Chapter 5 - Comfort

"Kotori has made her decision. I... I ask you to understand."

"I..."

Honoka didn't know what to think. In just a few short moments, it seemed like her entire world had been turned upside down. Kotori was leaving. She was going to a fashion boarding school in a country so far away she could barely picture where it was on a map. And Umi, who Honoka had expected to be just as shocked and appalled as she was by the news, had just stood there, taking the news as stoically as though Kotori had announced she was only going on holiday rather than going to live on the other side of the world.

But then come to think of it, it hadn't even been Kotori who had broken the news of her departure. It had been Umi.

The realization sliced through Honoka like a knife through the back.

"You knew? You knew and you didn't tell me!"

Umi closed her eyes and kept them closed for a few seconds before opening them again, looking Honoka square in the eye. Honoka hated how calm Umi was acting, but, she reflected bitterly, Umi had had some time to get used to the idea of a world without Kotori in it.

"It was not my news to share," she replied, calmly and levelly. "Kotori wanted to be the one to tell you and it was not my place to-"

"Did you even try to stop her? When she told you, did you even once tell her that we need her here, with us?"

Umi's silence was damning.

"You're unbelievable!"

"Grow up Honoka," Umi retorted, her voice losing some of its cool edge, a fact Honoka noted with some grim satisfaction. "Kotori is old enough to make her own decisions. As her friends, it's our duty to support her. That's precisely what I've been doing. Do you think it's a coincidence that she told me before you-" Umi abruptly stopped, eyes widening as she realised what she'd just said. "Honoka, I-"

"No, you're right," Honoka half yelled, no longer able to keep her emotions in check. "It's not a coincidence. Because Kotori probably figured that you wouldn't try to stop her and I would. Do you want Kotori to go? Is that it?"

"Of course I don't! It tears me to pieces that she's going!" Umi stopped to take a deep breath, then another, then one more. When she spoke again, her voice was calmer but she was clearly struggling to control her emotions. The bluenette's fingers were clenched tightly into her skirt. "But that changes nothing. Kotori is going and she has my full support. So once again, I ask you to understand."

But that was the one thing Honoka couldn't do, could never do. Kotori was her oldest friend, had been a permanent fixture in her life from her earliest memories, and the notion that she wouldn't be a part of her future was utterly incomprehensible to her. Even now, as she tried, she couldn't imagine what such a life would be like and tears sprang unbidden to her eyes.

"I can't," she whispered, barely noticing as the tears began to fall. "I can't."

"Honoka."

"No!"

Unable to stand it anymore, Honoka took off at a run, barrelling past her friends whose presence she had all but forgotten during the course of the argument. She didn't know where she was going and she didn't care. All she could think of was getting away so she let her feet take her to where she needed to go. And so she ran.

It was only when she came to a stop outside the music room door that she even realised where she was.

Dashing the tears out of her eyes with the back of her hand, Honoka peered through the glass and was relieved to find the room empty and dark. Opening the door, she slipped through and closed it quietly behind her. Without even bothering to turn on the lights, she moved off into the far corner of the room and flung herself down in one of the orchestra's many chairs, choosing one out of sight of the door. And there, burying her face into her hands as if trying to shut out the world, Honoka cried and cried as she kept trying and failing to process the news she'd been given so abruptly.

She felt like her world was falling apart.

She didn't know what to do but she did know that she had to stop Kotori from leaving. She had no idea how she was going to do it, and she could trust no-one to help her, but she would find a way. Kotori couldn't leave, she couldn't. She wouldn't allow it; Umi might have given up, but Honoka would fight until her last breath to keep Kotori where she belonged: with all of them.

The question remained though: how?

Honoka was contemplating the slightly (utterly) insane possibility of tying Kotori up and keeping her prisoner somewhere in her house when she heard the door open. Looking over, she saw it had only been opened a crack. Hoping she hadn't been seen, she tried to hide herself in her corner and hoped whoever was at the door would go away.

"Can I come in Honoka?" asked a familiar voice

The unexpected question threw her for a moment. She was tempted to pretend that she wasn't here, but she only supposed that would make things more awkward if the girl came in. "Maki-chan?"

"I-I understand if you want to be alone. I... just thought..."

"You can come in," Honoka murmured hollowly. Perhaps a bit of company would do her good.

The door opened and Maki stepped through, taking care to close it gently to behind her. When she glanced up from the door, their eyes met awkwardly before Honoka looked away.

"You look awful." It seemed to take a moment for it to dawn on Maki what she had said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean... it's just that... sorry, I'm not very good at these... things."

Strangely enough, Honoka felt a little cheered by what Maki had said to the point where it had brought an involuntary smile to her face. She probably did look awful with all the crying she'd been doing.

"It's ok. I know you didn't mean to be harsh."

"Sorry."

"Come and sit with me."

Wordlessly, Maki took one of the empty seats next to her, keeping a few seats between them. Silence loomed between them for a few moments before Maki finally took a deep breath and started to talk. "I understand how you feel."

Honoka looked over to the red-haired first year. Maki's eyes remained firmly on the nearby piano. "You do?"

"You feel betrayed," Maki stated matter-of-factly. "One of your best friends is leaving the country, the other knew, neither of them told you. You feel sad because someone very, very precious to you is going far, far away and you don't know when you'll see her again. And..." Maki briefly met her eyes again. Her lavender irises shone with an emotion Honoka couldn't identify. "You feel alone. So very, very... alone."

Honoka couldn't speak at first. In a nutshell, Maki had perfectly captured how it was she was feeling. "You're good at reading people Maki-chan."

"I'm not. I'm really not. I can't figure out people most of the time. But you wear your heart on your sleeve... and I've had first hand experience of what you're feeling."

"You have?"

Maki nodded. "When I was six. I had a friend... in fact, she was my only friend." A bittersweet smile lit Maki's features as she kept talking. "We did everything together, went everywhere together, knew everything about each other. We were the very best of friends... until one Monday morning, she didn't come into school. I remember being so worried about her that I almost made myself sick. We always went into school together and I was worried she was sick or was in hospital." Maki took a moment to breathe. "The teacher told us that she wouldn't be coming to class anymore, that her father had suddenly been offered a job in Osaka and that the whole family were going with him.

"I remember I had to go home early that day. I was so stunned that I couldn't even cry at first, but when the implications set in, when I realised that I would probably never see her again, I was inconsolable. It... hurt so much and she hadn't even told me she was going. To this day, I'm not sure whether she knew or whether it was as much of a surprise to her as it was to me. And I... hated her for a while. I felt betrayed by her silence as much as I was saddened by her absence. I felt alone and I hated her for making me feel that way.

"We never saw each other again, never even spoke. So I understand what you're going through. But you're lucky, you know?"

"How do you figure that one?" Honoka asked. She didn't see how potentially losing her best friend could be considered lucky.

"You have the chance to stop Kotori. I didn't have that."

The significance of that wasn't lost on Honoka. "You think I should stop her?"

Maki didn't even hesitate. "Yes, you should."

"You... don't think I'm a bad person?"

Maki shook her head. "No, Honoka, I don't think you're a bad person. And you know Umi doesn't want her to go either. She just... probably doesn't know what to do."

The mention of Umi instantly made Honoka feel guilty; she'd said some pretty nasty things to Umi in the heat of the moment.

"Don't drive her away Honoka. Give her a reason to stay."

Honoka sighed. "You're right."

"I know I am." Maki shuffled closer, taking the seat closest to Honoka. "If you need anything..."

Honoka was about to respond when Maki placed her hand on top of hers and gave it a little squeeze. The gesture was over and done with in a split second but it said more than a thousand words ever could.

"Thanks Maki."

"Anytime."

"I need some time to think... I think."

Picking up on the hint, Maki nodded and moved away. Honoka felt bad for sending her away; she really was grateful Maki had been there for her in her moment of total isolation. But she needed time, needed to think about how she could make up to Kotori for being an awful, awful friend all while convincing her to stay.

A question popped into her head just as Maki reached the door. "What was her name?"

Maki turned at the sound of her voice. "What?"

"Your friend. What was her name?"

Twirling her hair around in a forefinger in a gesture which was by now familiar to Honoka, Maki turned away. "I don't remember anymore."

Honoka suppressed the temptation to call her out on her obvious lie; if Maki wasn't ready to share, then Honoka would respect that. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

The door closed behind the pianist, leaving Honoka on her own again. But her earlier despondence was now gone; she had a job to do which involved a lot of making up to Kotori.

It felt like everything was going a mile a minute. Between racing to the airport (with Umi's surprise blessing) to bring Kotori home, their rapid journey back to Otonokizaka and the group's performance of Start:Dash to a packed auditorium, Honoka had barely had a moment to stop. Even now, she had lost count of the number of people she'd spoken to after the performance, from teachers to classmates to her family (she wasn't quite sure why they were at the school in the first place – she could only assume Umi had called literally everyone in Tokyo while she'd been gone), all of whom heaped warm congratulations and praise on the group. It was one of the happiest moments of Honoka's life, a marked contrast from the first time this song had been performed, back when it had just been her, Kotori and Umi singing to a near empty room.

It was only then she realised that she'd seen neither of her best friends for some time.

"Hey guys, has anyone seen Kotori-chan? Or Umi-chan?"

No-one answered her question; everyone was too preoccupied with well wishers to really notice. Heading over to the far corner of the stage to stop herself from being ambushed by yet more well wishers, Honoka took a few moments to scan the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of blue or grey. Though they were nowhere to be found, Honoka still managed to amuse herself for a few moments (or minutes) by watching Maki having a conversation with her mother. From the look of her, Maki was positively dying from embarrassment from her mother's attention, her face turning a startling shade of crimson. She'd never seen the pianist so flustered. When Maki glanced her way, Honoka gave her a thumbs up and pretended not to see the pleading look in her eyes, begging for rescue, or the way she silently mouthed "help me".

But she decided to leave Maki where she was for now (a little bit of motherly affection couldn't do too much harm, surely... right?) since she really wanted to find Kotori and Umi. Aside from the fact that she'd come within a hair's breadth of losing Kotori forever, she felt that the three of them had come full circle, through defeat to victory, back to the song that had started it all. She'd once said to Eli (back when they'd been mortal enemies... or something close to it) that one day they would fill the room with people to watch them sing. Now as nine, that promise had been realised. There was a certain symmetry to the moment that made it beautiful beyond compare and she could think of no-one she wanted to experience it with more than them. But first she would have to find them.

(Un)fortunately, it didn't take too long.

She only had to look around the corner of the stage curtain to find the pair of them together in deep conversation, Umi with her back towards her, Kotori with her back against the wall. She couldn't hear what they were talking about but it must have been pretty serious from how close they were standing together. Deciding to have a bit of fun with them, Honoka spotted a crate not far from where the two were talking and crept over towards it, taking great care to be neither seen nor heard. Making it to the crate without incident, she was pretty sure they hadn't noticed her presence. But after waiting a few moments to be sure, she peeked her head out from behind her cover to see if they'd noticed her.

They hadn't. They were much too busy... wait, what?

It took Honoka a moment to process what she was seeing. She blinked once, twice and then rubbed her eyes for good measure. But there was no mistaking it.

Kotori and Umi definitely weren't talking.

Unsure where to look or what to do, Honoka watched transfixed by the sight of her two best friends kissing each other rather... passionately. And while Honoka wasn't exactly an expert in the field, she was pretty sure they were using tongues. It was certainly more than friendly, she knew that much.

Ducking back behind the box (and trying to ignore the noises they were making) Honoka sat down and tried to come to terms with what she'd just seen. She'd had no idea that her friends had feelings for each other – the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. But there was no mistaking what they were doing to each other: they'd certainly gone beyond the bonds of friendship.

It was all a shock to the system and no mistake.

But, she reflected, it wasn't a bad shock. It wasn't like she minded the fact that her two best friends seemed to have raging feelings for each other. If it made them happy, then Honoka was happy too. She only wished she'd noticed sooner: maybe if she had, the whole melodrama of the past week or so might have been avoided. But there was no use crying over spilled milk and, by the looks (and sounds) of it, everything had turned out ok after all.

The only problem now was that she was stuck here listening to them like some sort of aural peeping tom. It wasn't like Honoka wanted to stay, but she no longer had the confidence that she could get away without disturbing them. She didn't want to be responsible for potentially spoiling what was no doubt a really important and beautiful moment for both of them.

So she sat and waited, covering her ears with her hands, while Kotori and Umi kept... doing whatever it was they were doing. Honoka was unsure of how long she was trapped there, but she was just contemplating making a break for it when they finally stopped.

She heard Kotori sigh dreamily. "I had no idea you felt this way Umi-chan."

In her head, Honoka pictured Umi blushing a fierce shade of red, a mental image strongly supported by the bluenette's stammer. "I-I... didn't think you did e-either."

"What are we going to tell the others?"

"...Nothing for now. I... just want to enjoy this without worrying about the others."

Kotori laughed. "I had no idea you were such a romantic. But what about Honoka-chan? We should tell her, right?"

Umi paused before answering. "We'll tell her first, but we'll tell her when we're ready." Honoka couldn't help but smile at that.

"Ok."

"Kotori..?"

"Hmm?"

"Never leave again."

A brief pause. "I'm not going anywhere without you. I promise."

Neither of them spoke for a while and Honoka wondered if they'd started kissing again. But soon enough, Umi broke the silence. "We should get back before we're missed."

"I guess." Honoka heard the sound of footsteps passing dangerously close to her hiding place. "I love you Umi-chan."

"I love you too Kotori."

Their footsteps, their very shadows, passed right by Honoka and continued on their way. Honoka watched them go, and now she could see them, she spotted they held hands right up to the moment they stepped out on to the stage. The sight of it warmed her heart.

Giving them a bit more of a head start, Honoka finally emerged from her hiding place and wandered back out to the stage, taking especial care that her best friends didn't notice her return. They didn't; in fact, they were nowhere to be seen. By the looks of it, no-one had even noticed her absence.

Or at least that's what she thought until someone behind her tapped her on the shoulder. After almost setting a new world record for the high jump, Honoka spun on her heel to find Maki standing behind her (or in front of her now). "Where have you been?" The pianist's expression quickly changed to one of concern. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine, you didn't scare me. I just thought I saw a big spider backstage."

Maki somehow looked nonplussed, like the prospect of a huge spider wasn't the least bit terrifying, even if said spider was imaginary.

"A spider?"

"A realllly big one." She held her hands about half a foot apart to give Maki a sense of scale for the imaginary beast.

"You're a strange one Honoka."

"So are you Maki-chan."

For some reason, that made Maki smile. "I guess so. Thanks for saving me from my mother by the way. You do know I almost died from embarrassment?"

"I bet she was just telling you how great you are. Why's that so embarrassing?"

Maki started twirling her hair again. "It's uh... umm thanks I guess. You were pretty good too."

"Thanks Maki-chan." Glancing to the side, she spotted Nozomi beckoning to them. The other six were with her. "Let's go join the others."

Maki glanced over to the group and nodded. As they made their way over, Honoka couldn't help but notice Kotori and Umi were standing very close together, although there were no obvious signs that their closeness was anything more than friendly to the untrained eye.

"We're going to have a group picture to mark this special occasion," Nozomi explained once they'd joined the group. "There's a lot of spiritual energy between us all and I think it would be nice to having something to remind us of this day."

Honoka nodded in full agreement. "But who's going to take the picture?"

"Your sister," Nozomi explained, gestured off to her right where Yukiho was waiting with Arisa, camera phone in hand. Arisa waved at her eagerly, and Honoka was just waving back when Nozomi suddenly clapped her hands together, suddenly adopting the air and authority of a floor manager. "Places everyone. Honoka, you stand in the centre."

Honoka was about to do so when an idea popped into her head. "I think Kotori-chan should be in the centre. She's the reason we're all here today."

Kotori couldn't contain her look of surprise. "Honoka-chan?"

"She's right," Umi said, placing a hand on Kotori's shoulder and giving it a discreet squeeze. Honoka was pretty sure she was the only one who noticed the swiftly repressed reaction on Kotori's face. "We're all here because of you."

"I... thank you everyone."

Everyone settled into position, with Kotori in the centre and Honoka and Umi taking position on either side of her. Honoka was momentarily surprised when Maki swiftly stepped into position on her other side. Their eyes met briefly before they looked over to Yukiho.

"Smile everyone!"

Surrounded by her best friends and with everything going just fine again, Honoka had absolutely no trouble putting on the biggest smile in the world.

A/N: So yeah, so much for that end of June deadline. Sorry for the delay! As it turned out, I severely underestimated how much time I would need to edit chapter 5. And by edit, I mean completely rewrite. Hopefully, I should be able to get back to the three week upload schedule I was on before from here on out. But come hell or high water, I'll get chapter 6 out a lot faster than this one.

Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited and alerted this story so far. I might have said this before but it bears repeating: I'm surprised and humbled by how well received this story has been. So thank you everyone. It means a lot to me that people seem to enjoy what I write. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Until next time.