Run, DJ, Run!

"Yeesh! Tsubaki could give Ibuki a run for her money! ... Pun intended." Nagisa snickered at her own clever little "run pun" as a breeze ruffled her, Hiiro, and Aoi's hair; the only thing Tsubaki left behind after fleeing the area... again. And as per usual, it was because of Aoi, but just like always, Aoi had no idea. She only tilted her head, looking after Tsubaki in puzzlement. Behind her back, Hiiro and Nagisa exchanged knowing looks, Nagisa's amused and Hiiro's exasperated.

ooo

"Nooooo, Rikaaaaa!" Saori moaned into her hands as Rika threw a chummy arm around her shoulder, bragging to any and all who would listen about what a wonderful DJ Saori was.

"Aww, c'mon, Saori, I'm just speaking the truth, here!" Rika grinned, completely unaware of her companion's discomfort.

Dalia and Marika hid smirks behind their hands. A second later, though, their smiles turned into shock. At last, Rika's compliments became too much for poor Saori, and she took off.

"Huh? Saori? Saori!?" Rika reached out, but Saori was already gone.

ooo

"Hello, Haruna! What are you doing here?" Miyu asked, noticing the other girl leaning against the brick wall surrounding the school.

"MIYU!" Haruna shrieked and whipped around as if she'd been caught in the middle of murder. Miyu echoed Haruna's yelp and then Haruna looked even more mortified. "Oh, Miyu, I'm so, so, so sorry! ... I... I... I just remembered I have to do something for the Disciplinary Committee!"

Miyu barely had time to come down from her own fright when Haruna suddenly bolted.

"Wait! Haruna—!" It was already too late. Haruna couldn't hear her. You're going the wrong way... Miyu may not have been on the Disciplinary Committee, but she didn't need to be in order to know that Haruna running out of the Academy gates was not correct.

ooo

"Sheesh, Saori, you sure are quick for someone who isn't fit!" Rika chuckled to herself as she looked left, right, front, back, up, and down. Maybe Marika and Dalia were surprised by Saori's sudden departure, but Rika was not. She ran after her runaway DJ, ordering Marika and Dalia to wait for them until they returned. Bemused, and knowing that Rika never took "no" for an answer, they acquiesced.

"You're also sneaky for someone with such bright hair!" Rika added, her own fiery pigtails shaking as she shook her head. But even though she didn't find Saori, she found another DJ. "Wait a minute... Is that... Aoi Miyake? ... HEY! AOI!" The figure turned. Yep. It was Aoi.

As Rika would soon discover, Aoi was looking for Tsubaki the same way Rika was looking for Saori.

"So, she ran out on you again, huh?" Rika snickered. She's just like Saori that way... I'm not even IN RONDO and even I know that!

But just like always, Aoi was still confused. "Hiiro said I should be the one to chase after her because I'm the one that found her the first time. She said I knew Tsubaki the best out of the three of us, so I would be the most likely to know where she went."

"Ah, a fellow hunter and tracker, eh?" Rika's face split into an even wider grin as she play-punched Aoi's arm. She was drawn to Saori through music the same way Aoi was drawn to Tsubaki. Rika was confident that she and Aoi could rework that magic of fate and find their missing friends.

Run, DJ, run! Run as fast as you can!

"H-Haruna? Hello? Haruna?!"

"Hang on, wait a minute, I know that voice..." Rika's keen ears picked up on something else, a soft and uncertain voice calling out as loudly as it could. Exactly as she thought, it was Miyu Sakurada. And if she was calling out for Haruna...