Japanese schools tend to finish classes relatively early, but most students stay behind for club activities. Only after those end are they free to head home.

Of course, there are rare days when clubs don't have anything planned those days are like unexpected holidays, and students can go home early.

Take Miura, Kamizawa, and Ono, for example they're in the music club. With the school's sports festival coming up next week, the core members had been rehearsing for over a week straight to prepare for the opening performance.

So today, the club president generously gave everyone a day off, letting the members leave school early for once.

Then there are the "Go-Home Club" types.

Also known as the "Homebound Club."

These are students who don't join any extracurriculars at all and can go home the moment classes end. Students in other countries might envy that freedom.

But in Japan, being part of the Go-Home Club is practically asking to be teased.

At most schools, Go-Home Club members are seen as loners, social misfits who eat lunch in the bathroom sad and isolated.

Of course, Yui wasn't one of them. She was a member of multiple clubs gymnastics, table tennis, even fortune-telling and she was wildly popular.

Still, the gymnastics club had been embroiled in yet another petty senior-vs-junior feud over the past few days, and many members had been skipping practice to avoid the drama.

Yui did the same, slipping away before things got messy.

If it were Yumiko, Junko, Kamizawa, or even Yukino caught in an argument, Yui would've been the first to jump in and try to mediate. But when it came to the gymnastics girls, who were always fighting over the smallest things?

Yeah, no thanks (:з」∠)

And since Yukino had left her another pile of math problems to work on, Yui decided to head to the Service Club again. It was quiet, and if she put on her headphones, she could pretend the world didn't exist.

When she knocked on the clubroom door, sure enough, only Hikigaya was there, leaning back in his chair with a light novel in hand.

"Hikigaya-kun, I'm here to bother you again!"

Yui grinned and waved her problem set in the air. "I really don't wanna bring this homework home."

Hikigaya raised an eyebrow. "Homework from Yukinoshita?"

After all, their math teacher hadn't assigned anything today.

"Yup, ten problems left. The really hard kind!"

She offered generously, "Wanna do them together? Yukino's training method is seriously super effective!"

Hikigaya gave a crooked smile. "...I'll pass, thanks."

Yui laughed but didn't tease him for chickening out. She took a seat and started working on the problems.

The two of them had been good friends for a long time. Sitting together alone didn't feel awkward at all.

Back when Yukino still came to the Service Club regularly, this was how it used to be each of them doing their own thing in that half-empty room.

Most of the time, Yui would be the one chatting away while the other two just listened, occasionally responding with a smile.

But those days felt like they were from another lifetime now.

Hikigaya glanced down at his paperback, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How are things with Kamizawa and the others lately?"

Yui blinked. "Huh?"

After a beat, she said, "You mean recently? Everything's fine, I guess. Why?"

She'd only become close friends with Miura, Kamizawa, and Ono in the third semester of their first year, but their bond had been solid ever since.

Yumiko could be a bit tsundere and bossy, but she was fiercely loyal and always looked out for her friends. Junko was thoughtful and kind. Ono was energetic and adorable.

They were all the kind of girls who genuinely cared about others easy to get along with and fun to be around. Being friends with them made Yui feel happy and at ease.

She'd always been grateful to have met them in high school.

Hikigaya glanced over at her, then sighed. "So you really haven't noticed, huh."

He muttered, almost to himself, "Well, I guess that's not surprising. Even I didn't see it coming..."

Yui tilted her head in confusion. "What are you talking about, Hikigaya?"

But he just looked back down at his book. "Forget it."

"Hey, hey, you know people get super annoyed when you say half a sentence and stop, right?!"

"Feel free to be annoyed."

. . .

That evening, Kamizawa Junko and Ono Zeka were riding the train home together.

Ono was typing out a message to Miura, grumbling under her breath the whole time.

"Seriously, Junko, you were way too harsh!"

"Even if Yukinoshita doesn't like Yumiko right now, who knows what might happen in the future? Why'd you have to shoot her down like that?"

"And you didn't even let me say anything! You didn't see Yumiko's face she looked so heartbroken! She probably thinks we've turned our backs on her!"

Ono kept firing off messages, but there was no response from Miura at all.

She refreshed the chat a few times, still nothing. Worried, she exited Line and opened Miura's Twitter and Instagram.

Usually, when Miura was sulking or upset, she'd post some cryptic message on social media a subtle cry for attention.

But today, there was nothing.

Now Ono was really starting to panic. She even considered calling Miura directly, but Junko gently caught her hand.

"Don't rush her. Let Yumiko have some time to herself. Otherwise, I'm afraid she'll only feel worse later."

Kamizawa and Ono had been neighbors since they were little, true childhood friends. Their houses were side by side, their families close, and they'd grown up constantly visiting each other's homes.

Even Miura, who'd gone to kindergarten with them, couldn't match their closeness. Everyone at Sobu High knew that Ono Zeka and Kamizawa Junko were practically inseparable.

But even so, Ono felt the urge to knock Junko upside the head right now.

"What were you thinking?!"

She puffed up her cheeks slightly in frustration and leaned in to whisper, "Do you really think two girls being in love is that weird?!"

Right at that moment, the train reached their stop, and Junko pulled her off the car with a sigh.

"Of course not..."

Their fingers were laced tightly as they stepped off the train, drawing curious glances from the people around them.

In Japan, hand-holding between girls was already considered a pretty intimate gesture. Interlocking fingers? That was on another level entirely.

Junko's expression didn't waver, but Ono blushed and lowered her head.

They hadn't been disgusted or even surprised when they first heard Yukino liked another girl. In fact, they'd been fascinated giddy with gossip.

They knew the most romantic dating spots for sapphic couples in Tokyo.

They'd never had any interest in dating guys. To them, no one in the world mattered more than each other.

Junko held Zeka's hand tightly, walking forward beneath the soft, golden light of the setting sun.

She gave a quiet laugh and murmured, "If I really thought it was weird, then why would I be doing all these weird things with you?"

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