K-ON!: Shattered Dreams

Chapter 18: The Plan of Action

Yui Hirasawa's mad rush out of Akiyama Towers continued as she continued leaping from building to building, using her electricity to jump over huge gaps if need be to reach home. She saw everything, but she couldn't believe it yet. She DID, however, see the real Mio out of the hooded one. That was for certain. She made one last leap off a tall building, landing on the empty roads before quickly breaking into a sprint, headed straight back home.

When she opened the door, she started panting. Azusa happened to be headed out when she noticed her leader wheezing and panting for air. "Y-Yui-senpai! You're back!"

"H-hah... A-Azu-nyan... gather everyone... we need to... talk..." She said, slowly fading into unconsciousness after using her powers to run. Azusa caught her as she fell, her concern being shown on her facial expression.

"YUI-SENPAI! C-come on, don't faint on me, Yui-senpai!" Azusa quickly dragged her senior onto the couch and laid her flat to make sure she's comfortable. She then went upstairs and called the rest of the crew down. When they saw Yui in the state she was in, Tsumugi and Jun quickly administered aid to her, trying to help her regain consciousness as quickly as possible. It took only a few minutes for the guitarist to stir, but took her a bit more to realize what happened to her.

"U-ungh... damn... I must've used too much of my power again just running here." She said. Azusa decided to quickly frisk her, before pulling out the suppressants from her pocket. She scowled before giving Yui a tight slap to the face. "OUCH! A-Azu-nyan, what was that for?" The rhythm guitarist showed her the packet, which was still completely full.

"You didn't USE any of this!" Azusa yelled, grabbing her senior by the collar. "I told you, Yui-senpai, but do you listen? NO!"

"G-geez, alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Azusa, ticked off, released her, letting out a sigh before going back to her seat.

"All right... Yui, first of all... where's Ritsu?" Tsumugi asked her. Yui only looked down, extremely disappointed in herself. However, she still needed to give an answer to the crew.

"...When I got there, it was too late. She's completely encased in ice... basically, she's an ice statue." Tsumugi let out a short gasp, with Jun and Azusa following.

"You mean she's..." Jun asked, fearing the worst coming from Yui.

"She has 24 hours to live."

"Then we need to go save her!" Azusa almost jumped out of her seat saying that, but Yui raised a hand to that notion, telling her to sit back down.

"This is Ricchan we're talking about. I told her... if she's so good, she could escape by herself."

"Yui-senpai!" Azusa yelled again. "T-that's just cruel, leaving Ritsu-senpai like that!"

"If I know Ricchan, Azu-nyan, she'll be able to break out of the ice. If she can't, there's nothing more I will say." Yui told her, sipping some of the tea Tsumugi made. "But I trust Ricchan. During this whole fiasco with the concert, I've trusted both you and Ricchan a lot, even if she did attack me when she saw me back then." Azusa just sat right back down again, scoffing slightly at Yui's alleged irresponsibility.

"What else did you see, Yui? There must be more." Tsumugi asked, continuing their discussion.

"...What if I told you right now that the Mio we know and fear... isn't even Mio?" This raised a few eyebrows from the remaining crew members, a bit puzzled as to what they just heard. "I know, I'd have that reaction too if you saw what I saw." She took another sip of her tea to quench her thirst before continuing. "The Mio that we've been fighting all this time isn't the real Mio. The real one is inside of the fake. The problem is getting her out of the darkness and back to our side."

"Well, we won't have to hold back now, right?" Jun asked, slightly bit thrilled after hearing this. "I'll make her pay for what she did to me... and then we'll rid her of all her treachery." But just like she did to Azusa before, Yui raised her hand to that notion.

"Hold your horses, Jun. There's one problem with that. If we went ahead and just killed her now, we risk losing the real Mio as well."

"Then what are we supposed to do, Yui?" Tsumugi continued.

"Simple. We need to weaken Mio enough to split the real Mio from the fake Mio. Whatever happens to the fake Mio after that is beyond my control."

"But that's easier said than done, isn't it?" Ui said, coming down the stairs and joining the group.

"Like always. Most of the jobs me and Azu-nyan have been in have NEVER been easy." Yui took another sip of the tea before placing her cup and coaster down. Tsumugi got up from her seat and looked out the front window.

"So this is it, huh? We finally get our chance to take Mio on... I heard she's done scary things, but I've yet to witness it." Tsumugi said. Yui got up and placed a hand on her shoulder, showing her support towards the keyboardist.

"And she hasn't witnessed your fine Earth abilities. So let's put THAT to our advantage as well. With Ricchan gone for the moment, it's up to us to take out this fake Mio and free the real one from her clutches." However, she couldn't continue her pep talk as she was interrupted by her cell phone receiving a message. She checked the message, but then went completely silent for a while after reading it, which raised Azusa's curiosity.

"Yui-senpai, what's up?"

"Guys... we don't have much time after all." She showed the message to the rest of the crew. "Tomorrow night, we're all wanted at Sakurakou High School. Looks like Mio wants to end this, especially if she's getting Nodoka to send me this."

"And how do you know this IS going to be the end of the line, Yui-senpai?" Azusa asked her.

"She would've sneak attacked us by now and killed us all if she didn't send this message. This time, she wants us to be there, so that she can try to get rid of us one-by-one. Well, isn't she in for one hell of a shock, huh?" She looked at the rest of the crew. "Even without Ricchan... we'll be able to take her and Nodoka out. So everyone... get a good night's rest. Tomorrow night... we finish this once and for all, got it?" The rest of the girls nodded, and quickly left and went back to their rooms. This left Tsumugi and Yui alone in the living room.

"That was inspirational, Yui." Tsumugi commended, giggling a bit as she turned back to look out the window. "Say, Yui... do you think we even stand a chance against Mio? I mean, she's supposed to be all-powerful and all that, right?"

"We won't know the full extent of her power until we fight her tomorrow night, Mugi-chan. I suggest you get some sleep too." Yui suggested, placing a hand on Tsumugi's shoulder. But Tsumugi was rather defiant on this night.

"Yeah, but... I seem so excited for some reason. We're finally going to end this, and this is the first... and possibly last time we face Mio. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight..." She was interrupted by a surprise, however, as Yui wrapped her arms around Tsumugi, feeling the guitarist's face buried at her neck. "Y-Yui? W-what're you doing?" This made Tsumugi blush a bit.

"I know you're excited, Mugi-chan, but... please, I need you at full strength tomorrow. I want you fighting at your best, Mugi-chan. Reason being... I don't want to lose you. I almost did back then and now... I vow to protect my friends from having to suffer at the hands of Mio. So please, Mugi-chan... go and rest." Tsumugi could feel the concern and anxiety for her in Yui's voice, and let out a sigh.

"All right, all right, Yui. I'm gonna head up to bed... could you let me go now?" Tsumugi said, and at that moment, Yui turned her around to look at her, before giving a small peck to her lips. "Y-Yui!" Tsumugi was slightly taken aback at Yui's actions.

"I'm worried about you mostly, Mugi-chan... now get your butt in bed." She pushes her up to her bedroom, with the keyboardist aptly doing so. Yui then looked out the window Tsumugi was looking out of, pondering and thinking out loud. "So, Mio, you want to end this once and for all, huh? You've got your wish, and you're gonna regret taking hold of my best friend..." Slowly, the electricity started enveloping around her. This was to show her true emotions towards the fake Mio. Usually, she was cool and collected when it came to this, but she couldn't hold back anymore. After what the fake Mio tried to do to Tsumugi, what she witnessed at the Tower with Ritsu, and of course, taking the real Mio into the darkness, this was the amount of rage that had built up over the course of just a few weeks. "No more holding back, Akiyama. No more."



Nodoka looked at her phone after sending the message to Yui's phone. She quickly closed it as soon as she saw her boss, Mio, approach her and place her hand on her subordinate's shoulder. Nodoka looked into the eyes of Mio, staring into it like the stars in the sky. "W-what is it, Mio?"

"Nodoka... you've sent it, correct?"

"Y-yes, Mio... they've got the message. They'll be ripe for the picking tomorrow night. It'll be the last Dead Hour they'll ever witness." She answered.

"Good... tomorrow night is when we fulfill our destinies, Nodoka. We destroy the pests trying to get in the way of our goal. Then we take that Legends Guitar from Yui Hirasawa... by any means necessary, correct?" However, Mio could feel some doubt coming from her subordinate as Nodoka looked down when Yui's name was mentioned. "...What's wrong?"

"H-huh? No... it's nothing... just..." Mio cut her off before she could continue.

"Then tell me, Nodoka... tell me where your loyalties lie. I know Yui said something to you... so tell me now. Where do your loyalties lie?" Nodoka's doubt was immediately erased, when she looked up at Mio to answer.

"You know damn well I'm only loyal to you, Mio. I'd never let Yui's words sway me." This only served to bring that smirk on Mio's face, acknowledging Nodoka's loyalty.

"All right... now go to sleep. You have a big night tomorrow, and you'll need your strength." Nodoka nodded, quickly running back to her room. Mio then looked out the huge window overlooking the city. "I'm coming for you, Yui... that Legends Guitar is coming to me whether you like it or not... after that, your blood will be spilled all over the roads..." She chuckled a bit, before breaking into a more maniacal laugh. Once she was done, she turned her attention to the real Mio, speaking to her whilst she was inside her. "Oh, don't worry, Mio... you can have a front row view of what I'm going to do to Yui... hehehehe..." All the real Mio could was cringe at her tone of voice. She had no way of escaping from the fake Mio's body, nor the darkness.

But it was already established. The final battle was due tomorrow night. Will it be the last Dead Hour for Yui and her crew, or will it lead to the salvation of the real Akiyama Mio?