The way you write this makes me remember Ladder 49, a really great movie. It has a similar setup: the main character reminisces his memories while fighting for his life.

However all the credits for the story and especially the ending have to be yours. Your creativity is terrific. I hope you would continue to write (K-On stories) in the future. Thank you for another good read (I love Play... but somehow I feel that you like to kill Ritsu in the end, eh?).

What an excellent story! The vocabulary is amazing and the way you write is flawless. Second person perspective really suits this fic, and -even- you, I'd say! :)

Now, the truth is that except for fascinated from this one-shot, I also am confused. From what I understand, the first and the last bits of the story are directly connected, while the rest of the story has to do with Yui's memories from the Keionbu. And especially Ritsu.

There are some hints that Yui likes Ritsu in the fic, but it can also mean that she admires her and looks up to her, even though -as she, herself, says near the end- she could not take Ritsu's place or be as good (or, rather, "great") as her.

The scene where Yui is staring at the nightsky makes me feel really warm and cozy. I think I wanna do it with my friends, too, one day. No wonder why Yui remembers/reminisces it while she's lying on the white bed's cold surface.

And I'm talking about the operating room Yui is in.

You really got me there. I love how mysterious that part is. Yui's struggling for her life, trying to get back to the surface. There isn't given much info about how Yui got there, or whether the others (who were looking at her through the transparent glass) are alive or not. In my opinion, though, they are. The only character I'm not that sure whether they're alive or not is Ritsu.

Probably, they both got hit by a car while they were crossing "that" street (I also like how you emphasize on it). The whole group being hit would be quite extravagant, so I guess only those two were injured. I suspect that Ritsu passed away, while Yui was still alive, yet unconscious (what makes me believe that Ritsu's gone is the fact that Yui cries when she wakes up, even though that could've been from the shock, or the fact that she could not dream anymore- she had to wake up). Also, Ritsu says "This is the last time I'll be your alarm clock", AND, maybe Yui tells Ritsu "You're the Captain though, you'll always be. I don't want to get promoted.", because she thinks that Ricchan-Buchou is irreplacable and will always be, even in death (the last one is less-convincing than the rest, but it still gives me some clues; maybe it's just me). By the way, the poem says "in times when the heart is still one" while during the 'Zipangu' scene in the beginning Ritsu says "with this, we become one". Did they get separated?

The fact that Ritsu is walking, "her footsteps loud and confident, happy even" when she leaves could mean that she's alive, because, if she had died, her footsteps would have been far lighter and not at all loud; they'd be rather ethereal. Not to mention that when Mugi, Azusa and Mio went to see Yui, they were worried and not mournful due to -hypothetically speaking- Ritsu's death. But, you can never know, since this may have been all a dream Yui had dreamt of while she was unconscious.

Ah, well, I guess it's up to the reader. It would be good if everyone is ok, but I still believe that Ritsu dies, and leaves everyone else back, along with the "Memories and the Wings of the Dreams They Painted Together" (reference to the movie's ED song "Singing").

Irrelevant statement: I love how you used the word "kaleidoskope". It was briliant.

Finally, I want to congratulate you for this beautiful poem you wrote there. It is really great. I sometimes wonder whether you're pro or not! Haha, anyway, nothing more to say for this great fanfiction. Just... I hope you'll continue writing :)

- Len

PS: And something to change the subject: as I read from the other reviews, this is the last K-ON! story you're writing, right? How sad! The K-ON! fandom loses one of its best writers, and I do not go overboard. I'm sure everyone agrees with me.

All I can hope for now is some other stories of you, even if they're for a different kind of fandom.

You will be missed as a K-ON! writer though.

My sincerest greetings are for you, ghikiJ-san! Good luck with everything that's ahead of you, both as a writer and a person.

I really like the whole story and the poem is especially good! Did u make it up? I nearly cried at the end!
It's really good

Late at reading this DX

I like the whole set up of each scene, and the specific use of words that foreshadow the ambiguous ending that awaits the reader. Dreams and memories are both like intangible fragments, aren't they? They're fragile, feather-like bubbles that try to float towards the sky because they may pop any moment, burst open by the outside force. Covered in a sheen of rainbow, it's hard to tell what color these bubbles of visions are. Are they really transparent? Or is it up to the dreamer to paint the colors?

Yui tries to wake up again and again, clinging to her wonderful memories yet curious and excited to discover more. As her best friend and captain, Ritsu tries to guide her into painting her own colors.

Before I go off on a tangent in my rusty rambling, I'll just say I enjoy the 'floating, up in the clouds' atmosphere I feel in this Oneshot. It's similar to how one views a painting, that you stand back and allows your eyes to roam over the hues and interpret the images your mind perceives, but not primarily through your sight. I do agree that you can watch and analyze dreams, but you can only document reality for what it is.

While it makes me sad that it's the last you'll write for K-on, this story also wraps up many things. So thank you for the present :3

Adrena

I choose to interpret this story as that of a person obsessed beyond reason, dreaming to be the subject of their obsession. But just as every story must end, eventually the narcotics used to induce such an extended and unnatural slumber cease to take hold. And then it's back to cold reality and the realization that, as powerful as a dream may be, it can never be more than that.

Unfortunately I don't care for stories written in second-person narrative. It also feels a bit like cheating to use it. I think it's better to allow the reader the chance to discover emotions and perspective indirectly. But seeing as how very few people write in this style, I guess I can't complain. It certainly lived up to the promise of having a painted quality.

Awesome writing. Liked the way you used second pov to put Yui's character into a new perspective. There is a lightness in the fic, but it is not the senseless idiocy that is usually used to portray Yui – there is a gravity in her flightiness.

It's been a while since I've seen something about Ritsu and Yui around here, and this is beautiful.

The one thing I love about your stories is how each conveys a special message to us readers, a message that is some sort of life lesson or morality lesson that causes us to contemplate well past the time we finish reading. The short poems/quotes at the ends of your stories are very insightful as well and make me look past what superficially occurred in this events to find a deeper meaning in it. I’m still a bit bad at doing this, but your K-On! fanfics have evoked much critical thought out of me than most other fics by other authors have done. A story should always be written with some sort of message in it, and you integrate your message clearly and excellently.

Moving on…ahh, second person. Such a beautiful point of view that, if written masterfully, can instantly immerse the reader in its events as if they were the ones experiencing them. In terms of descriptions, you move past the ability to make me visualize this as a movie or slideshow in my mind and make me feel as if I’m in Yui’s eyes and seeing everything that Yui is seeing, even almost feel everything Yui is feeling. Your wide vocabulary and adept weaving of sentences makes your story such a joy to read through while also being extremely easy to visualize. The skillful utilization of this point of view only enhances my visualizations further, causing me to feel as if I’m the one watching all of these events unfold from Yui’s own eyes. I also love how you manage to form a perfectly coherent narrative with beautiful imagery and language while avoiding the use of overly flowery words that could confuse the reader.

Furthermore, it was such a delight to read a story focused more on Yui and Ritsu’s dynamic. I always loved their interactions in the anime, and bringing back scenes such as the “Stranded” scenario from their second training camp and the nighttime stargazing from summer fest also brought back fond feelings I felt while watching those scenes for the first time. Those two make such little sense when looked at from Azusa or Mio’s perspective, but their seemingly random jokes always brought enjoyment to not only the two of them but even all five of them at times. On a side note, I don’t remember reading about these particular two scenes much in any K-On! fanfics, so it was nice to see this scenes written while being fleshed out a bit more with your own taste to fit the theme of this story.

Anyway, it’s sad that this will be your last foray into K-On!, as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of your previous ventures in this fandom. I always felt inspired to write stories after reading your one-shots, and this one was no exception. Thanks for writing such a great story!

P.S. The title totally reminded me of the “Farewell Story” from the MSMM Drama CD. I know the title was inspired by the poem at the end but, I couldn't help but keep thinking of MSMM while reading this.

Superb! Not a single complaint from me! I like your premise on dreams - especially the poem at the end - it made my day and supplied me with a muse for another chapter!
The 'you' usage explain itself throughout the story and it was delightfully weird to read that way. Thanks for this letting me experience this! (_)/

This is/was beautiful! Absolutely amazing!