Hello all! This an AUish sort of story. I never really get to write anything sad so I wanted to try my hand at it. Ah...it is slightly based off of the new anime AnoHana, but it will vear off into its own thing fairly soon. You, of course, do not have to watch AnoHana to get this story. Also, while this chapter is very Azusa-centric, not all chapter will be centered on her as I plan on giving each character their chance to shine. Hopefully, this story will be a great success. Please enjoy.

It was after Yui died that they all split apart…

Even though it was already three months ago, Azusa could remember like it was yesterday the day Hirasawa Yui had died. She was there, after all. The whole band was, actually- even though Azusa only had blurred memories of them actually being by her side.

It was sad really. Azusa stared out of her window…it was raining just like that unfaithful day. She ran her short fingernail against the glass, following the trail of a raindrop that had stuck to the window. She felt nothing…at this moment, at least, she felt so empty. She always felt empty when she was alone nowadays.

She remembered how the girls were walking together…she could not quite remember where to but she knew that it had to be after school, perhaps after practice, because they were all wearing their uniforms.

Yui had been laughing that sweet, child-like laugh that showed just how joyful and caring she really was. Her hair had been sticking to her face a bit because she did not stay underneath her umbrella as much as she should have been and tended to let it lean to the side sometimes.

No one had been paying attention.

They were so caught up in their laughter and playful banter that they did not notice that the crossing path was not yet ready to accept pedestrians. Yui, who was in the lead of the small all girl group, twirled happily around into the street, holding her light blue umbrella out to the side with one hand and looking like a young Japanese Marry Poppins.

Azusa's eyes widened as her laughter abruptly stopped when she heard the sound of a horn honking loudly. She did not exactly see it for some reason, or perhaps she was just defensively blocking it from her memory, but she did hear the dull thud of Yui's body against the truck several times. Later, she would be told that Yui actually flipped on top of the truck and skidded off the back of it.

Time seemed to go in slow motion. The truck skidding to a stop, the yells and panics of bystanders filled Azusa's ears. She saw the yellow flurry of Ritsu's umbrella flinging to the side and the sound of her and Mugi's footsteps running towards Yui's limp body.

She did not know when, but somehow she and Mio also ended up by Yui's body. Azusa did not know who was yelling…she supposed now that it was her since her throat had been so hoarse afterwards….but her voice seemed so far away. She could not remember then feeling of them sliding down her cheeks, but she was certain that tears had been streaming down, mixing and mingling with the rain.

But God, did she remembered the pungent smell of Yui's blood. It was coming from her head mostly, though some was flooding from her nose as well.

She remembered Ritsu's voice, "someone call an ambulance!" It was only later that she realized Ritsu herself was probably too distressed like the rest of them to realized that they all had cellular device and could have called themselves.

There was the person that had gotten out of the truck too. He was screaming over and over again, "I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! God, I didn't mean to!"

Azusa also remembered the sounds of Mio vomiting somewhere in the background. She remembered looking at the girl, and not really seeing her, but knowing that she was there. She remembered seeing Mugi, though. The girl was as pale as the moon, her eyes unblinking as she stared at Yui's by lifeless form, and now Azusa guessed that Yui's body was forever implanted in the poor girl's mind's eye.

But that was three months ago. And now Azusa found herself not wanting to go to school on this rainy, droopy morning.

Nonetheless, Azusa opened up her umbrella and ventured out into the world. The walk to school, as usual, was eventless and almost mind-numbing. The world smelt of rain and grass as it did on that day, so Azusa was not exactly in a good mood.

As usual, she sat next to Jun and Ui at lunch.

Ui… Azusa allowed her eyes to wander over the girl.

She had always been a quiet person, but now her quietness was unnerving and creepy…especially to anyone who did not know what she had lost.

"Eh…so," Jun said, attempting to make small talk as she tried to do often nowadays. "Does anyone want to go to the shopping district after school? There's a pretty good sale…"

"Ah…no, I think I'll just go home tonight," Ui said with that same fake smile that she had been wearing for months now.

'Tonight…' Azusa thought blandly. There was no need to add on 'tonight' anymore…Ui stayed in every night. Azusa could not help but notice that Ui had become quite the hermit ever since her sister's death, but then again so had Azusa, albeit unwillingly.

"I'm busy tonight," Azusa lied through her teeth, not wanting to hurt Jun or leave her hanging but honestly not wanting to go shopping.

"I see," Jun frowned and used a chopstick to poke at her food. She then sighed and pointed her chopsticks at Ui's untouched bento, "you should try to eat, ya know."

"Oh," Ui said flatly, and then shook her head and smiled in that fake manner that Azusa hated so much, "I'm just not hungry, Jun-chan."

"She's right Ui-chan," Azusa said. Even though she rarely felt hungry herself anymore, she still forced herself to eat so that she could get the nutrients she needed to survive. That's all she did now…was survive. Just live, just go through the motions…

"I'll eat at home, really," Ui held up her hands defensively and added, "don't worry about me you guys."

Jun sighed for the umpteenth time and shook her head disapprovingly.

Azusa sighed as well and stood up. "Ne, I'll be back when class starts again…" she said and picked up her lunch. She would just take it to her locker…walk around a bit…she just could not take being around Ui's fake smile anymore.

It was hard to be around Ui at all, actually. She looked so much like Yui…her fake smile looked like Yui's 'eheheh, I just did something stupid' look.

"Ah- Azusa-chan!" A familiar voice called, and Azusa turned to see Sawako walking towards her, her purple heels clicking against the floor.

"Konnichiwa Sawako-sensei," Azusa said, bowing politely to the older woman.

Sawako's face looked pained for a moment before she chuckled lightly and waved her hand, "No need to be so formal Azusa-chan," she informed her. "I just wanted to see how you've been doing, hmm?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Azusa was feeling uncomfortable, but she did not want to be rude to an old friend and advisor.

"Awww isn't she cute Yui-chan?" Sawako clapped her hands together happily as she stared down at her handiwork.

"Of course! Azunyan is the cutest!" Yui's arms wrapped around her neck. Azusa could smell the strawberries and whipped cream lingering on her breath…and she was so, so warm…

'Why did I push her away…?'

Azusa snapped back to reality, her throat getting that familiar aching feeling that she normally got when she was faced with someone that reminded her of Yui.

This was exactly why she could no longer be in the Light Music club…

Not that it existed anymore.

Azusa was never more thankful when a saddened looking Sawako bid her farewell and told her not to be late getting back to class. She nodded, barely even hearing the woman. She turned went to her locker, stashed her half-eaten lunch and began to venture towards the library.

The door opened as she was reaching out her hand.

"Oh, excuse me…Azusa-chan…" Nodoka said her name so quietly that Azusa almost did not hear her.

"It's alright." Azusa said tightly, her throat clenching up. Why was she running into so many people today? She should've just stayed home in the safeness of her empty home…

Azusa had not seen Nodoka in a while, but every time she did the girl looked even more different than before. Her hair was slowly growing out, so that it was almost the length that Yui's had been. She seemed older, as if she was aging quicker than anyone else in the school. Azusa could not explain it. But unlike Sawako, the girl did not linger. She simply held the door open for Azusa and walked away as if nothing had just happened.

Azusa knew that Nodoka had quit being the class President. There had been talk about it all over the school after Yui's death. Now, it seemed, Nodoka was just a normal, quiet girl with glasses. Her grades were no longer top-notch, or maybe that was just a rumor…whatever the case, Nodoka certainly did not have that wise yet caring atmosphere about her anymore. Just as it was with Ui and Azusa, Nodoka seemed to be only a ghost or a half-person…

'I should stop thinking these weird thoughts…' Azusa drank slowly from the water fountain, trying to clear her mind. 'Nodoka-san is so different though…I wonder how the others are faring…'

Finding that out, though, was a blank mission. If her throat clenched up around Sawako and Nodoka and she could barely take being around Ui for more than ten minutes…then being around the girls that she had had the most times with around Yui was probably impossible.

Azusa turned and went into a random book aisle, not really caring to read but just wanted to pass some time until her lunch period was over. She journeyed into the back of the library, where there were a few old desks and couches where some of the more studious students went when they wanted absolute silence.

She did not expect to see her there.

Her long blond hair was draping over her shoulders and her head was bent so that her bangs covered her shiny blue eyes. Azusa swallowed the lump in her throat and hid behind a low book shelf, thankful that Kotobuki Tsumugi had not seen her but still wanting to stare at the girl a bit more.

It had been a long time since she had last seen her…she didn't stick around the school much anymore, or so she had heard. Azusa wondered if the girl was sleeping or praying or something…

That's when the girl lifted her head and looked around with a suspicious look, as if she could feel that someone was watching her. Then Azusa noticed that she had headphones in her ears when the girl slowly reached up and took one out. 'I never saw Mugi-senpai listening to music before…' But Azusa considered that it wasn't very strange, since Mugi did have a love for music.

Then she noticed Mugi let out a sigh, a long withdrawn sigh that made Azusa's heart lurch for some reason, before the older girl stood to her feet and dusted out her skirt a bit. She pulled her blazer a bit closer on her body and turned, causing Azusa to gasp lightly and turn around completely so that Mugi could not see her. She was sitting on her bottom, her knees pulled up close to her, and she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to hold her breath.

'Please don't see me…'

Thankfully, Mugi walked right past her into a nearby aisle without seeing her. Azusa could hardly see her, but she could see her feet rising a bit so that she was standing on the tips of her toes. She imagined that a book had caught Mugi's interest and that she was reaching for it. Azusa was not sure if the girl had gotten her book her not, but her feet soon came down onto the floor again and turned so that she could walk out of the aisle.

"Ja ne, Azusa-chan…" that painfully familiar, soft voice said just loud enough so that Azusa could hear her.

Azusa froze, completely embarrassed and slightly shocked as Mugi took her leave. Azusa then frowned and stood up, dusting herself off and sighing. She did want to chase after Mugi…but just could not bring herself to do so. Besides, it did not seem as if Mugi wanted to exactly have a conversation with her either.

Well, in three minutes the lunch period would be over anyways…Azusa did not have time to chat…and bring up any of those heart-wrenching memories.

OoOoOo

Home. Thank goodness. Azusa had not run into anymore of her old friends so she did not have to think about anyone other than Sawako, Nodoka, and Mugi. She let her book bag slip lazily from her shoulder and slammed her body on her bed. 'I have a headache…' she thought, running her hands across her eyes wearily.

She rolled over and reached for her pillow, snuggling her face into it. The young girl quickly fell into unconsciousness…

"Azunyan! Azunyan, get up!"

"Mou…Yui-senpai, not yet…."

"A-zu-nyan!"

Azusa's eyes flickered open quickly, and the girl's body sprang up in a matter of seconds. Her breathing was suddenly erratic and her heart raced and thumped against her chest.

"Heh…it was just a dream…" Azusa ran a hand through her bangs and shook her head from side to side. "She sounded so close though…"

It was dark now, but not dark enough for the moon to be shining brightly. Azusa guessed that it was probably around 6 o'clock or so.

"Azunyan!"

A chill went through Azusa's body as she sat stock-still. "Azunyaaaan!"

"Ugh!" Azusa threw her hands up to her ears and covered them. 'Why can't I stop hearing your voice…why am I audibly hallucinating like this? You're dead! I know that!'

"Azunyan, it's me! Yui! Azunyan!"

"SHUT UP!"

And there was silence.

Azusa had never screamed so loudly in her life before…well, except for when Yui had actually died, but that wasn't from anger. Azusa could hear the blood rushing in her ears, so she could safely assume that her face was now an awful red color. She looked down at her hands, which were shaking uncontrollably. Tears were sprouting in her eyes and started to slowly flow down her cheeks.

"Why can't I just…why…." Azusa was sobbing now, remembering the strange, hurt look in Sawako's eyes, the distant and unemotional look in Nodoka's and the sound of Mugi's voice so far away and so unsure, so heavy… "I can't go back…" Azusa choked out, not entirely sure if she was crazy or not for speaking aloud to no one but herself but not really caring at this point. She was alone, as usual. "I can't be friends with them anymore!"

"F-friends…with the others?"

"Mio-senpai, Ritsu-senpai! Mugi-senpai!" Azusa yelled, clenching her bed sheets. "Even though I really miss them…even though it hurts…I- I can't!"

"Azunyan…"

Azusa suddenly felt arms wrapping slowly around her. Azusa did not stiffen or fight the feeling as she felt the sensation of a warm body holding her close. She could even feel and smell that strawberry-scented hair against her cheek. "Yui-senpai," Azusa said in a breathy-whisper.

"I'm here Azunyan, it's okay. S-so don't cry anymore or I will too!"

Azusa did not know how long she…or they, sat there. But she did know that it took quite a while for her to regain her senses. Then her mind went into overdrive as she ran her hand along Yui's back.

'I'm hallucinating completely…I-I've gone crazy! Yui-senpai's dead! She has been for three whole months! There's no such things as ghosts so…'

"Aaaahhh!" Azusa screamed and threw the body away from her. With feline-like reflexes, she sprang out of her bed and switched on the light switch. What she saw, was indeed… "Y-Yui-senpai?"

"Oww! Azunyan!" Yui huffed.

Those large brown eyes, those yellow hairclips… "Y-you're not Ui?" Azusa asked timidly, her entire body shaking.

"Eh? No," Yui shook her head negatively, "I'm Yui!"

Azusa slipped down to the floor until she was on her butt and her back was against the wall. "I've really gone crazy…manifesting Yui-senpai to this point is extreme…"

"Ehh?" Yui neared her, crawling on her hands and knees. "Eheheh…" she laughed nervously, "gomen ne Azunyan, I didn't mean to scare you…"

"You aren't here," Azusa muttered, "You aren't here!"

"I'm not?"

"No!" Azusa shouted, "I'm hallucinating! You're dead! So go away!"

Yui frowned, "demo…even if I'm dead…that doesn't mean that I can't still be here, ne, Azunyan?"

"That's exactly why you can't be here!"

"Hmm…" Yui sat Indian-style with a finger poking at her bottom lip. "But I am here though. Ah! I know! It's sort of like Ricchan's scary stories! Except not scary!"

"Y-you're saying you're a ghost…?" Azusa bit her lip, looking Yui up and down. She looked perfectly solid, and she was certain that she had felt her body against her.

"Mmhmm!" Yui nodded and smiled. "I can't go back until I'm finished here!"

"Go back…where?" Azusa looked skeptic, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm not allowed to tell, Azunyan!" Yui laughed lightly and ran a hand through her hair.

"If that's true…then am I the only one that can see you?"

"Others can see me if they want to," Yui explained, "but I don't think anyone else wants to…" Yui seemed a bit saddened by this but then quickly regained herself. "That's where you come in Azunyan!"

"Huh?" Azusa asked dumbly.

"You can get everyone back together!"

"Yui-senpai…"

"Everything will be okay, Azunyan! Everyone just has to be together again!"

A/N: Ooh! Cliffie~! And so, while Ritsu and Mio did not appear in this chapter they will certainly be in the next one! All I can say is that this story is in for a lot of drama, tears, blood, and sweat...eh...mostly on my behalf -_-' So I hope that you all will kindly review and look forward to the next installment!