K-ON!: Shattered Dreams

Chapter 19: One Step Closer

Kotobuki Tsumugi looked at the clock, anxiously waiting for it to strike twelve. There was only 10 minutes left on it until the Dead Hour came in. Azusa was on the couch, cleaning her naginata and clearing it of any dust. Jun checked her sword skill while also working on her footwork and Ui was working on her focus. Yui came down the staircase after checking her own abilities out in her room. She sees the crew who, aside from Tsumugi, are practicing. She knew what today meant for them, so it explained why everyone was on edge. She went over to Tsumugi, who blushed when she saw her coming down. She remembered what Yui did the night before.

"Mugi-chan, are you doing okay?" She asked, running a hand through the keyboardist's hair.

"Y-yeah... I got some good sleep last night. I'm prepared for anything tonight." Tsumugi answered, bringing a smile to Yui's face, but now wasn't time for laughs anymore. The rest of her crew was depending on her leadership to get them through this fated night. She looked over her crew, who turned their attention to their leader. Yui took in a long, deep breath before giving her pep talk to the crew.

"I know what you guys are thinking right now. On your faces, I can see the doubt and the uncertainty. One question lingers in your minds. 'Can I beat Mio and end this once and for all?' Now I know some of us have been in close contact with Mio but they were smacked down hard by her. But let me tell you something, guys. Mio... no, we'll call her Akiyama from now on. Reason being, I refuse to address her as the one Mio we all know and love. Akiyama isn't invincible. She's not immortal, and she's sure as hell beatable. All I ask right now is for your support. Whether you have to face Mio, Nodoka or even the thousands of shadows that she has in her command, I want you to give your all and fight like your lives depended on it! Just remember one thing, guys... she's not invincible. Got it?" The team gave Yui an assuring nod, priming themselves up for the fight of their lives.

"We'll do whatever it takes, Yui-senpai." Jun answered.

"You know I'll never let you down, ever after what we've been through together." Azusa added, showing her willingness to fight for Yui.

"We'll take her down... by any means." Ui showed her own sister the most support, as any sister would show.

"Then let's move out. Our destiny awaits us." With that, Jun, Ui and Azusa stood ready. Yui took the first steps out of the house, leading her crew out. "Akiyama... you're going down."



The purple hooded sweater flapped about as the wind blew against it. Akiyama stood tall on the rooftop of the school, looking as if she owns the place, and rightfully so, since she already declared herself as the most important person in Japan. She looked over the rest of the Dead Hour-ridden city, watching her Shadows wreak havoc. "...what a beautiful sight." She murmured. Her focus was interrupted when she felt her subordinate's aura.

"They're late, Mio... I think they're probably quivering in their boots right now at the thought of facing you after all this time." Akiyama, however, gave Nodoka a displeased glare.

"First, they WILL be here, Nodoka. They wouldn't give up the chance to get even with me. And two..." She slowly stepped toward her, immediately wrapping her hand around her throat and choking her slowly, applying the pressure gradually. "Do NOT call me that anymore. Refer to me as 'Akiyama' from now on... I refuse to be associated with that vile cretin inside me."

"A-agh... y-y-yes, ma'am..." Nodoka managed to say, albeit in a raspy tone. Akiyama lets her subordinate go, leading to Nodoka coughing a bit and gasping for a bit of air.

"Well, well... look who finally showed up to the party." Akiyama said, pointing out to Nodoka that Yui's crew had just arrived.

"Too bad we're going to be the party-crashers." Nodoka added.

"Well... why don't you be the highlight of the party, Nodoka? Get them." Akiyama commanded. Nodoka only nodded before jumping off the rooftop, landing on her feet and waits for them at the front gate.

The crew marched forward, looking at the very place they have spent most of their time together for quite a long time. "This is it..." Jun said, knowing the atmosphere is very heavy right now. Yui stopped short of the school gate, not stepping in just yet.

"Yui-senpai, what's wrong?" Azusa asked.

"...If I know Akiyama, she'd want me to go in there alone. She'd want me because she gets to 'play' with me and utterly destroy me..." She turned to look at her crew. "I'm going in alone. You guys just worry about the Shadows... and if Nodoka decides to come out, take her down."

"But Yui, that's way too dangerous! What if the Shadows attack you?" Tsumugi, in a concerned tone, asked.

"That won't happen. Akiyama want me unscathed when we meet. You guys... you need to worry about yourselves. So stay here." Yui commanded, and though they were reluctant, Tsumugi, Azusa, Jun and Ui just nodded. Ui in particular gave her sister a hug.

"Don't die on us, onee-chan... we need you."

"Don't worry, Ui-chan... all right, I'm going." Yui said, as Ui let her go, watching her sister turn around and head straight into the school. All they had to worry about were the Shadows and NOT Akiyama or Nodoka.

As she entered, she felt the tension rise. She had the cold stare of her best friend watching her as she entered, drawing closer and closer to the girl with the scythe. She knew she had to deal with Nodoka first. The last time these two butted heads, Nodoka had the upper hand, and Yui needed the help of her sister to beat her.

"So you've arrived, Yui..."

"Cut to the chase, Nodoka. Where's Akiyama? I want to finish this right here, right now!" She exclaimed which only served to humor Nodoka.

"Heh... you really think I'm going to let you just waltz in and see her? I can't do that, Yui... not after what you and your sister did to me."

"I don't have time for you, Nodoka!" She quickly grabs her battle fans, charging them with electricity and dashes right for Nodoka, not wasting any more time. The president, however, wasn't having any of it and attempted to sideswipe her with her scythe. However, since that battle, Yui had wised up, not falling for it, immediately jumping at her and kicking her straight into the wall. She groaned in pain but immediately recovered and tried to give chase. But as she did, though, she was instantly blocked off by a rock wall. She turned right around to see the quadruple team of Ui, Azusa, Tsumugi and Jun behind her. She knew it was Tsumugi's earth powers that did this. All she did was chuckle at the state she was in now; 4-against-1 with no way for her to run.

"Well... ain't this a quaint little pickle I'm in... you got lucky this time, Yui."

"Quit talking to yourself, Nodoka." Azusa exclaimed, not even respecting her with the 'senpai' tag. "You're already crazy as is."

"You leave Yui to her own demons. You've got US to deal with." Tsumugi stated.

"Heh..." Nodoka took her glasses off, and only 1 out of the 4 of them knew what this meant. "That means I'll be able to cut you ALL up into nice fine pieces of meat!"

"Careful, guys... with those eyes, she'll be tough to beat..." Ui warned.

"You heard what Yui said, guys. If we see her, we take her down!"



Yui ran up the all-too-familiar stairs she's been walking up for all her years in this school. She could feel where Akiyama is, and she knew the one place that Akiyama would go to meet her.

The music room.

She nearly smashed open the door to the room, and lo and behold, Akiyama was seated where the real Mio would usually sit, her legs and arms crossed. She looked up to see the guitarist, and gave off that smirk once again.

"So... you've finally arrived, Yui." She said. Yui clenched her fist, restraining herself from just rushing over and punching her. "Just so I can kill you... correct?"

"Not on your life, Akiyama. I came here for two things... releasing Mio-chan, and defeating you... and subsequently, getting rid of the Dead Hour." Yui said firmly, but something had made Akiyama chortle. "What's so funny?"

"Your dear friend Mio... I'll NEVER let her go." Yui pounded on the table hard, stating her case.

"YOU LET HER GO NOW!"

"And what're you gonna do about it, cry?" Akiyama taunted. Yui could only grit her teeth and grip the chair hard knowing that attacking her now would be a foolhardy move, so all she could was take in any insult that was thrown at her, glaring at the face of her enemy. "Now... do you think killing me will get rid of the Dead Hour?"

"...Honestly, no. But I'll be one step closer to it though."

"See, that's what you WOULD be; a step closer to getting rid of the Dead Hour. Just like how I'm a step closer to getting rid of you and your friends... and then taking over this world. Just like how I'm a step closer to getting that Legends Guitar out of you and giving it to that Number I." Akiyama said, but Yui was having none of it.

"Do you really think so, Akiyama? Do you really think you'll be able to kill me AND my friends? Do you REALLY think that Number I is going to get that guitar out of me, huh?" At that point, as if on cue, Akiyama's phone rang.

"Hold that thought, Yui." She immediately answered it. "Hello~? Mm-hmm... oh, it's for you, Yui. It's Nodoka." She tossed the phone at Yui, who caught it quickly and placed it on her ear.

"Look out the window... I left a BIG surprise for you." Nodoka said in a creepy tone. Yui, fearing the worst, did so, and to her horror, she saw her friends decimated and laid out onto the floor. To make matters worse, Nodoka had kept hold of Azusa's throat for some time, squeezing it hard until she passed out. And as a spectacle of her prowess, Nodoka punched Azusa in the chest, which pushed her at full speed into the school wall. The pain Azusa felt through her body was brutal. Nodoka then stepped over Jun's body before slowly going towards Tsumugi, which instantly made Yui snap.

"Don't you DARE touch Mugi-chan! Don't you dare!" She screamed into the phone. This act only provided entertainment for Akiyama. Watching Yui go frantic must have been amusing to her.

"Oh, man... this is just too funny to watch." Yui turned right back to Akiyama.

"You keep your mouth shut, Akiyama, or so help me I'm going to...!" She couldn't complete her sentence, as an ice needle was flung straight at her. She quickly dodged it, but found herself on the receiving end of a gut punch. Akiyama continued the onslaught with a flurry of punches and kicks, all aimed to damage Yui further. The guitarist could barely do anything to fight back, as she was in too much pain, and she was pinned down for good measure. All she could do was block, but even that wasn't enough to reduce her pain. Akiyama laid down the exclamation point by planting her face violently into the ground, moving into position to whisper something into her ears.

"What ARE you going to do, Yui? I'm curious to know... no, wait, don't answer that. I already know the answer... absolutely nothing." The coldness of her voice brought chills to Yui's spine, but the guitarist still tried to find a way to get herself out of this situation. Sure enough, from her position, she pointed her finger at Akiyama and fired off a lightning bolt from it, forcing Akiyama to dodge it and back off, leaving Yui enough room to get away. They both went back to a standstill, both waiting for the other to make a move. Akiyama was giggling after what Yui did. "That's right... I can feel the anger inside you, Yui... Go on, strike me down." She challenged.

Yui was almost reluctant to. If she did, would Akiyama be proving something about Yui? That she'd been acting on impulse thanks to every single action Akiyama's been doing? She didn't have time to think about all this, however.

"So, Yui... since I've got your anger out now, I guess you'll have enough strength to face me. But... you have to make a choice now." Akiyama pointed out the window. "Are you going to let your anger get the best of you and let them die? Or are you going to save them?" Yui had to think for this. If she did go after Akiyama, her friends, including her new love interest, Tsumugi, would die. But if she DID leave Akiyama to save them, then she'd be letting Akiyama do whatever she needs to do. Akiyama decided to leave Yui to her decision, jumping out the window quickly.

"HEY!" Yui yelled, trying to stop her. She took one step out the window, but immediately stepped back, knowing she still had a big decision to make. Go after Akiyama and risk killing off her friends, or save her friends but allow Akiyama to get away with murder.

It was the WORST time to be indecisive.