Chapter 1

After a long night of (among other things) the fond remembrance of their days as students of Ryoko University, Nanako Kuroi and Sawako Yamanaka both came to the realization that their little reunion had reached into late hours of the night: midnight. Being both teachers and that both had obligations to uphold as such, they decided then and there to call their reunion quits.

They stood across from each other at the front door of Kuroi's apartment. As seemed their usual in their younger days, they both waited for the other to speak. Eventually, Nanako took it upon herself open her mouth.

""It was really nice meeting you again, Sawa-chan," said Nanako.

Sawako could not help but blush slightly. "I agree… Also, you don't need to call me by nicknames anymore. We are both adults, you know?"

"Oh, yeah, right," Nanako said, blushing as well. "Old habits are hard to break, I guess… Isn't it crazy that we both became teachers, Sawa-c- I mean, Sawako?"

"Yes," said Yamanaka back. "Not only that, but out schools are but a short drive away."

"Yeah… So…"

"So what?" asked Sawako.

"… Does this mean… We'll be seeing more of each other? Does this mean… we're back together?"

Sawako smiled. Choosing not to reply with words just yet, she leaned herself forward to give Nanako a kiss on her lips. "I'll give you a call sometime, ok, Nanako?"

"… S- Sure," Kuroi replied.

"Goodnight," her friend said softly.

"Night."

With that, Sawako left through the front door of Nanako's apartment and walked down the three flights of stairs to the ground level. Nanako was left standing, as still as a statue, in front of her own door.

"I can't believe this," she thought to herself. "This is… incredible! After all this time, Sawa-chan and I have found each other… We're back together! This is- I gotta tell someone!"

Sadly, Nanako could only think of two people she could tell her news to: her mother and father.

Punching the number into her phone, a number she had not used in nearly two months, Nanako anxiously awaited the other end of the line to pick. Hearing a click, Hina answered with a "Hello?"

"Mom! It's me, Nanako!"

"Oh, Nanako! It's been so long since we've last talked. How are you?"

"Doing great. Listen, Mom, something amazing happened at work."

"At the school? What happened?"

"Well, a school from a neighboring town came to Ryoo High to have a combined sports festival. Mom, you'll never believe who's a teacher at the other school!"

"Who, dear?"

"My roommate from Ryoko University: Sawako Yamanaka!"

For a period of five seconds, there was dead silence on the other end of the line. Suddenly, Hina's voice sounded once more through the receiver. "I'm sorry, can you say that again?"

"I said," said Nanako, "it was Sawako! Remember, from back when I was in college?"

"… Oh, that's wonderful, dear! I'm so happy to hear that you've reunited with old friends. So, did you catch up on old times?"

"That's putting it lightly," thought Nanako.

"Well," she answered, "we just had a little dinner together, talked about the good old days, what we've done since. You know, that kind of stuff."

"I see. Well, glad to hear you in such good spirits. How are things otherwise?"

"Oh, everything's fine. Listen, sorry to cut this short, but I gotta get to bed. Sorry for calling as late as I did."

"Oh, that's quite alright, dear. It's always nice to hear from you. Be sure to call us again."

"I will, Mom. Bye."

Hanging up the phone, Nanako voiced a content sigh to herself. "Man, this is great! Sawa-chan and I are together again…"

-o0o-

Hina placed the phone on the receiver. Voicing a sigh of her own, she turned around to face her husband, Takumi, who sat at the kitchen table. "So," said Hina cautiously, "this is… unexpected."

At a point in her conversation between herself and her daughter, Hina secretly switched the phone to "Speaker" function, allowing her husband to hear the entire conversation. Beginning with a "Hmm," Takumi gave his response. "Unexpected indeed," he said.

"It sounds like Nanako was really happy. It sounds like their reunion was more than just simple reminiscing. Perhaps… they've gotten back together?"

"Sounds like it," stated Takumi. "Worried?"

"No… Well, not exactly," said Hina. "… I really thought this thing between Nanako and Yamanaka-san would have ended once they went their separate ways after college."

"For a while, it did seem that way," added her husband.

"But now, it looks like their back to how it was…"

"Remember what we agreed on, honey: we accepted Nanako's relationship before, so there's no reason we can't be supportive now."

Thinking for a silent moment, a smile formed on Hina's face. "You're right, Takumi," she said. "We should be supportive no matter who our daughter loves, even if it is another woman…"

-o0o-

"Ok," said Kagami Hiiragi, "what the hell are you talking about now, Konata?"

Slamming this week's issue of Weekly Shonen Jump onto the makeshift lunch table (comprised of four, pushed-together desks, at which Konata Izumi, Kagami, Tsukasa Hiiragi (sister of Kagami), and Miyuki Takara sat) Konata opened the magazine to the first page of the first volume of a manga entitled "D. Gray-Man."

Kagami, being ever the realist, took one look and asked "So?"

"SO?" blurted her blue haired friend back. "This is a new series and I can already tell it's going to be big!"

"How can you tell, Kona-chan?" asked Tsukasa, showing innocent curiosity to her friend's enthusiasm.

"I just get these feelings in the pit of my stomach whenever new manga comes out. I can just tell if they'll be great or forgotten rags."

"You read so many of them," added Kagami, "I'm surprised you can't just figure out the entire plot from the first issue."

"… No offence, Kagami, but that's stupid."

"Hey! Don't call me stupid! You're the one acting stupid here!"

"Hey, what you call 'stupidity' I call devotion."

Kagami, deciding to drop the conversation there, returned to her boxed lunch. Taking a glance to the head of the room, to the teacher's desk, she noticed Kuroi-sensei reading a section of the newspaper with a rather noticeable grin on her face.

"Hey, Konata," said the pig-tailed girl to her friend, "does Kuroi-sensei seem a little, I don't know, different to you today?"

Izumi took a glance at her teacher (Tsukasa and Miyuki joining in as well). Indeed she did notice the lightened look on Kuroi's face.

"Hmm," said Miyuki aloud. "She does seem to be in high spirits today. I wonder what brought it on?"

"Oh, I think I know, Izumi said slyly, "but let's ask her anyway." Then, raising her hand over her head, she waved the attention of her teacher, accompanying it with a "Yoohoo, Teach! Come here for a sec."

Folding up her reading material, Nanko got up from her desk and approached the girls' lunch table, all the while maintaining her grin. "What's up, Izumi?" she asked her student. "Something you wanna ask?"

"Nothing really," Konata replied. "You just look kind of happy today… This wouldn't have to do with your friend from yesterday, would it?" The last part was spoken in a rather implying manner.

"Hey," Kuroi shot back, "I don't like that tone of yours, Izumi. You mind what you say to your sensei."

"Yeah yeah, sure… But I'm right aren't I?"

Nanako's wordless silence was answer enough for the blued haired girl. "Thought so."

"Ok," entered Kagami, "I'm lost here. What's going on here?"

"Oh man, Kagamin, you should have been there!" explained Konata excitedly, turning back around to her friend. "Yesterday, at the sports festival, after that performance from the band from the other school, I met Kuroi-sensei in the hallways talking to a teacher from the other school! She-"

"Hey!" interjected Nanako. "You mind if I tell my story?" Hearing no objection from Izumi, Kuroi picked up where she left off. "So yeah, it was another teacher. We both went to the same university, shared the same room for four years. Nothing big."

The other girls' eyes seemed to widen with news. "Really?" asked Tsukasa. "Sounds like you two were good friends."

"We were, actually." That's putting it lightly…

"It must be nice," added Miyuki, "to reunite with friends from years ago. What was her name? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"No mind at all. Her name's Sawako Yamanaka. She's a teacher and the adviser of the light music club in Sakura High."

"Yeah, but she left out the best part: the college Kuroi-sensei and Yamanaka-san were in was Ryoko University, an all girls school!"

"… So?" asked Kagami flatly.

"Again with your 'so's!' Kagamin, don't you know what happens at all girls univ -"

WHAM!

Kuroi, with the aid of her knuckles, created a brand new lump on Konata's head. "Don't you start saying things that aren't true, Izumi!" Nanako threatened. "For your information, what you've probably heard isn't true. All girl universities aren't like… that.

Got it, Izumi?"

"Yes yes, Sensei, I get it," Konata replied, rubbing her new bump. "Just don't hit me again. That hurts."

"Good." Nanako then glanced at the clock. "Huh, looks like lunch is over. Sorry, Hiiragi, but looks like you gotta leave."

"Ok," said Kagami politely as she packed up her bento and said her "See ya" to her friends. On her way out, Konata could not help but put one final word in. "I'll give you a call later. We gotta discuss this in further detail-"

WHAM!

"I don't think so!" commanded Kuroi.

-o0o-

Later that same day, when school hours seemed long over, the halls of Sakura High were dead quite… well, almost. In a seemingly tucked away corner of the school, up a flight of stairs (its handrails adorned with small brass statuettes of turtles) existed the music room where the school's light music club met every day.

From behind the closed doors of the room, the light music club's band (known as Houkago Tea Time) were just finishing the last cords to one of their more popular songs "My Love is a Stapler." With the song complete, the five members of the band (Yui Hirasawa, Tsumugi Kotobuki, Ritsu Tainaka, Mio Akiyama, and Azusa Nakano) stood in place silently, making personal reflection of their own performance in their practice session.

That silence lasted a grand total of about two second and was promptly cut short with Yui setting her guitar aside and taking her respective seat at the table at the other end of the room. The others could only look and roll their eyes at their friend. "Come on, Yui," commented Azusa, placing her guitar aside, "we've only practiced one song! Can you wait a little while longer before we all goof off?"

"But Azu-nyan," said Yui back in a playful pout, "we usually have tea and cake before we practice and this time we didn't. Besides, Mugi said she brought special cake today!"

A nod from Mugi herself confirmed this. "I guess it's special," she said, trying to sound modest. This grabbed the full attention of Ritsu and Mio. Approaching the table, to the white box that had sat atop it since the club meeting had started, Mugi opened it up and lifted from within a decorative cake, covered in a light pink frosting. Cutting a sliver of it and placing it onto a plate, the inner magic was revealed: dark chocolate color.

Voicing an enthusiastic "Ooooh!", Yui asked "What kind is it?"

"German chocolate ca-"

Before the word "cake" could be finished, the plate and cake sliver had mysteriously found itself placed directly in front of Hirasawa, her glimmering eyes glued to it. Becoming intrigued, Mio and Ritsu finally joined their friend at the table, leaving Azusa the only one still in their original position.

"G-guys?" said Azusa, "maybe we can do one more song before we have cake?"

"But Azu-nyan," said Yui, "it's German chocolate cake. I know you waaaant some."

Azusa knew her sempai (Yui) well. Then tea and cake were thrown into the equation, there was no changing of Hirasawa's mind. Voicing a relenting sigh, Azusa joined the others at the table.

Mugi placed a slice of the German chocolate cake in front of everyone before finally serving herself. Just before everyone was about to dig in, a new voice sounded from the door. "Hey!" she said. "Got enough for one more?"

The light music club turned to the door to see the club's advisor, Sawako Yamanaka, poking her head through and giving a wave of her hand.

"Sure," replied Mugi as she cut another piece.

Letting herself in, Sawako took a seat in the only empty seat left and once the cake was placed in front of her, she wasted no time in taking a bite. A few seconds of chewing later resulted in her giving the elated exclamation of "This is great!"

As everyone else dug into their cake, Yui's eyes seemed to drift off the cake (surprisingly) and onto her sensei, who seemed to have an ever constant grin. "Sawa-chan, you look happy today," she commented aloud.

Lifting her eyes from her plate, she thought for a brief second before saying "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Did something cool happen to you?" asked Ritsu.

That's for sure… "I, uh, met an old friend yesterday, at the sports festival at Ryoo High."

"Really? Who?" All the other girls seemed to get interested really quickly.

"Well," Sawako explained slowly, "we were roommates all throughout college… at Ryoko University," she quickly added at the end.

"That's an all girls university, right?" asked Mio, who was answered in the form of a nod from Sawako. "What's her name?"

"Nanako Kuroi. She's now a history teacher at Ryoo High."

"Sounds like you two were good friends," commented Azusa.

That's putting it lightly. "Yeah, we were. We still are."

From the silence that ensued shortly after, Ritsu gave an interested "Hmm." When Mio asked what that was for, she thought aloud that "You know, people say a lot of things about all girls universities…"

"… Like?" asked Mio, who was now beginning to get scared at what Ritsu was staring to implying.

"Oh, you know, that there are lots of the 'L-words' there."

While everyone else seemed to cringe at what Ritsu just said (and Sawako losing her grin in an instant), Mugi and Azusa, in a show of their individual innocence, asked in unison "L-words?"

"Yeah, le-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Sawako suddenly snapped, shooting up from her chair.

Though it made her jump, Ritsu seemed unshaken from Yamanaka's sudden outburst. "Why?" she asked her casually, "it's not like you're an L-word. What are you getting all mad about?"

Damn it… "Uh… Tainaka, it's not nice to make assumptions like that. Besides, even if I'm not an… 'L-word,' I'm not going to let you bad-mouth the students of Ryoko U. Besides, this school is an all girl school. You say that people here are 'L-words?'"

"No, no!" Ritsu quickly defended, "I just-"

"Then keep your mouth shut, got it?"

"Yes, sensei," she said defeatedly.

Feeling somewhat victorious over what could have been a rather awkward situation, Sawako sat back down and resumed taking small bites from her cake.

"So, do you know anyone that were lesbians?" Ritsu suddenly blurted out.

[The following has been omitted. Reason: Child Abuse.]