Archive of Our Own ^beta

Unprecedented was a word one could use to describe Yozora’s lengthy absence. 

After her text message wishing everyone in the club a farewell, both Kodaka and Rika were trying to reassure each other of their leader’s well being. They’d stepped into the club room to address another issue entirely, calling Sena over for an appeal, and while the trio’s topic of discussion was a matter of importance, it could wait. Yozora’s absence was much more unsettling.

“She couldn’t have gone very far,“ Rika said, her nerves still visibly shaken. “Still, it really pisses Rika off to see her running away from her problems.”

A nagging fear ate at Sena’s insides as she found herself nodding in return. “I bet she just went home.” She didn’t know if her words were comfort meant for herself or her club mates, and it only further exascerbated her worries when they continued to agree with her notions.

“That’s true! Rika thinks it was rather spontaneous…”

“If she saw our argument up on the roof,” Kodaka mentioned, gaze over to Rika as he scratched his head. “Then I suppose so.”

“Hah! Like a cat with its tail between its legs. I bet she’ll be back in no time.” Sena looked to Kodaka, eager to return to the matter they’d postponed before. “Anyway, where were we?”

Sena should’ve listened more to her instincts.

When she looked up from her bed, all she could see was Yozora’s face plastered all about her ceiling. The events of the day had been fastly locked away in her mind, for her to peruse at another moment’s contemplation. This night, however, had seen her thoughts persistent on the very same girl who’d decided to scare everyone by announcing her running away from… life.

She played her affirmations from earlier today in her head. Yozora would be okay, right? Her best friend, her love rival, her one true anchor to the club, if not the world. There was no one else in the universe Sena would rather dedicate her well wishes to, and so tonight, she hoped that wherever Yozora was, she’d rest easy, and return to the club soon.

Days passed. Then, weeks. Kodaka had reassured the various club members how his childhood friend was seemingly alright, but never managed to elaborate further. Odd, but Sena wasn’t exactly the type to snoop and beckon for more information. She could live life with a few mysteries.

This one was starting to nag at her, though.

It didn’t help that the club sessions in-between their leader’s absence had fallen into collective disarray. With Kodaka now familiar with the tasks of the student council, Sena found his presence lacking in the club room, roped away to help out on their force. Yukimura was absent too, following him as an ever-faithful servant would. And Rika was much better off alone and away from the clubroom, too; being a prodigious leader in the field of science had its own share of responsibilities the girl had to burden.

Which means, for the most part, Sena found herself alone, once again.

It wasn’t the first time this had happened. She’d been alone all her life, after all. Whether it be back at home, living in a large and mainly desolate and empty manor, or back in middle school when she was ostracized for a good part of her education, on the accounts of being on another league above everybody else. No childhood friends (she wasn’t lucky like Yozora) and no close siblings to talk to (Stella was her butler, and knowing her family’s history she would rather keep her that way).

Sena looked up from her television screen, scanning the club room with a turn of her head, and concluded.

Being a Kashiwazaki heir was a lonely endeavour.

On the third week, she decided to press Kodaka for more intel. And the only thing the delinquent could put together was: “She just doesn’t feel like coming to club anymore.”

“Huh?”

Unprecedented was also a word to describe how Yozora had decided to abandon her entire club. It grated on Sena’s composure how her friend had just up and decided to leave like that. How could she? She made it herself after all, dammit; and not so much as a reason to why she left?

“What do you mean ‘doesn’t feel like coming to club anymore’? That’s so stupid!” Sena set her jaw together, grinding her teeth. This girl…

“It’s just as I said. When she came into class two weeks ago, she looked really haggard. I think she just wanted a break from her normal life, that’s all.”

“So – what, is she’s abandoning the club?”

Kodaka scratched behind his ear, giving Sena a raised brow. “I think you’re going to have to ask her yourself about that.”

“Yozora!”

Sena towered over the girl’s desk, the winter coat over her blazer and uniform making her out to be larger and more intimidating than usual. Yozora, characteristically, had laid her upper half against her desk, head down in a gloomy state -- a fine example of a tired, depressive youth. The latter turned her head from a side, giving her rival a single glance, before letting out an exhale, starting to sit herself right up. “What do you want, Meat?”

“Why haven’t you been showing up to club lately?!”

Yozora rested her chin against her palm, elbow locked against her desk. In her class, most of the students were already on their way out – Sena just hoped that none of their conversation was near interesting enough to remain back and eavesdrop on. “And what gives you the right to know the answer to that?”

An exhausted look bore right into Sena’s wavering blue eyes. Anger and sadness ebbed and flowed, but not from Yozora’s lilac gaze. She wasn’t the one who was lonely, after all. “I’m a club member! As the leader of our group, you have the obligation to show up and start our club activities! The club literally can’t function without your presence!”

“Oh, is that so?” Sena swore that there was no remorse in her friend’s eyes. “Then as club leader, I hereby suspend all club activities until further notice.”

“For how long?”

“Until I feel better about it,” Yozora snapped, eyes narrowing into a squint. “Is that good enough for you, Meat? That what you wanted to hear?”

Sena did not wait three lonesome weeks just to hear anything along the lines of that turn of phrase. Three. Whole. Weeks. With barely anyone she knew to talk to. And she hadn’t even mentioned the crushing letdown she felt being rejected by her friend, after not getting to see her for that long.

“I’m in no mood to handle any club activities now,” the leader continued, taking Sena’s silence as an objection. “And I’m sure everyone has some better things to do with their time. So, hey, I’d call that a win.”

“Everyone but me–!” Sena regretted spilling that bit of information after the words had left her mouth. Yozora arched a brow upwards but said nothing, continuing to listen. “What do I get to do while club is on hiatus, huh? Did you ever think about that?!”

“You can go catch up on some more of those dating sims you’ve been pressing to play.” It was a smooth reply that came from the heart. Yozora spoke only from experience and truth, having watched the girl play new titles of the genre all the time. Sena knew this, but the truth of her reputation outshining her feelings still hurt. Yozora waved a hand, trying to gesture her to walk away. “Isn’t that what you do all the time, anyway?”

“Oh my gosh, Yozora,” she gathered, feeling a heat strike her face as her vision started to blur. Sena clenched her grip as she tightened her fists, just to stop her tears from pooling further. “You are just… insufferable!”

And with that, she left her friend alone for the day.

Sena: I can’t believe Yozora just cancelled club!

She was heading home now. Stella was already on her way to pick the girl up from school, and while it was a little early, staying around for club didn’t matter any more. It wasn’t as though there was any reason to hang around her school.

Her eyes were glued to her phone, waiting for a reply from Kodaka.

Kodaka: You talked to her about it, huh?

Her replies were punchy, thumb biting into the buttons of her flip phone.

Sena: Of course I did! What kind of club member would I be if I didn’t?!
Kodaka: Just give her some time. I’m sure she’s just stressed
Sena: Well I’m stressed too! What’s going to become of the club?!
Kodaka: It’ll be fine. Hang in there

Hang in there my ass. Haven’t you noticed it’s been three whole weeks ever since then?

Sena sighed, noticing her family’s black car show up right by the school entrance. She packed herself inside, slinging her bag onto the seat beside her before her phone buzzed again.

Kodaka: On the bright side, at least now you can play more of your eroges, right?

She bit her tongue, venting her anger, before following up with one final reply.

Sena: That’s not the point!!!

Kodaka: So what is it then? —> the point

Sena had replied with a 'It’s none of your business!’ only after she’d got home, choosing to converse with Stella about her frustrations for the day during the car ride. As she threw herself on the bed, she was greeted with a variety of familiar faces – all of them were Yozora, of course.

She didn’t want anyone to know just how much the club had meant to her. Or that, barring Kodaka, Yozora was the only reason she’d even continue showing up in the first place.

Sure, they were enemies first and foremost. She’d most certainly threatened Yozora with expulsion when they’d first met each other, on the grounds of hearing such vitriolic things being directed her way. But that didn’t mean that they couldn’t be friends, either. Especially since half the year had gone by, and they’d grown to develop a budding, mutual respect over the time.

Now with Yozora declaring an indefinite hiatus to the club, and with Kodaka busy with student council activities, there was very little reason to continue staying back at school. And Sena hated it.

Maybe there was no reason to stay in the club any more.

Only a week and a day had passed by, before Sena heard from a visitor at her doorstep.

It was late – the sun had already begun to sink into the horizon, and for some reason Yozora had shown up in her winter’s jacket, hands stuffed in her pockets, her schoolbag barely holding onto her form with ease. Her face was painted with moments of bedazzlement, as her gaze switched from the awesome size of the manor, to the most amazing butler she’d ever seen (it was also the only butler she’d ever seen in person). Her expression only shifted back to her usual scowl when she spotted her friend step down from her room, and she was ushered inside, away from the cold.

“Yozora?” Sena asked, picking up her pace of descent. “Why–”

“You left.”

She stopped, hand resting on the railing of her stairs, pressing her lips together. So Yozora had finally noticed her absence in the club’s roster. Had activities finally resumed, or was this her friend’s supernatural ability for knowing when something was up?

Taking a breath, she met the club leader with a hardened gaze. “I did,” Sena confessed, with no hint of guilt behind her words.

“Why on earth would you leave?”

All Sena could reply with was, “You weren’t there.“

There was a moment of shock that masked the anger on Yozora’s face, but the embarrassment disappeared as quickly as it came. “That’s it–?! …That’s all there was to it?!“

“Kodaka wasn’t there either,“ Sena added, watching her friend ascend the steps to meet her face to face. “So there was no point of me–”

“Club was suspended, not disbanded, idiot Meat!“

Now it was Sena’s turn to feel the anger. “Who’s calling me the idiot, stupid Yozora?! You were the one who ghosted the club for nearly a month!”

“I was taking a break!“

“Yeah? Well you could’ve told us that sooner!“ I’d missed you, for god’s sake!

“I don’t have to–“

The last of Sena’s thoughts hadn’t left her mouth, after all. As the girl pressed her lips together, tightening her grip on the railing, she watched as Yozora’s gaze finally met her own, and wondered if she could see the traces of sentimentality that might’ve been showing on her face. Her friend’s expression began to shift from a glowering frown to a look of vague concern, and it didn’t help Sena’s troubles that she could feel her own face heating up from the focused attention.

“You’re crying,“ Yozora stated, pointing out the obvious as to her unusual change in composure. 

Shit, Sena cursed inwardly, beginning to notice the traces of liquid streaking down her cheeks. “I know that,” she lied, wiping at them with the back of her hand.

“I didn’t know that club activities getting cancelled would affect you this much.”

That’s not it, the girl had wanted to reply. “Yeah, well.” A sniffle. “Now you know.”

“Hmph.“ Yozora folded her arms, looking away for a moment. “… Guess I won’t be halting club for a while, then, from here on out.“ Her tone was somber, now. Quiet. Almost as though there was a hint of guilt in her voice. “So…”

She ruffled through her bag, and pulled out a neat sheet of paper. A club application form. “Make sure you come back,” the girl said, handing Sena the parchment. “That’s an order from your leader. Since you like this stupid club so much…”

Since I– “What was that?”

“None of your beeswax.“

Sena took the form with a glance, a feeling of relief settling into her as her skin met the paper’s rough texture. “Uh, thanks.” She needn’t bother with the application’s details again just yet, setting it to her side as she looked towards Yozora. One breath, before she proposed to her friend. “Y’know, you should stay the night, Yozora.”

Immediately, the girl’s eyes widened in shock, before settling into a familiar scowl, as she tried to form a reply. “Stay– stay the night?”

“It’s getting late,“ Sena clarified, wondering for a moment if there were any personal intentions she hadn’t realized she was trying to mask over. “And I bet it took you several hours to get to my house. I don’t know where you live, but if I had to guess, it’d still be midnight by the time you reached home.“

“Midnight… by the time…“ Yozora glanced towards the manor entrance, before groaning, placing a hand to her face. “Dammit, Meat, why do you have to live so damn far away from town?“

Sena wished her friend wasn’t so hell bent on objecting to her offer of hospitality, as she followed her down the steps towards the front door. “It’s not my fault you decided to visit my house on a school night!“

“It’s not my fault that you decided to leave the club, either!“

“Wha– yes it was!“

“Really? Oh, then don’t come back, trashbag.” They paused on the way down, Yozora folding her arms as she turned back to meet her friend’s eyes. “Like I ever even wanted you in the club, anyway!“

“You gave me this form again,” Sena retorted, shoving the club application form into her friend’s face. “So you can take the last few words of yours back, harpy!“

“I’m sorry,“ Yozora continued, shuffling along the manor floor. “My mistake. You can trash that scrap piece of paper any time you want, Meat. You don’t have to show up to club any more if you don’t want to.“

Sena pledged, with a wave of her hand. “Well I’m going. I’m coming back to the club whether you like it or not!“

“Cool story bro,“ came Yozora’s reply, with a back-handed wave as she exited the house. “But that’s none of my business now. See you never, loser.“

“Jerkwad.“

As Yozora continued to walk away from the manor, Sena turned to her butler, who had been watching the two friends squabble the entire time while diligently keeping the front door open with a dignified lean. “Stella, do you think she would appreciate a ride home?”

Stella rolled her eyes with a smile, stepping away from the door. “Of course.”

When the door slammed shut, Sena let out a sigh of relief. With the peace, she finally brought the club application to her gaze for further inspection. The girl was satisfied, if not a little uneasy with the attention she’d finally received and deserved after waiting for so long.

She only hoped that whoever was processing these forms at school wouldn’t question why she’d joined and left the same club within the span of a week.