While You Were Gone

"Is he going to be all right?" Yogi was asked this, after he and Akaki carried Arata to the nurse's office.

"Nurse Mino said that he just tired himself out. So that he should be fine once he wakes back up." Not that hearing that made any of them feel better about this whole situation. Things were looking bad for this production. The students were kind enough to wait when they heard about a medical emergency.

However, that wasn't going to last forever. And without their male lead, this was beginning to look very hopeless.

"What are we going to do now?" Yuki asked everyone. She could hardly control her heart. Was this her fault, she thought. Now she was without her partner, and she still wasn't sure if she could face the crowd here regardless.

"The show has to find a way to go on." Ichiri was racking her brain, trying to find a solution. "Ugh! But how are we going to find someone to take his spot? Especially on such short notice."

"Um, can't I ask you something?" Yuki tugged on the girl's shirt. "But, I don't know if I can do this."

"What?" She couldn't believe her ears. Now was not the time to be without either of their actors. Not after all the hard work they put in. "But, how can we even pull off the show? If we don't have anyone else that understands the story."

"I'm sorry, but I think you made a mistake when you chose me. I should've told you that earlier." Ichiri couldn't argue against her, because she knew that when she made the casting call. It wasn't to make the best show, but to try and aid Arata.

"What are we going to do?" Akiba asked, hearing about the problems with the production. "There's no way we can just give them nothing." Those students were getting a little impatient.

"Things are looking a bit impossible." Misei analyzed the situation, what could she possibly do to salvage this production. If they failed right here, right now. Then it was over for the library. Not only that, but Arata's goal of aiding the news club might also go down in flames.

"Is this all we're going to do?" Hifumi stood up, looking rather strict. "Just comment on how hard this is when he's out?"

"But-"

"No, this is all our faults." She took off her glasses, revealing just how angry she was. "It's true that he put all this on himself, even resisting some of our advice." Misei and her had discussed what was going on. How he took all this on, the separate and different situations across this group of people. "But-"

"But we're his friends." Yogi cut her off. Understanding what she was trying to say. "And no matter how much he pushed back, we should've done something." Arata was always so good at coming up with excuses with him. Yogi was now wondering, what would've happened with their relationship if he pressed on Arata harder. Would that have been a bad idea?

"I have an idea then." Akiba spoke up, motivated by what they were talking about. "Is it possible if I take Yuki's spot for the play?"

"Are you sure?" Ichiri asked her. She wasn't against the idea, but was unsure due to the lack of practice.

"I'm sure, I know the story already." She understood what Yuki was going through, how she felt before their school play. But this time, she was going to steel herself. For his sake.

"Then, I'll take Arata's position." Akaki followed up. He turned to Akiba. "I… I want to be by your side, if that's okay..." He got really shy once those words exited his mouth.

"It's all right with me." She smiled, unaware of his true feelings. "Just follow my lead then."

"Here, take this." Ichiri handed him the script. "Just skim through it to know the general idea, but you're free to improvise." Meanwhile, as they were getting preparations for the show, another group had their own issues to deal with.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hansu stopped Yurime, as she was attempting a quiet getaway."

"I'm sorry, but I believe I'm not wanted here." With Arata gone, there were no people here that cared about her.

"That's not true." Horin said. "I heard about what you did for him." He explained to the other two, about how she aided Arata. He was aware of it, due to a little bit of sneaking around during lunch.

"I.. We just don't understand, what's going on?" Susa asked her, getting more confused the more he heard about this story.

"I was selfish…" She told them what she told Arata. It was pointless to hide it anymore. They were very willing to listen her out now. There was something in the atmosphere with everyone backstage.

"Really…" Hansu sharply breathed in through her teeth. Her fist clenched at hearing this story. Without waiting, she rushed in… And hugged her friend. "Why? Why did you say anything to us?"

"What?"

"Yeah, we would've helped you out." Susa said, with a smile on his face. "With the Yuriko girl that is, not the whole blackmailing business."

"But… Why?" Yurime choked up, sniffling. "Why does everyone just forgive me?"

"Because we're your friends." Horin answered. "And, while we don't know why Kashimura did. If he was willing to go so far for you. It's clear that he had a good reason."

"Yes, so please. Will you return to the news club?" Susa offered her.

"I will… But not as the leader anymore." She told them, wiping the tears of her face. "I have, some things I still need to do before I can return fully."

"You idiot." Hansu, who had still not let go of the hug they were in. "We'll wait for you. No matter what, but you better keep your word."

"I will." The group had a much more positive aura among them. The darkness that clouded them were no longer holding them back. It appeared that the two groups were able to resolve the problems left to them by Arata. It was time to execute the show, but one person had another plan in mind.

"I'm going to go see him." Erina got up, staying silent for most of this. Her head was filled with thoughts, the guilt of what she saw happening to him. "I mean, someone should keep an eye on him."

"If you're not a part of the production, then I guess it's fine." Ichiri told her, though feeling a little disappointed that Arata wasn't going to see this through.

"I'll go with you too." Matsu walked up to her. "I want to see him too." There was no argument coming from anyone there. For once, she came to that conclusion without having to pushed into it by her friends.

"Huh?" Misei felt a nudge from her partner, Misao. This was sending a silent message to her. She spent some time thinking over what she should do next. What the best thing to do was. "I'll go as well." She finally said, just before the other two girls exited.

"Are you sure? I mean, aren't you-"

"I'll leave any other possible mishaps to Misao's responsibilities. I'm certain she can handle anything." Misao smiled to the others as confirmation. "As the president, I should also make sure he's going to be all right." She caught up to the other girls. There was uneasiness across them as they walked out the door.

For just a little bit, there was silence between all of them. It wasn't that there was no subjects to discuss. More that the elephant in the room was adding pressure for who was to speak up first. Because the three of them knew the truth about one important thing.

"So, he'll be okay. Right?" Matsu was the first to say something. Trying to walk around it, while also being relevant.

"He should be." Misei answered. "After all, the nurse said he tired himself out. Not that he was injured."

"Yeah, so he'll be waking up soon." Erina didn't make eye contact with either of them. This was getting too awkward for her, completely different than what she had in mind when she wanted to go to him.

"Not necessarily." Misei told them. "After all, he needs rest. So maybe disturbing him might not be the best idea."

"But still. I'd like to be there when he wakes up." Missing the play wasn't a big deal to Matsu. After all, she was there for him, not that.

"Yeah, so do I." Erina agreed with her.

"So then, I guess we're just not going to question why you wanted to see him? Misei confronted her. "You know that you could've just watched the show and still made it back before he awoke, correct?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Erina was sweating over this, turning her head away from Misei.

"Y-yeah, I mean. He's our friend." Matsu had the same reaction, despite not being the one questioned here.

"We're the only ones here. So I'm not concerned of anyone hearing this." Misei was going to see this through. "Because we all know what we did that night."