AN: Handwriting is evil. I usually handwrite everything in class and type it up once I get home but some of my more recent writing have come up incredibly short after I finished typing them. So either I write too big, or notebook paper is too small!

Pit pit pat pitti pitti pat pat pititititi pat~

Ritsu's head bobbed with the each swing of her drumsticks. Her energy was under control and her rhythm was spot on. The magazines on the other hand had seen better days. The covers had all but worn off, long destroyed by the over-active drummer's strength. Mio sat across from her tuning Elizabeth to near perfection while Mugi simply smiled serenely, happy to be amongst her friends for another day.

The two guitarists had yet to arrive.

In Azusa's case this was rather odd, as the girl usually tried to preempt the serving of cake in order to prevent the older guitarist from simply lazing around as usual. Though, with the way Yui had been behaving lately Azusa could have easily relaxed and came to the club at her own pace.

Yui had finished the last week in 'perfect senpai' mode. She arrived early and left late. She urged the others to practice and wouldn't even take a bite of any of Mugi's cakes. In the beginning it had come as a shock to the entire club. However as it continued it became obvious to the older members that this was still Yui being Yui.

Nodoka had told them before that once Yui had a goal in mind she would keep at it until it was reached. Whatever was motivating her now was important enough for the elder guitarist to change her usual behavior.

The senpai of the club had accepted this and were simply using this burst of enthusiasm to get some practice done at first (Though Ritsu still had at least a slice of cake before practice). Azusa was the only one that still seemed distressed.

Mio was in close second for most concerned. Several times she had tried to get the guitarist to talk and several times Yui had deflected the subject. So after a bit of "coercing" she enlisted the help of her energetic friend and Mugi, who was more than happy to lend a hand.

A weekend of planning and preparation by phone was all it took. Mugi and Ritsu had worked out some kind of "secret weapon", and Mio had worked up the nerve to speak up.

They'd launch the operation as soon as they found an opening. Mio seemed to be the only one worried about the outcome.

The older guitarist, on the other hand, was burnt out. Her legs were wobbly her breathing was erratic and the stairs weren't helping. An entire week without any cake or Azu-energy had left her a weakened blob.

She heard movement behind her and stood up straight, walking in the most 'senpai-like' way she could. A sigh of relief escaped as she noticed that it wasn't her Azu-nyan behind her.

She took several deep breaths before opening the door to the clubroom. Mugi was the first to greet her followed by Mio and Ritsu. With a smile she shifted her guitar to her other shoulder and looked at Azusa… or where Azusa was supposed to be.

"Eh…?" Yui said with a quizzical glance at HTT's drummer , her earlier smile drooping into a frown "Where's Azu-nyan?"

Mio and Ritsu both looked up at the guitarist in an instant, while Mugi's smile simply brightened.

Realizing what she had done Yui quickly corrected herself "Ehem I mean Azusa-chan… Wh-where is she?" her face flushed a bit. The lack of cake and Azu-energy had a stronger effect on Yui than she had expected.

"Nakano's not here yet." Ritsu said as she stood and walked over to the door. After checking outside to be sure their kitten-like kouhai was nowhere in sight she shut and locked the door before walking back and sitting back down.

"Wh-why are you locking the door?" Yui muttered, visibly worried "She could come and think the club was-"

"Yui" Mio said with a sigh. Yui was shocked to hear Mio speak up, but before she could reply the bassist continued "How about you finally tell us what's going on?"

Mugi appeared with a pot of tea prepared.

"What do you mean Mio-chan?" Yui replied with a fake smile.

"Nakano's not here. You don't need to keep up the act." Ritsu interjected with a grin.

Yui's mind raced to come up with something, noticing this Ritsu began to grin mischievously. "Mugi! Prepare the secret weapon!"

"Hai!" Mugi replied with a salute before rushing off. She returned with an extravagant silver platter covered with several small chocolate cakes all topped with strawberries with adorable faces drawn in chocolate syrup.

The plan was to hit every one of Yui's weaknesses.

Cute? Check

Food? Check

Cake? Check

Strawberries? Check.

The perfect Yui based weapon was born.

It took a total of 13 seconds for the guitarist to break.

A few minutes later and Yui was sipping at tea just like before with chocolate frosting at random points on her face. This elicited a sigh from their bassist.

"How about you explain now?" Mio muttered, her voice full of concern.

Yui's eyes peered into her lap, she looked back up suddenly. "You guys cheated."

Ritsu flicked the guitarist's forehead.

"Azu-nyan… doesn't trust me." Yui muttered with a sad smile.

"What do you-"

"She told you about the boy she liked right?" Yui muttered

Mio caught on to where this was going.

"She visited me in the hospital a few days before that and didn't say anything…" Yui continued "I-I guess it shouldn't really bother me"

Tears began to well up in her eyes and her face flushed a deep red. "I mean, I'm irresponsible and clingy and I never say the right thing at the right time… I'm forgetful, and airheaded at times and I'm sure I'm a bother to her and…and…" Her voice had started to crack and her breathing had sped up a bit as tears started to fall.

"I just thought that maybe… If I was REALLY good" she paused to rub at her eyes with her sleeves "If I was really good maybe she would trust me and that would be enough…"

Mio bit her lip, the last part had caught her attention and though she wanted to ask she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

Mugi moved in to hug the distraught guitarist. Ritsu attempted to distance herself by staring blankly at Ton-chan's tank. Mio sighed and opened her mouth to speak but another voice beat her to it.

This one was quiet and if it wasn't for the dead silence of the room after Yui's break down, then nobody would have heard it. Yui froze up as the realization hit.

The voice, dissatisfied at the lack of a reply repeated itself.

"Would be enough for what…senpai?"

AN: And cliffhanger! This was a rather emotional chapter huh? Hard to believe that it's so close to its end~ I may throw in a fluff chapter or something afterwards, but story-wise the next chapter is the finale. Thanks for all of your reviews and support!