tightly but not so much it becomes painful. As it stands...

Well, she's still extremely happy, but it just feels like something's amiss without Dia.

She lets herself be dragged by Chika all the way to the bus stop. From the corner of her eye, she sees Ruby and Hanamaru trailing a few meters behind them. The four of them wait quietly until the bus arrives, all of them but Hanamaru getting on the bus immediately after. Ruby waves goodbye at her, only stopping when the doors close fully and the bus begins to move.

"Aww, that's so cute." Chika—having watched the exchange—coos. "Those two are perfect for each other, don't you think?"

"Dia won't be happy if she finds out that you're shipping her sister." Chika laughs softly, a tiny smile gracing her features. But it's not like her usual smiles, which are radiant and gentle like the sun.

It felt...artificial.

Like the clouds hiding the sun, something is troubling Chika, stopping her from being her usual self.

As she pays more attention, even more things that are un-Chika-like come to her attention. Her fists clenched tightly on her lap, her downcast expression betraying her smile, and her lusterless ruby-colored eyes.

"Are you okay?" Yoshiko asks, cringing as the final word leaves her mouth. It was too late to take them back, as Chika is now looking straight at her. "I-I mean, you're kinda...different today."

Chika hums thoughtfully, considering the possibility in her head. "...I guess I am. You're different today too, Yoshiko."

"Different how, exactly?" She thought she was doing a much better job at hiding her feelings in comparison, but Chika is perceptive when it comes to other people's emotions.

"Different, as in, you never asked me to call you Yohane instead of Yoshiko." Oh. That was a pretty dead giveaway. Maybe the others noticed, too.

"I'm just worried about Dia."

"Me too. It's just that...do you remember what Riko told us earlier this morning?"

What Riko told them earlier that morning?

Yoshiko tries to remember their conversation, playing it back in her head as she tries to think of what Chika meant. And finally, it clicks.

"You think we're relying on Dia too much?" Was that the thing that has been bothering Chika so much?

"It's kinda obvious, isn't it? It's been two days without her and we're already a mess. We can't even remember to do homework without her," Chika's words are filled with frustration and anger. To whom the anger is directed to, Yoshiko can't tell, but it saddens her to think that Chika might have directed it to herself.

"It's just..." Chika gnaws on her lower lip, trying to find the right words to convey her thoughts. "I don't want to burden Dia with everything, y'know? I don't want to just rely on her. Especially not after you two put your faith in me to be the leader of Aqours. I...I want you two to rely on me, too."

With a pained expression, Chika forces a smile to return to her face. "Sorry, that must be a weird thing to hear. Who would want to rely on me, right?"

"No, I get it. In fact...I think I feel the same way as you." Yoshiko glances at Chika, noting how surprised she looks at Yoshiko's statement. "Actually, I was just thinking...Dia's like this because of stress, right? At least, that's what she told us yesterday. And we're probably not helping with how many times we ask her to help with our homework. So...since we're supposed to be her friends, I wanna help her out, even just a tiny bit."

"Yeah, you totally get me, Yoshiko!" Chika smiles, and for the first time today it actually feels somewhat genuine, even if it's only a semblance. "And...I miss hanging out with her because she's always working in the student council room, sometimes I wish I could help her with paperwork."

"That might be overdoing it, though...we're not even a part of the student council," Yoshiko says, putting a slight damper on their mood. "Let's start smaller, like right now. Cheering Dia up is just as important to help her get better."

"Oh, that's right!" Chika perks up, suddenly getting a new idea. "Should we get more pudding for her? I bet that'll help cheer her up."

"Well, I guess... But I bet she hasn't even finished the ones we bought her yesterday. If we buy more, they'll go bad before she can eat them." Yoshiko argues.

As the two begin debating about whether or not to buy more pudding, a single person has been quietly listening in, too scared to join the conversation. Sitting two seats in front of them, a single thought crosses Ruby's mind.

Somehow, I've been completely forgotten.

In the end, they decided not to buy more pudding, although the choice was made because of a lack of funds more than anything else.

By the time the bus reaches the Kurosawa household, Chika and Yoshiko are ready to get off and see Dia. Not a second after the doors have opened, the two run off the bus, the loud sound of their footsteps startling some of the other passengers. Ruby mutters a quiet apology before following after them, walking with a brisk pace so she wouldn't be left behind.

Chika knocks on the door, and just like yesterday, the housekeeper opens the door for them a few moments later. She seems to recognize them, as instead of asking who they are, she just says, "Please, come in. Dia-sama has been waiting for you two."

Yoshiko jolts in surprise, wondering how Dia knew they were going to come. Last time she checked, Dia wasn't a mind reader.

Entering the house, they retrace their steps from yesterday, finding her room easier than yesterday. Knocking on the familiar door, they're surprised when they hear Dia's voice coming from the other side.

"The door isn't locked."

Turning the doorknob, the first thing they see upon pushing the door open is Dia sitting on the edge of her bed. She has a cup of pudding in her hand, as well as a neat stack of unopened pudding cups sitting precariously on her bedside table ("I told you," Yoshiko whispers, nudging Chika in the ribs).

When Dia sees them walking in, she smiles and waves them over. "Chika, Yoshiko, come in. Ruby told me you two would be visiting," So that's how she found out we'd be coming. "Have some pudding. Do you two want something to drink?"

"No, it's okay. Don't worry about it," Yoshiko says, walking over to Dia's bed. "Are you feeling better?"

Dia grimaces, averting her gaze as she tries to avoid meeting their eyes. "Well, I feel a bit better. I slept in after Mari told me I'm not allowed to go to school. I think she's overreacting irrationally; she always babies me. Who does she think she is, banning me from going to school for a week?"

"The headmistress?" Dia rolls her eyes at Yoshiko's response.

"But honestly, I don't think I've had such good sleep in weeks." She chuckles a bit at her own statement before continuing. "Other than that, I've been eating, although I wouldn't exactly call it a balanced diet."

She glances at the trashcan near her bed. The tissues that had filled it yesterday have been replaced with empty pudding cups. "I just hope I don't gain weight because of this."

"I don't think you should worry about that, just focus on getting better," Yoshiko says, comforting Dia.

She sighs, sounding exhausted despite having said she was well rested. "I aware, I'm just slightly confused, that's all. I'm not very good at handling these kinds of things. Even now, I'm beginning to doubt if I'm really doing the right thing. My parents told me to get some rest, but I can't help but feel like I can do more..."

"What do you want to do?" Chika asks. "Not your parents, you. What do you want to do?"

Dia goes silent, thinking over the question in her head for a minute before answering, "I want to be helpful to everyone else...but that didn't turn out very well, did it? I'm just useless, and after that I even wasted your time by rambling for hours."

"Dia..." Chika's gaze softens as she crouches down in front of Dia, not letting her avoid her stare. "Don't say that. We're your friends. You can always tell us anything and that's not a waste of time. Heck, you can call me in the middle of the night and I'll always pick up the phone for you!"

"Same goes for me!" Yoshiko excitedly chips in. "The moment when the veil of darkness envelops the world is when we're at our most powerful. The fallen angel is always available for her little demons."

"Is that so..." Dia doesn't know why, but she's never felt so relieved to see the Yohane persona appear. It gives a strange sense of normalcy, that things can return to usual no matter how badly she fucked up. "In that case...thank you, both of you."

"You're welcome," Chika says, smiling when she sees the upwards curve of Dia's lips.

"In that case...would you mind if I made a request?" Dia asks shyly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks and causing Yoshiko to become embarrassed as well from how cute she is.

"Ask away!" Chika responds with just as much energy as before.

"Well, I'll be at home for a whole week, and I don't want to hold Ruby back by accompanying me if she wants to play with Hanamaru. So..." She trails off, embarrassed to say what she wants explicitly. She's said enough for Chika and Yoshiko to get the gist of it, however.

"Do you want us to hang out with you every day?" Chika asks, sounding more than a bit excited. Dia slowly nods her head, confirming it.

"You don't have to if it's too much of a bother," Dia adds, not wanting to force them. Her worries were unfounded, as they seem just as happy by the arrangement.

"Sure! We'll do anything you want for the whole week, okay?"

"Do your homework." The simultaneous pouts forming on their faces is too much for Dia, who bursts out in a fit of giggles at their displeased expression.

"Let's do something fun," Yoshiko suggests instead. "Do you have any games?"

"Not really, I never really liked them." Yoshiko shoots Dia an appalled look, which the other girl brushes off with a shrug. Chika looks around the room for something they can all do together, and immediately finds something that catches her interest.

"Why don't we watch some idol concerts?" She points at a box set of a μ's live on Dia's shelf. Immediately, her eyes shine with gleeful excitement as she moves to take it, as well as the laptop sitting on her desk.

"Of course! It's been a while since I last watched it, as well," she says, turning on her laptop as she sits back down between them. She and Chika are the most excited to watch, but Yoshiko can't help but be interested, as well. It might help her understand why the other two admire idols so much.

As the footage of the concert begins, Dia begins to loosen up. It was a welcome change compared to the Dia that was always frowning, and if Yoshiko was in a cheesy mood, she would say that watching Dia's face go through so many emotions is way more interesting than whatever is happening on-screen.

Dia might find Yoshiko staring at her weird, though, so she goes back to watching the concert. Just the three of them hanging out together like this is enjoyable, and she can feel her doubts about being the 'third-wheel' of their trio slowly melting away.

They still have a whole week to do anything they want, after all.