Today we will be tackling a pair that I know for a fact a certain someone has wanted to see for some time now. Well… today is the day! Apologies to that someone, though, and to everybody else as well; I already have problems depicting them individually, so together was… quite the learning experience if I'm putting it nicely… as a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that this could have been the hardest (or tied-hardest with tomorrow's oneshot) for me to write of this entire countdown stream.

With all of that said, on to more positive news: a thank you going all the way to the amazing and wonderful Reiriniverse from Tumblr who has dedicated so much of her time to make the cover image of today's oneshot!

Disclaimer's the same as always in that I do not own BanG Dream!

"Are you sure about this, Yukina-san?" Hanazono Tae asked as she turned to look at the older girl who was standing behind her. Or, better phrased, who was hiding behind her; Tae knew that she shouldn't say it like that, however, and ultimately decided against it.

"Yes, I am," Minato Yukina said, trying to sound and look tough despite her shaky voice betraying her. Trying to ignore this and cover it up completely, Yukina added, "Please continue, Hanazono-san."

"If that is what you wish, Yukina-san…" Tae trailed off with a somewhat knowing smile but did as she was told and started to walk again. Tae made sure that she didn't walk off too fast, knowing that Yukina would fall too far behind her and panic if she did, but she wasn't comfortable moving this slowly, either.

The two girls had both decided to take a stroll to enjoy the night's air earlier that day, feeling cooped up inside their respective rooms and wanting to get out. And, in a way, they did enjoy it a lot: aside from the fact that there was hardly anyone outside at this hour of the day, the weather was cool and pleasant. And, against all odds, Yukina and Tae managed to run into each other an hour or two ago. In more ways than one.

But that was when the two of them had run into their next and current problem.

"Are you—Are you sure that this is the way, Hanazono-san?" Yukina asked with a trembling voice not long after the two girls had turned around the corner, looking all around her worriedly. Yukina was not used to this part of the city just yet, and even if she was she was sure that she would not be able to recognize where she was in the night.

Little did Yukina know that she was not the only one who felt that way.

"Let's see…" Tae muttered as she did exactly what Yukina was doing, and that was looking around her in an effort to get her bearings right. In Tae's case, however, she was doing this to see if she recognized any of the buildings, but this search proved to be in vain. With a deep breath to try and steel herself for the possible reaction that she would be getting from Yukina if she said this, Tae finally gave up and turned to her senior, "Do you know where we are, Yukina-san?"

Ten seconds passed. Two minutes passed. The two girls, who had both agreed that continuing to walk would be better than to stay at the same place for extended periods of time, had already walked down several blocks and Yukina still had not responded to Tae's question.

Tae was about to ask Yukina the question again when Yukina finally responded. But not in the way that Tae had hoped she would…

"I am sorry, Hanazono-san, but I do not," Yukina finally admitted, her voice being surprisingly soft as she tried to catch up to Tae. Despite Tae not having walked very fast, there was still a noticeable distance between the two of them that Yukina had to close. When the two of them were walking side-by-side again, Yukina asked, "Why did you come all this way out, Hanazono-san?"

"Didn't I say so before?" Tae wondered out loud, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw that Yukina was shaking her head in the negative. Tae was about to continue talking and give Yukina the answer that she thought she had already given before when Yukina suddenly took a couple steps forward, "Yukina-san?"

"I think I know where we are now…" Yukina breathed out, sounding both surprised and disbelieving of this fact as she looked at the buildings in front of her.

It was faint and hard to see at this distance and with how dark it still was, but she was sure that she recognized it. That was the building that her father went to.

'Or… used to, at least…' Yukina thought to herself as a pang of hurt hit her in her chest. She shook this feeling off, however, knowing that she needed to stay strong in front of Tae.

"Follow me, Hanazono-san," Yukina said as calmly and confidently as possible, leading the way into the darkness before Tae even had the chance to respond. Even so, Yukina knew that Tae wasn't far behind; a fact that Yukina managed to confirm when she finally looked back a few moments later and saw Tae right there.

'Right…' Yukina thought to herself, recalling the streets around here to the best of her abilities in her mind. With a small yet determined nod to herself, Yukina continued walking with a worried but trusting Tae not far behind.

"Who would have thought that we were this close to CiRCLE?" Tae asked in disbelief and shock about ten minutes after Yukina started to lead the way back. The two of them were sitting in the café right outside, never having been grateful for the café's long opening hours, and were enjoying their favorite drinks while catching their breaths from their little adventure earlier.

Somehow, Tae and Yukina had managed to walk around almost blindly in the darkness for hours, reaching every part of this side of the city except for the familiar areas. Looking back at the situation that they had been in only minutes ago, both Tae and Yukina could share a laugh remembering how scared and lost they were.

Yukina did not show this side of her too much, however, but it was enough so for Tae to pick up on. And Tae considered herself lucky that she could see another side of the two stoic members of Roselia within the span of a week's time.

"Hanazono-san, could you please pass me the sugar?"

The gentle but still unwavering voice of Yukina brought Tae back to reality. Wondering silently to herself as to why Yukina would have needed more sugar in an already sweet drink, Tae did as she was asked and watched with wide eyes when Yukina effectively threw all of the sugar in her glass.

It took Yukina several seconds to realize that she was being ogled. Turning to look at Tae, Yukina asked, "What?"

"I-Isn't that a bit… much, Yukina-san?" Tae asked, silently wondering how someone like the Minato Yukina could handle that much sugar. Tae was convinced that even Kasumi couldn't process even half the amount of sugar that Yukina just threw in her cup, but Yukina only looked at her with a raised brow.

"Is something wrong, Hanazono-san?" Yukina asked nonchalantly as if nothing was wrong and she had not just emptied the sugar into her coffee.

"N-Never mind then…" Tae said with a smile as she took a sip of her significantly less sweet drink. The two girls fell into a comfortable silence soon after, both of them enjoying being in familiar territory now and being able to look back at their earlier adventure.

A silence that wouldn't last very long as one of them could not resist the urge to break it.

"Yukina-san, if I may, what are your plans for tomorrow?" Tae asked curiously, having lowered her cup to the table and looking at her senior intently. While it was true that the two of them had run into each other a couple of times already, it was only now that Tae realized that this was an opportunity unlike any other: time spent together with Yukina without their music or bands coming in the way.

And from the look on Yukina's face, Tae knew that she was not the only one who had just realized this.

"Well…" Yukina trailed off while looking away. She did not do this in an effort to avoid the question but, rather, to give herself the time to think up of a decent and acceptable answer to Tae's earlier question.

If she could be honest with herself, Yukina was at a loss for words right now. She didn't know what she could say, but as her senior, she felt obliged to tell Tae something that was worth sharing. Right when Yukina was about to admit that she had nothing in particular planned, her eyes landed on something behind Tae and Yukina smiled.

"Lisa said that she wanted to bring us somewhere, but she has been quite stubborn in not revealing what or where yet," Yukina finally said as she turned back to look at Tae. With a small smile, Yukina added, "It would be just like Lisa to wait for the last moment to tell us."

"Yukina-san seems quite close to Lisa-san, right?" Tae asked slowly, trying to see how Yukina would react to her question. Fortunately for Tae, Yukina merely nodded.

"I am, Lisa has been my friend for years now," Yukina said as she fondly closed her eyes, something Tae could only assume was to allow her to remember something. After a few seconds had passed, Yukina had calmly opened her eyes again and turned to look at Tae, "And how about you, Hanazono-san? Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?"

"Yes, actually. Kasumi wanted to go over to the music store to look at new picks and asked me to come with her," Tae replied cheerfully, recalling what Kasumi had said some time ago. Then, realizing that she had zoned out and fallen silent, Tae quickly apologized before adding, "We also were planning to practice a bit more for our upcoming live next month."

"I see…" Yukina trailed off with a smile as she took another sip of her coffee. As Tae looked on in awe and amazement at Yukina's ability to not flinch at the sweetness of her drink, Yukina turned back to Tae and said, "In that case, I wish you the best of luck with your band practice, Hanazono-san. And I look forward to seeing your band's performance next month."

"Yukina-san…" Tae breathed out, looking up at her senior in silent admiration. After regaining her composure, Tae said, "I will do my best, Yukina-san! And I will look forward to Yukina-san's and Roselia's next live as well!"

What surprised Tae the most was that Yukina drank the remainder of her drink in one big gulp before standing up and offering her hand to Tae. Looking at the outstretched hand almost quizzically, Tae hesitantly and awkwardly accepted it and allowed herself to get pulled to her feet.

"Let's both do our best, Hanazono-san, and meet again when we are both performing again," Yukina said with a smile to which Tae nodded in agreement. As Yukina looked over the table again to make sure that she didn't forget anything, the vocalist of Roselia turned back to Tae, "In that case, I will be taking my leave now. Hanazono-san, make sure to take good care of yourself as well, all right?"

"Of course! As long as Yukina-san does so, too!" Tae exclaimed with a bright smile of her own, clearly excited to see Yukina perform again. And with good reason, too; Yukina was often considered one of the best vocalists to ever perform at CiRCLE, and Tae was well aware of this.

"It is a promise, then," Yukina nodded as the two girls sealed their promise with a firm handshake.

And with that, Yukina placed enough money on the table to cover the expenses of both of their drinks, something that Tae tried to argue Yukina from doing but gave up quite quickly. Tae found out the hard way how good Yukina was at convincing people right then and there.

Bidding each other farewell one final time, the two girls took to their respective roads home and headed back. A night that ended up becoming something that neither of them had expected it would, both Yukina and Tae couldn't say that they were upset with the way in which they had spent the day.

Their nightly walk in the unknown, while unpleasant at the time, had managed to do one thing: it managed to strengthen the bond between them. Something that they would cherish for a long time to come.

And that wraps up today's oneshot that was, quite possibly, the hardest oneshot to write for this week's countdown spree! I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless, please leave a review telling me what you thought, and until tomorrow for the next oneshot of this countdown stream!

Countdown currently on: five!