Pink To The Future (K-on Fanfic) - Chapter VII

Chapter VII: The Ties That Blind

Everything was ready on that Tuesday - more ready than ever. Hugging Square was stiffed with people, just as every other gathering point with a TV or a giant screen available. The excitement for the revelation of the giant building over the sea was unparalleled.

As always, when the Moempress appeared in front her subjects at the square, everyone greeted her with a massive cheer.

"Hello everybody !!" she said with a voice filled with happiness "This is it, guys !! The day of the day, where super happiness begins !! Let the pinkchopters fly !!"

At her command, four pink helicopters started flying towards the giant structure over the sea. As soon as they were near enough, the Moempress said: "After years of preparations, I'm finally uber proud to present you all the coolest structure ever: the Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower !!" As she said that, the pinkchopters used giant hooks to take different parts of the pink tarpaulin and remove it.

When the tarpaulin was fallen, everybody could see it: a giant pink clock tower, whose clock was encased inside a big heart which formed the top of the tower itself . The people all over the world was astounded at the sight of a building of such cuteness, conveyed in the form a synchronized: "Ooooh !!"

"The Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower is made of layers and layers of candyfloss... but it's not for you to eat it, of course." She chuckled, then continued. "If you ever feel lonely or down - which would be strange, since I built an entire world to prevent that - all you have to do is watch to the Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower, so you can remember that happiness is EVERY MOMENT !!" she said emphasizing the last part.

The crowd exulted as never before: Yui was at the peak of happiness when something unexpected happened. On the screen - on every screen - the image of the tower was replaced with another one. A young woman dressed in a dark blue outfit could be seen with some kind of device in her hand.

"I'm sorry, Moempress, but things aren't going as you planned. Not today." Azusa said. Her voice was grim, but it couldn't even remotely express the sense of bitterness she was feeling. She spent all the night positioning explosive charges in the weakest parts of the structure, as she checked that no people were inside.

On that very matter, she had no doubt she was the only person in the whole building: the Moempress would have never allowed anybody not to see it from the outside the very moment it was showed.

"Come to me, my friend: at the middle floor of your beloved clock tower, where everything begun and everything will come to an end. I have to speak to you, and I must do it face to face." she concluded.

On her part, Yui didn't get even remotely the gravity of the situation. Azu-nyan was back and she wanted to speak with her: everything else was irrelevant. She stared a few seconds at the screen as if she couldn't believe to what she was seeing, then she yelled at the top of her lungs: "AZU-NYAAAAN !!"

Immediately after that she screamed again: "To the Pinkjet... hurry!!" she was so excited that it seemed she was about to cry. As one of the guards pointed her the direction, she started running.

"Let me pass... PLEASE !!" she begged the mob. In turn, as if it was one single being, the crowd opened itself to form a path among the people.

"Thank you !! Thank you so much !!" she would scream with gratitude as she passed running by, holding tight her Pink Fluorescent Light Stick without even realizing it. Taking her Item of Happiness in her hand has been more an instinctive action than anything else: nothing physical could express her joy for having her beloved friend back, and not even a
thousands Wonder Wheels spinning at the same time could provide her so much excitement.

"AZU-NYAN !! AZU-NYAN, WAIT FOR ME !! I'M COMING !!" She would scream now and then along the way. During the flight in the Pinkjet, she spent all the time watching from the window the Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower getting nearer and nearer. Then again, she felt no pride or interest in the tower itself: the idea of seeing Azu-nyan again surpassed any other thought.

As soon as she landed on the bottom entrance of the tower, she thanked the pilot and all the others in the jet, then she hurried to call the elevator. While she was in, waiting to arrive at the middle floor, she talked to herself out loud: "It worked !! Azu-nyan is back !! I can't believe it !!"

"As soon as I get there" she continued almost crying out loud for excitement "I'm going to give her the biggest hug ever, and then she will smile at me and then everything will be perfectly perfect as it was supposed to be !!" She then mashed the elevator button again "Faster, elevator !! Faster !!"

Eventually, the elevator reached the middle floor. Yui hurried out and ran towards Azusa to hug her.

"Stop right there, Moempress !!" the dark blue dressed girl shouted at her. Yui stopped on the spot, and so did all of her world. "I'm not here for hugs and chit chat, Yui. I called you here because I wanted to tell you how I really feel, but first I want you to answer a question."

"A question ?" Yui asked back. "Okay..."

"How would you feel if I told you that I plan to blow up myself along with the clock tower ?"

"Well, I guess I'd feel very, very, very ,very, very...." Yui paused as she tried to find the correct word, then concluded "...not happy."

"Not happy ?" Azusa replied "There is a specific word to express that feeling. That word is "sad"."

The mob, that was watching the whole scene on the giant screen, made in unison a lament of shock and disapproval.

"But Azu-nyan !!" Yui said with that same feeling on her voice "that word is forbidden !!"

"I know. That's why I have to do it, Yui. You just didn't forbid the word: you erased that whole feeling from people consciousness, and so you did with every other thing you didn't like."

"But..." the Moempress tried to speak, but Azusa interrupted her, as if she was anticipating her.

"Don't get me wrong, Yui: I know you wanted to make the world a better place. I know you are a nice person, too, but you just got too far. I have to do it, so you and all the rest of the world will remember what pain and sadness are. And then, only then, you will able to live your lives at their fullest and achieve true happiness." Azusa's words were filled with hope and confidence.

"No.. no Azu-nyan !!" Yui yelled, her voice mixed with shock and disappointment "This is all wrong !! This is not how things were supposed to go !! You were supposed to let me hug you and smile back at me, so everything could be perfectly perfect !!"

"Perfect for YOU, Yui !!" Azu-nyan shouted back at her, pointing her finger at her. "You wanted to bring happiness to the world, but you actually forced your happiness to them !!" Her voice was filled with anger "Do you know what was "perfect" for me ? It was seven years ago, when Mio, Mugi and everyone else still had a mind and soul of their own !! But you... you took it all away from me !!"

The Moempress looked at the ground as a child who's getting scolded from her parents after they found her with her hands in a jar of marmalade jam. "I had no idea Azu-nyan would hate me so much." She said, and then her expression suddenly changed to a triumphant one.

"Wait, Azu-nyan !! I got it !! I know how to fix all of this !!"

"Fix this ?" Azusa asked, puzzled.

"Yes !! You see, all we have to do is to make you the new Moempress !! This way everyone will love you, and you won't HATE ME ANYMORE !!" Yui couldn't help but raise her voice, unable to contain the satisfaction she felt for finding the solution to every problem.

"You don't get it, do you ?" Azusa replied with a mix of anger and frustration in her voice. "For all these years you felt sorry for me because you believed I was alone, but that's exactly how I felt for you. You thought you were surrounded by people who loved you, but they were just brainless puppets, hanging on your every word to find happiness. I... I can't take it anymore." As she said those words, her grip to the detonator tightened.

Azusa's voice became deep, as sorrow took over rage. "I don't hate you, Yui. I... I love you. You are the most genuine, adorable person I've ever met. You deserve much more than this. You deserve to be loved by real people, with real feelings. I know it will hurt you, but I have no other choice."

"Maybe you don't..." Yui replied "...but I do." Her voice, while keeping her childish mood, became as firm as ever as she said: "I'm going to stay here with you."

Azusa looked at her, with a shocked and horrified look. "But... why ?"

"Because we're friends, Azu-nyan !!" Yui replied naturally, gaining back her cheerful attitude. "That's what friends do: they smile together, they cry together, and they boom together." At that last part, Yui was gesturing the effect of an explosion with her hands.

Azusa was speechless: once again, Yui's simple logic overcame her own. "B-but..." words escaped her as she tried to speak.

Yui was not just willing to sacrifice everything just to stay with her in her last moments, she was doing it as if it was the most obvious, natural thing to do.

"I've waited all these years for you to come back, Azu-nyan..." Yui continued, smiling tenderly at her friend "...now that I found you, I'm not letting you go anywhere without me !! Now just let me fix one last thing... this time for real !!" As she finished the sentence, she turned to camera, knowing that every person in the world was still watching them.

"Okay everybody, I've got two news to give you: one is bad and one is good." The mob stood silent, waiting for the Moempress to speak.

"The bad new, it's that I just decided to blow up myself together with my friend Azu-nyan and the Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower."

The mob, once again in unison, replied with shock and disappointment: "Nooooooo."

"I know it's a very bad thing, because we won't be able to play anymore. And I also want to apologize with all the people who worked so hard to realize the Super Secret Project." Yui said with genuine displeasure. "But I have a way to make it up to you, which leads to the good new: I have a new, superdupermegaawesome game for you to play !!" she then said, switching back to her usual cheerful mood.

"Ooooh !!" the crowd replied in awe.

"The name of the game is: Be Happy..." she paused, concentrating to come up with the rest of the name on the spot "...Being Yourself !!"

The crowd murmured with excitement and trepidation, waiting to know the details of this new game the Moempress devised for them.

"It's a very, very difficult game, but I know you can do it !! There are six rules in total. The first three rules are: love each other, respect each other and help each other !!" The crowd was silent, concentrated in memorizing them.

"The other rules are like the first three ones, but you have to apply them to yourself: love yourself, respect yourself and help yourself !!"

"The goal of the game is to do the things that make you happy, without never ever breaking the rules !! And the prize is..." she paused to create some suspense, then finished "...that as long as you do that, the spirit of the Moempress lives inside of you... AND EVERYONE THAT PLAYS !!" Yui concluded the last part closing her eyes and throwing her hands up in the air: it was her ultimate, finest work as the Moempress and the fact that she did that together with her friend Azu-nyan filled her heart with pride and joy.

The mob exulted as they never did before, and when the excitement faded it all turned silent.

"Goodbye, everybody !!" Yui saluted her audience for the last time.

A stupefied Azusa watched all of that speechless. Yui got back to her, and put her hand over her own. "Let's do it, Azu-nyan" she said her tenderly "The biggest firework ever seen."

"Thank you, Yui." It was the only thing that Azusa was able to say.

"No... thank you." Yui replied, smiling.

Then Azusa pushed the trigger.