After writing in photographic quality for so long, I decided to try to write a painting for once.

Farewell Days

Summary: Perhaps this is why we sleep, why we dream of days long past but not soon forgotten.

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! or any of its characters

Thanks to Athyra for beta reading this oneshot.

You discovered that consciousness always woke up first.

Initially, the sensations felt were as indefinable as splatters of paints upon the sidewalk. You did not know which one came first, the dry stream of air in your nostrils or the glittering crystals behind your eyelids. Both of them sprouted out from nowhere when your awareness stirred, reminding you of the lazy mornings and the intense sprints to school afterwards. The oxygen seemed a little stale though, as if it was saturated with minerals but devoid of vapor, leaving your nose burning in itchy discomfort. But at least it was easy to ignore, especially when there was a world of colors twisting and swirling for your enjoyment.

The display was less than a movie and more like a kaleidoscope of sugar crystals. Some of them were purple stones (grape flavor perhaps?) that rolled a few times then folded upon itself to reveal another repertoire of hues akin to the golden rays of the sun. Others were baby blues and coral pinks (you were sure this one was strawberry), your favorite color, and they were replaced by tangerine oranges and sea-foam greens (tea!). In a way, it was almost like you were underwater viewing the dancing spectacle of broken and bent light rays hitting the liquid surface.

It's so pretty~

After a while, the psychedelic presentation made you feel hungry and crave for a rainbow cake that was so sweet you would need a whole pot of tea to wash it down. Maybe you could cuddle a treat out of Mugi later after you figure out how to awaken completely.

The blonde would not mind it one bit. You were sure of it!

But for now, you would just float around in this comfortable sleep, hoping that your alarm clock could not follow you here somehow. Then again, if the timepiece did not do its job (because you purposely did not set the alarm time) then Ui would for certain. At least your little sister was a lot more understanding and supportive about your love for sleep.

"Yui."

The voice was different and you were sure it was not your dear baby sister because she never called you by your name alone.

Five more minutes…

"Yui, wake up!"

You opened your eyes only to be instantly blinded by the bright summer sun blaring down on you. Next to it was a pair of golden eyes, determined and dead serious.

"Ricchan…?" You sleepily confirmed her identity.

"Get up, Yui! You can't sleep here or you'll die." The girl with ochre hair shook your shoulders and pulled you up so you could no longer drift off to slumber any longer.

"W-where are we…?" You asked as you rubbed the sand off your eyes.

"I don't know," she scanned the horizon blurred by a thick heat wave. "A deserted island, maybe?"

Your chocolate-brown eyes widened in shock, "d-deserted island? How did we get here? Ricchan, we must find a way to get back!"

"Yeah…" the shorter girl stood up with resolve, shifting the goggles on her head where they served as a replacement for her iconic yellow headband, "we will. But first… we must survive, Yui! How can we conquer this island if we're hungry?"

"Conquer?" Images of men in grass-skirts or animal skin overalls totting obsidian-tipped spears materialized in your mind. It was only you and Ritsu, how could you possibly overpower native warriors? What if you got boiled alive? What if you were eaten?

The thought was enough to make you tear up a bit. You were too young to die!

There were still countless cakes to taste in the world!

"Yes, Private. Conquer." The ochre-haired girl clenched her fist, "that is the only way to survive."

"What about food, Ricchan?" You looked around and only saw a vast ocean lapping away at the bone-dry sands of the beach. Both of you were just a few feet away from its reach, and as you looked down beside Ritsu, you also saw what remained of your civilization scattered on the sands like artificial seaweed.

"We'll manage somehow, Yui. C'mon… staying out in this sun will dry us out."

Hopeful, the golden-eyed girl picked up the nylon rope of an inflatable boat and handed it to you.

"This is all that I found and all that's left," she smiled weakly. "We might as well keep it with us."

You stared at the rope in wonder, unwilling to believe that this was it. No more Madeleine cookies, earl grey tea, strawberry shortcakes, and ice cream, just sand, hot winds, barren palm trees and salt water all around. Would anyone find you? Would you even get out of here alive?

For long hours you walked along the beach, trailing behind a quickly weakening Ritsu who used driftwood as a cane to support herself. Sometimes you would look over your shoulder out of curiosity, wondering if there were other people who lived here and if they were following your footsteps. Maybe those men in grass skirts would not be mean or violent. Maybe they would even feed you two with tropical fruits and let you drink coconut water straight from the husk.

But there was nothing.

Only two sets of footprints.

You diligently followed your friend, because if anyone would know what to do it would be Ritsu. She always found a way to scare Mio after all, and she always made the most out of anything. She was very brave too, so if you two ran into bad people, you were confident that the shorter but feisty girl would protect you.

"Yui, look." The former drummer called as she pointed her cane towards a foreign shape on the beach. It was a slimy thing, almost formless as it sprawled there on the sands. Yet as you two drew closer, a familiar scent tamed your cautiousness.

"It's seaweed," said the ochre-haired girl.

"We're saved, Ricchan." You tearfully kneeled in front of the nutritious leaf and picked it up, "we have food."

"Yes," Ritsu knelt next to you and grasped your shoulder, "indeed we do. We'll live another day, Private, another day to conquer Zipangu."

Your Captain took the piece of kelp from your hand and carefully tore the piece in two. She then looked at you, her eyes also damp in gratefulness of this fortunate gift, and smiled, "with this, we become one."

"Ricchan…"

"Yui…"

"Ricchan!"

"Yui!"

You held hands and—

"What are you two doing?" The stern voice of Akiyama Mio shattered the dream.

"Uuuaaaah~ Ricchan, the monster!" You squealed as you dramatically pointed at the raven-haired girl's well-endowed chest.

"Run, Yui, run! I'll hold her off! Go!"

You hopped to your feet and ran as fast as you could, all the while laughing breathlessly. You never had much stamina anyway so you did not like to run, but teasing Mio was just too fun, especially when the whole act was so believable.

Ritsu smacked her childhood friend's face with a beach ball as per tradition and ran after you as well. Bemused and not at all impressed, Mio just stood there with her distinct disapproving frown and yelled, "Grow up already!"

"But we don't wanna!" The ochre-haired girl rebelliously shouted back, but since she turned and attempted to run backwards, she did not see that she was half a step away from colliding with you.

Until it was too late.

You rolled on the sand numerous times and found yourselves a couple of inches deep in salt water. That was alright though, because both of you still giggled and shrieked in simple and albeit immature self-entertainment. The grains that were stuck on your person and swimsuits were quickly washed off by the waves, while your skin was cooled by the sudden breeze as if apologizing on the sun's behalf for nearly burning you into a crisp. Not that you actually sensed these little details. All you knew was that you felt better now in this reality, even if you had a lot of fun pretending to be a desperate outcast on a deserted island.

That was the entertainment in hanging out with Ritsu. Daydreams could be made into reality as long as you believed that it could be done, and the drummer was one of the few people who could do it as well as you could. Maybe it was safe to say that you understood each other, even if sometimes the golden-eyed girl baffled you as much as you confused her with your random musings.

Mutual bewilderment at its finest.

You heard Ritsu snicker above you, where she held herself up with her arms while grinning like a triumphant victor of an implausible battle against a tyrannical queen, who did all she could to pry you two away from the joys of being teenagers. The image was so uplifting that you could not help but beam back, joining your best friend in this proverbial conquest. Really, Ritsu's grins were infectious.

And it did not help that you shared her distinctive sense of humor.

"What should we do now, Ricchan? She'll catch us." You raised your hand to clutch your Captain's shoulder, continuing this fantastical drama of heroes versus Queen Mio.

The drummer's golden eyes glinted with fervor once again before she gripped your hand so tightly that you could just feel her fire churning within. "Yui, we will—"

"Ricchan, Yui-chan, the barbecue's ready~"

"…eat Mugi's barbecue, then we'll come up with more battle strategies, Private."

You furrowed your eyebrows in determination, "that sounds like a plan, Captain."

A seagull cawed overhead as if seconding your assent before it flew offshore in search for the source of the waves.

The dinner at sunset was definitely something that you could relive over and over. It was noisy and lively, with Ritsu staking claim over most of the meat available and Mio trying to control her like a henpecking parent. Mugi savored the riceballs the bassist had made, enjoying herself in this simple party amongst friends, while Azusa watched on with a subdued annoyance, thoroughly exasperated at your ballooning cluelessness and childishness.

That aggravated expression should not be on your kouhai's face, especially in this beach getaway, so you took it upon yourself to snap her out of it by pinching her sunburned cheek. The prank earned you a surprised yowl (no, mewl!) which melted your heart (too cute!) and made you want to pet and cuddle the tiny girl until you got scratched or bitten.

At the end of the day, all the painful injuries would be worth it, you thought.

The rambunctiousness of dinner faded as soon as it started, just like how the sun hid behind the horizon so quickly. You and Ritsu stowed away at the beach once more, partly to hide from the bassist who was determined to make you two practice in the summer house's studio and partly to just doze on the still warm sands near the shore.

"Today was a triumph, Private." The drummer folded her arms under her head while she stretched her legs over the grains of sand, pleased at the grand scheme of procrastination you two have pulled off that made this so-called training camp more fun than arduous.

"Indeed it is, Captain." You copied her in almost every way even if the reason behind it escaped your innocent mind. "Zipangu is conquered."

"Yep!" Ritsu rolled over then, and used the many stars in the night sky as her backdrop before grinning like she always did, "our next mission is to expand it!"

But having a full belly had made you heavy-eyed. So before you close your eyes as your body demanded sleep, you murmured, "We'll expand it together, Ricchan."

Stars glistened in place of the colorful crystals from earlier but they were no less beautiful. They twinkled and slowly moved on the night sky, like heralds of dreams who kept absolute time. A comet would pass them every now and then, like a hurrying busybody who could not wait to paint new skewed lines upon the midnight planetarium, while the moon cruised on like a heavenly ark amongst flying fishes.

What a dazzling picture they have made!

There, as if lying in the center of the universe, you watched them etch halos and perfect circles of memorial frames and of times that have come and gone. However, this picture did not reflect in your rich brown irises at all but in the darkness of your eyelids as you slept. They were soundless lullabies that penetrated your inner galaxies, taking you back to places where you have seen their counterparts in reality.

A warm hand held yours then, reiterating the fact that you had other senses.

"Ehe, I hear them Ricchan, no worries." Indeed the long-reaching pulses of basses still managed to send you aquiver while the wailing electric guitar solos lifted your soul into heights you wished to reach someday.

"I thought you were sleeping already. Heh, that was some speech you made there, Yui."

Soft chocolate-brown eyes opened to look at piercing golden ones with a pleasant smile, "you think so?"

"Gutsy and impossible," Ritsu chuckled as she spoke quietly. The others have fallen asleep beside you both after all and she did not want to wake them after the spirit of the summer fest have lulled them to sleep. "But that's step number one, yeah?"

"I just want to play with everyone forever," you smiled at the drummer, who smirked back, appreciating your mellow optimism that always seemed to melt anyone's heart. "And we can, Ricchan, we're all here now and no one will go away, not after you brought us together."

"Heh, you embarrass me sometimes, you know that?" She nudged you and you nudged right back, giggling like the bubbly high school girl that you were.

"Embarrassed Ricchan is the best Ricchan~"

She blinked as her cheeks flushed further, making your heart beat a bit faster. "Shaddup."

"Fufufufu~"

"I said shut up!" The ochre-haired girl whined and clamped her callused hand over your mouth with her face red and her scowl indignant, yet that did not stop you from giggling. No, it only made you laugh a little harder.

"You two just don't know when to stop, do you?" Mio sat up, yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"She started it!"

"Mn! Ahmhwsh!"

Azusa was the second one to stir, "I fell asleep…" she then stretched like a kitten and continued, "Yui-senpai, Ritsu-senpai, what are you doing?"

You peeled the drummer's hand from your mouth, "Uuaaah, Azunyan, Ricchan is mean~"

The black-haired girl only looked at you with drowsy carnelian eyes and sighed, "I don't even know what started it or what it is about." She then paused to look at the multi-colored valley between the mountains, where a mass of neon lights sparkled and battled the stars for dominance. And though there was still a haze of slumber in her gaze, the dream and the hope that Houkago Tea Time will always be together were still there.

You sat up and rubbed the younger girl's head, who then inquisitively shifted her gaze from the presentation of sights, sounds, and aspirations to look at you curiously.

"Yui-senpai?" She asked, wide-eyed.

"Azunyan~ Don't worry, we'll never stop eating cake together."

You hugged her just because you could.

And she protested just because she could as well.

"Get off me!"

"We should head back to the tent," Mio said as she stood on the grassy hill, "Sawako-sensei might have returned already."

True to her carefree attitude, Ritsu only waved her hand dismissively, "Sawa-chan's probably out cold by now. Hehehe… what with all the headbangin' she did."

"Still…" Ever the responsible young adult, the bassist pulled her childhood friend up so she could argue no further. "There are mosquitoes here and we still have a huge day tomorrow, more bands to see and listen to."

"Hai hai…" the drummer rubbed the back of her head as she reluctantly took the raven-haired girl's advice and pulled you up as well. She then rested her elbow on your shoulder and announced her plans for tomorrow, "I'm gonna hunt for that plate of yakisoba with you tomorrow, Yui."

Azusa was still in your clutches, but the shorter girl had already lost her steam and merely stood there like a kitten ready for another nap. Pleased that your kouhai was going nowhere, you cheerfully responded to your best friend, "We should take Mugi-chan with us! You want to eat yakisoba too, right Mugi—?"

You looked over and saw your band's keyboardist still snoozing on the soft grass. It seemed like all the noise you and Ritsu had worked up did not disturb her in the least.

"Heh, she must be tired," the drummer squatted near the blonde and gently shook her shoulder. However, even this was not enough to rouse her. "Mugi. Hey, Mugi, wake up."

Surprisingly, the keyboardist giggled in her sleep, "jiggly jello~"

"Jiggly wha—that again huh?" Ritsu chuckled fondly as she recalled that time when Mugi also spoke in her sleep during that train ride you took for your club's first training camp, and tried to wake her up one more time but that also failed. Mugi was completely out cold.

"Mio-chan," you transferred your kouhai to the bemused bassist's care and stepped towards the blonde, standing opposite to your Captain. "Let's carry her, ne? The tent is just at the base of the hill."

"I don't think that's very safe but Mugi shouldn't be too heavy. Alright~ let's do this!"

But just fifteen seconds in, you were both regretting moving the blonde. It was not because the keyboardist was heavy by any means, but because of the rather awkward slope and the fact that you almost slipped three times before you reached the green tent near the dirt road at the base of the hill. It did not help that neither you nor Ritsu had commendable physical strength. That honor belonged to Mugi, whose even breaths remained undisturbed in spite of being carried by two shaky pairs of arms.

The effort helped burn your excess energy though, and left you quite content with just snuggling up to your bandmates in the tent. While it was summer, the night felt rather chilly, unlike the usual balmy evenings you had expected, so being cramped in a small tent was not unpleasant at all.

Immersed in the chorus of your friends' tired sighs and restful breaths, you noticed that the seasonal cicadas still sung in the background, losing hopelessly to the grand performances outside that were supposed to continue all night long in celebration of this wonderful art called music.

In this well-lit atmosphere, could the stars still shine as brightly as they did atop that hill? You could not tell because all you could see now was the apex of the tent but you knew that they were. You brought your eyelids down once again so you could see the heaven's lights more clearly in your inner universe, where everything was crystal clear even though only few thoughts and fragmented memories made sense. There you saw the glittering blanket of the late night sky once more, unfettered and unblemished, the perfect playground for your dreams and the greatest canvas for those days that would always be with you.

The music, the laughter shared, the hot sands of the beach, the neon lights in the valley, and the friends who breathed so peacefully next to you. They were all there, rendered corporeal in your consciousness by your inner vision.

Embraced and cherished.

All was in the mind, and action with a little bit of imagination made it true. That was a lesson taught but not always heeded and taken to heart. But there were times when such a basic message needed no lecture. Sometimes it just happens, as proven by your beloved buchou some years ago, when a desire to have a band was made into reality with the foundation of Houkago Tea Time.

You decided that if you could remake the clubroom however you wanted it, you would transform it into a giant sponge cake. It would be two-tiered with a liberal helping of cream filling and generously lined with slices of strawberries. Pale pinks and greens would decorate it in form of sashes and bows of fondant, and candy sprinkles would make it gleam like no other. Drizzle a yummy stream of strawberry syrup over fluffy whipped topping and you would have heaven right there.

Of course, everything must also be edible. There was no point in making things look delectable if you could not eat it.

There should be ice cream too, scoops of chocolate, vanilla, and banana!

"Nooo, that'll melt~"

"Yui-chan, you might spill your tea."

A soft pat on the shoulder and the aromatics of freshly brewed tea roused you from your sweet wonderland. When you opened your eyes, serene sky blue greeted you with an angelic smile and a saucer containing a mini chiffon cake that looked exactly like the one in your midday dreams. Or so you thought. You did not remember when you had fallen asleep, but you allowed that particular train to go on its merry way as you beamed brightly at the treat being placed in front of you.

Ritsu smacked her lips before digging her fork into her own helping of the dessert. "Trust Yui to only wake up when there are sweets around."

"But sweets make the world go round, Ricchan!" You said this firmly and seriously with your complete and utter confidence because it was the truth. Sweets and tea were some of the defining characteristics of Houkago Tea Time, a tradition that was established the moment Ritsu and Mugi used them as baits for you to stay.

At first, you were sure that the treats were only there to keep you in the club so it would not get disbanded, but as the weeks and months passed, afternoon teatime became a ritual that allowed you to bond with each other. Other bands would have listed jamming together as their bonding time, but HTT was not an ordinary band, was it?

It never was.

First and foremost, your bassist and lyricist was like a clam that shut close whenever buttons labeled "fear" and "shame" were touched. Touched, you stressed to yourself, not pushed. Mio had her big hands tightly gripped around an imaginary shell, too forcefully perhaps that she almost never let herself go and enjoy the moment. Whenever she did though, she could be more childish than you were, reveling at things she cared for so excitedly that it made Ritsu look level-headed and mature.

That was saying something.

It was kind of funny that she was afraid of barnacles when she was a lot of like the creature herself.

That self-consciousness and flightiness were characteristics the drummer had been trying to wean her off of it seemed. Certainly your Captain did not do things without some sort of reason behind it, unlike you who tended to lose your head in the clouds most of the time. Ritsu was a good person underneath the jester's mask and she would never harm Mio, or any of you for that matter.

It just so happened that the ochre-haired girl was so good at making her little nudges towards the path of self-confidence look mean-spirited.

But that was where you came in, was it not? When Ritsu's reverse-psychology did not work, you tried to back it up with some positive praises. It was not like it was hard to admire the raven-haired bassist. Mio was so adept with her instrument and almost everything else that it was not hard to just stand there in awe sometimes. She could keep tempo, read music, and stay an A-list student while making it all look so easy.

Like right now as you watched Ritsu and Mugi chatting to each other, the bassist was reading a book and jotting down notes for a class, as expected of an honor roll student, but she was also lifting her grey eyes from the texts in order to see what the other two were doing. There was exasperation in her demeanor but at the same time, there was also a hint of longing as if she wanted to join in. There was a visible rein that kept her from just integrating herself into the conversation though, most likely her pride of being mature and reserved.

"Mio-chan," you called the raven-haired girl, "take a break and have more tea. I brought cookies and more candy today and…"

"N-no, thanks, Yui, I'm full already."

"But you haven't even touched your cake!" You pouted as you stared sadly at the lonesome miniature chiffon.

"Maybe later…" Mio returned her eyes on the book in her hands.

"Mio-chan," you reached over, effectively going in between Ritsu and Mugi's chat, and grabbed the bassist's hands as you draped yourself on the table, "you seem sad. Is Ricchan cheating on you again?"

"Oi," was the drummer's automatic protest, but you ignored her.

"W-wha—?"

"Don't worry, Mio-chan, I'll set Ricchan straight!"

You smiled so brightly that the taller girl could not procure a proper response, not that there was a proper response to your exclamation in the first place. "Ricchan is just like that, you know? We just have to get used to her ways. She's meant to be shared—ack!"

"Oi!" Ritsu grabbed you in a headlock, "What's that supposed to mean, Yui-san?"

"Your heart is so big that we're all in it," the grip tightened, "I mean you like to go from one girl to another—eek!"

"Why you…!"

You could have sworn something broke because you heard a very particular crack near your ear.

Mio blinked and, when she finally figured out what was going on, she averted her eyes, her cheeks slightly pink in embarrassment, "Err… I wasn't eating because…"

You were smacking the drummer's forearm at this point, unable to breathe and turning quite blue due to asphyxiation. Fortunately, your best friend eased a bit to try and hear what the bassist had mumbled under her breath. Gasping for air, you ducked under Ritsu's arm to lean towards Mio, "what was that, Mio-chan?"

The tall, dark-haired girl looked displeased and did not want to repeat what she had just said. She was even clutching her skirt under the table, while her cheeks puffed up a bit due to her indignant pout. She wished to remain quiet but with four pairs of eyes looking at her expectantly, she did not have a choice but to repeat her reason.

But even that turned out to be inaudible.

Sighing, Ritsu flopped down on her seat again and folded an arm over her seat's backrest, "she probably gained weight again—"

Out of nowhere, a shroud of dark auras seemed to envelop Mio as she stood from her seat. Black, blue and purple tendrils appeared to rise from her enraged stature, looming over the drummer who had turned white in fear. You and Mugi took a step back, giving enough room for the peeved bassist to cast her punishment over her childhood friend who just could not control her mouth.

"Yow!"

As soon as it began, peace returned in the sweet smelling clubroom once the fist of judgment had hit its target.

With the club president out of commission for a while, you turned your attention to the blonde in front of you in the table arrangement. While Mio and Ritsu have the tendency to be exuberant in their displays, Mugi always stood away from the limelight, contently basking in the noise and atmosphere the rest of you conjured up while enjoying the treats she always brought.

She was always interesting to observe because she was every bit as surprising as you were. From desiring nothing but the simplest of things and enjoying the most mundane of tasks, Mugi was in a class of her own.

Like Ritsu, you have wondered about the blonde's peculiar personality. In many ways, she was as absent-minded as you were, and just as naïve. But in everything else, she was quite different. For one, she was fair-haired and she sported sky blue eyes that stood out so much in your school. Another reason was the fact that she was wealthy, a daughter of some unknown and unnamed conglomerate magnate. Yet, she was also simple-minded, sometimes even more so than you since she would go through great lengths to experience things normal girls did, so unlike the usual portrayal of the affluent.

Why?

In your mind, Mugi was probably under the care of a multitude of servants. Butlers and maids probably trailed her every step at home and did things for her so that she did not have to trouble herself with menial tasks. In your point of view, that kind of life was ideal, so free of worry and tedious house chores. But at the same time, it also spelled a life of professional faces. They might not be mean or inconsiderate, but they were also not friendly and warm.

And Mugi was nothing without that warmth, was she?

Here in the clubroom, the blonde thrived in daily shenanigans and lively chatters. It was as if everything she ever wanted was here, and, while the initial thought was a sad one, you could not help but smile and feel loved. It just showed that Mugi cherished each and every one of you simple girls more than any other heiresses she might have met.

She found friendship and normalcy in this room, even if normalcy was not normal at all.

You certainly thought you were normal, but you were sure each and everyone else sitting at this table would argue otherwise. And you would too, if one of them declared that they were as well.

Azusa definitely thought that you were not normal, but you could say the same thing to her. Short, adorable, and musically gifted, the black-haired girl was anything but plain. Talented, intelligent and reserved, she could be the most mature in your group of friends even though she was the youngest.

She tried so hard to be the responsible one, whether to make sure that you and the others do not do anything drastic or simply because she wanted to be like Mio, you could not tell. You do know, however, that the black-haired girl desired nothing more than to make sense out of your senselessness, completely missing the point of life that not everything needed an explanation or a theory.

Fortunately, Azusa's logical and systematic way of looking at things had been easing, allowing her to see that greatness needed no prerequisites, and that friendship trumped over statistics and social expectations.

She was starting to learn that the only reason why it was so much fun to play with HTT was because it was enjoyable.

It was too simple of a logic rationale.

But it was enough.

You giggled as you watched Ritsu (who finally regained consciousness) play around with the second guitarist of your band. They were feeding Ton-chan, or at least Azusa was. The drummer was just there chatting away with the shorter girl, poking her cheek once in a while to tease her. The black-haired girl rarely welcomed such attention, but she probably knew that there was no stopping Ritsu when she had already started.

You joined them with a bounce and placed both your arms around their shoulders. You gave them a squeeze and relished the moment because you had the person you looked up to the most in one arm and the person you wished to be a role model to in the other.

Nothing of importance might be happening around you, nothing fantastical or world changing, but you still considered this moment to be poignant. The bronze sun casted such an ethereal shroud on you and your friends that immortalized the happy giggles and the mild reprimands, and that in itself was precious.

A painted dream like no other.

"Let's go guys," Ritsu announced when the tea had been drained and the pastries have been devoured. "Let's grab some ice cream before we go home, yeah?"

"More sweets?" Mio looked at her blandly as she meticulously arranged her belongings in her bag.

"You can't have enough sweets, Mio-chan." The raven-haired girl was not at all surprised that you took the drummer's side.

"Yeah! That and the shop advertised that they'll let whoever finished their largest sundae name it!"

"Really, Ricchan?"

"Yep, and I'm naming it Zipangu …or just Ritsu-sama."

"No fair, I wanna name it the Throbbing Protractor!"

"Well then, you have to beat me first!" She grabbed her bag and slung it around her shoulder before taking off. Without a guitar to lug around, she clearly had the advantage, but you were not going down without a fight.

Naming a sundae was like making a mark in history after all.

"Ricchan, wait for me!"

The school grounds quickly faded behind the wake of your hurried footsteps. Smaller and smaller it became until it was hidden behind the apartment buildings and commercial establishments that lined your town's streets.

From blue to orange, you watched the sky as you trailed behind Ritsu, who was skipping over sidewalk tiles while telling the group a story about class that day, and how Wakaouji Ichigo actually spoke more than two sentences. The clouds were sparse, iconic of a summer's evening, and lined the warm atmosphere with wispy white froth that looked like it could be blown away with a mere stream from your lips.

Such a beautiful day, you thought, and you could not be any happier, especially when your Captain grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the pedestrian lane. There, waiting for the stoplight to signal a safe passage, you saw a new ice cream and crepe shop with its neon lights and the number of eager customers waiting to see what it had in store. Some were even gesturing animatedly, which made you conclude that they were also contestants for the special sundae Ritsu wanted to name.

"Ne, Ricchan, do you have to eat the ice cream by yourself to win it?"

"Err… at first I thought it was but from the looks of the people there, I guess you can have a partner."

You smiled widely and squeezed the golden-eyed girl's hand, "then I'll be your partner, Buchou!"

"Alright!" Ritsu raised your entwined hands in the air, "then we can definitely win this. You're a shredder of sweets."

You pouted, "that's not true, you eat more than I do~"

"What are you—Yui, c'mon, the walk light's on!"

She then pulled you towards sweets heaven.

It was normal that warmth came after you have eaten your fill, even more so when you have shared it with a person who had shaped your life so much that you could not imagine going back to your middle school days, when you merely drifted from one sky to another. Warmth was felt when you finally recognized your solidarity with true friends and embraced the common interest and goal that glued you together, no matter how far-fetched and impossible it might seem. It could also be experienced in a dream, a very precious vision in which you could recall and relive the small things, the tiny fractions of grander memories that were equally loved.

That was where you, a surfacing consciousness, were right now. You were viewing a collage of colors. There were no pictures any longer, just clouds of carnation pink and iris, of Alice blue and sunglow. There were no strawberries and cream, no raspberry smoothies, just a rainbow of hues and a wave of warmth. Nowhere were the neon lights and the ice cream truck that delivered their goods to the shop, nor was the red lightning that bolted and zigzagged right at you as you neared those enticing double doors.

They were all gone now, the tastes, the sounds, and the sensation of a hand in your own. All that was left was warmth, contentment, and a familiar voice.

"Yui," it called, "ne, Yui! Geez, I'm not your alarm clock. How many times do I have to wake you up?"

"Ricchan…?"

"The one and only~"

You lifted your heavy eyelids to see your friend a couple of paces away, smirking confidently as she always did. She stood by one of the ice cream shop's tables with her arms akimbo, and her school bag hanging loosely by her hip. The stoplight flickered green above her head, as if giving you permission to join your friend on the other side. So in order to greet her, you bounced up and tried to give her a hug, but you soon found your face planted in her hand after she had used it to stop your charge.

"Tsk, tsk, you still have drool on your face, y'know. Eck, now some is on my hand too…" She flicked her hand and rubbed it on her uniform's blue jacket.

"Oh," you stepped back and wiped the corner of your mouth. "Ehe~ gomen ne, Ricchan."

However, by the time you looked up, the surroundings have changed and she was already standing in your school's wood-lined hallway, talking to you through the corridor windows.

"Just how long do you think you'll sleep, Yui?" She asked as she slung her school bag over her shoulder, making the numerous keychains and decorations jingle a bit.

Though you were confused at the new environment, you only tilted your head and replied, "I don't know. I don't even know when I fell asleep."

You furrowed your brows and crossed your arms as you tried to recall but nothing came, so you shrugged and went towards the classroom's door, leaving behind the desk and chair ensemble that used to be the center of your friends' many gossips. As soon as you reached it though, you found that it was immovable, its handle missing.

"That's not how you get out, yeah?" Ritsu scratched her head in exasperation of your airheadedness.

"How then?"

"I wouldn't know the answer to that."

"You were here just a moment ago…"

Ritsu knocked on the solid glass window between you two, "I don't think so. Not anymore anyway."

"But—"

"You'll see when you stop day dreaming. You have to get promoted first before you can do all the awesomeness that I do." The drummer grinned, proud and rather smug, "you can't be a Private forever, yeah?"

"You're the Captain though," you disagreed, not liking the idea at all, "you'll always be. I don't want to get promoted."

"Well, you're right… hehe, you'll never surpass me." Ritsu pocketed a hand in her uniform's jacket, "but still…"

Upon the drummer's gesture, you turned around and saw not the rows and columns of desks and chairs but the flowing white linen sheets and draperies interwoven with transparent twine. There were shadows of people there now, clustered together behind the curtains, seemingly busy weaving and knitting things you could not comprehend.

Confused, you returned your eyes to Ritsu, hoping that she could explain, but the drummer did not tear her concerned eyes away from the white-draped stage. You tried to speak but before you could utter a word you saw the rest of the band leaning against the glass worriedly.

But they were not looking at you.

It did not seem like they could see you at all.

"You gotta wake up." The ochre-haired girl encouraged as she pressed her palm against the glass. "This is the last time I'll be your alarm clock. Mio will wake you up next time and, believe me, she's not pleasant sometimes."

"I-I don't understand, Ricchan," you rested your palm where hers was, desperate to feel the warmth of her hand once again, just like when she took yours as you run off to goof around and when you tried to cross that street.

"Heh, I don't either," the drummer chuckled deeply, "I just feel that I should say those words, Yui."

She then slowly removed her hand from the transparent barrier.

"Ricchan, wait!" You hit the glass with your palm as Ritsu began to walk down the whitewashed hallway that looked nothing like your school's many passages. Where were the glossy hardwood floor and the stairs that led to the clubroom? Where was neatly mowed lawn of the school courtyard that could be seen from the corridor windows? What was this place anyway? Too plain, too white, too sterile.

"Where are you going?" You shouted at your best friend, fearing that she would not hear you. The others certainly did not because if they did, they would have at least looked at you.

"Where else, Private?" She grinned like she always did as she turned towards you one last time, her expression boisterous, mischievous and lively.

"Ricchan! Don't leave me here!"

Inextinguishable.

"See ya in Zipangu, Yui."

"Ricchan!"

She walked away, her footsteps loud and confident, happy even.

That was when the consciousness began to stir, and when the kaleidoscope of crystals began to twirl. The dry stream of air through your nostrils began to burn as the imaginary warmth made way to artificial coldness. Voices, there were voices at last, even if they mumbled jargon you could not understand. Movement followed, with blue hands pulling a blanket of white over you and tucking your cold arms underneath.

Just a little more and you would reach it, the surface of your awareness. Just a few more proverbial mental kicks and you would break through the kaleidoscope, the bubble of inner perception.

Just a bit more…

Then the deafening noise of a single flat note jarred your senses as the parched landscape of your tongue thirsted for an oasis.

You felt something burst, a gate opening and flooding you with sensations that were both foreign yet so real.

And finally, finally, your chocolate-brown eyes snapped open.

But not without tears.

Sleep, oh beautiful sleep

It is our sanctuary, our respite.

It is the realm of dreams, of memories.

It is the dominion of our fantasies,

Where we say "Farewell, days."

But sooner or later we must wake.

We must return to reality,

No matter how bitter and sinister it might be.

Perhaps this is why we sleep, why we dream,

So we can immerse ourselves in good times gone,

In times when the heart is still one.

Unhurt, unsoiled, and unbroken.

Fin.

Prompt: Painted Dreams and Photographed Reality

AN: This is dedicated to Adrena Veris, a very late birthday present.

An eight-month late birthday present.