Mika lay in bed most of the day, staring at the ceiling with wide, empty eyes. The nursing home smelled of antiseptic and age, a place for those who had long lost their ability to care for themselves. But Mika wasn’t old. She was seventeen. And yet, here she was, surrounded by people three times her age, voices groggy with time, movements slow and frail.

She didn’t belong here. But she didn’t belong anywhere anymore.

Her mind moved sluggishly, like molasses dripping down the walls of a ruined house. She muttered things to herself, words that barely strung together, pieces of shattered memories slipping through her fingers like sand.

"Nagi-chan… Seia-chan… we should… we should go for tea time, right? Ahaha… the cakerolls are waiting…"

"Sensei? Sensei? Why are you so blurry today? Did you bring Trinity back? I can't find it… I lost it…"

"No, no, no, I don’t like the colors here. They don’t match… It’s all wrong… The stars… the stars are gone…"

"We should go back, right? Trinity’s waiting. Sensei is waiting. Nagisa-chan is going to be mad if we're late. Ahaha… Nagisa-chan? Why aren’t you talking? Why aren’t you answering me?"

Doctors tried. Oh, they tried. Writing? Worthless. She only doodled. Messy little drawings of tea cups, of faceless girls with halos, of an academy that no longer existed. Talking? Impossible. Her responses were scattered, detached, like pulling words from a dream. Pictures? They only made her eyes glaze over, staring past them, past the walls, past reality.

Mika didn’t even acknowledge that she was in a nursing home. She thought she was still at Trinity.

And at night, she would stare at the walls.

"It’s almost tea time. Just a little more. Then we can go back. Right, Seia-chan? Nagisa-chan? Right?"

Her hands trembled as she lifted an invisible cup to her lips, sipping air, smiling at the empty space beside her.

She wasn’t sure what she expected when she stepped into Mika’s room. But the moment Mika turned her head toward her, Nyx felt something crack inside.

Mika’s face twisted into something unreadable—fear? Anger? Happiness?

"Nagi-chan! Seia-chan! Look, Nyx-chan is here for tea!" Mika chirped, her voice too bright, too fake, her fingers clinging to the sheets like they would disappear if she let go. "Nyx-chan, sit down, sit down! The tea is hot, and the cake rolls are fresh! We have to eat before they get cold, right? Right?"

Nyx swallowed, her throat tight. "Mika… stop."

"Huh?" Mika blinked, tilting her head.

"Nagisa and Seia… they’re not coming." Nyx’s voice was rough. "They’re not here. There’s no tea time."

Mika’s face darkened, her lips twitching. "That’s not true. They’re coming. They promised. They said we’d have tea again—"

"No, they didn’t," Nyx snapped. "They can’t. Because they’re gone. And it’s my fault."

Mika flinched.

"I thought… I thought if I protected everyone, if I fought hard enough, if I never let my resolve break… I could keep us all together." Nyx clenched her fists. "But I lost. I lost Seia. I lost everything. And you, Mika… you're still in there somewhere, aren't you? You just need to come back."

Nyx’s voice cracked. "Dammit… I don’t understand these stupid heartfelt speeches…"

Mika just stared at her.

Then Koharu spoke. "You’ve done well, Mika."

Nyx turned as Koharu stepped forward, eyes glistening. She had come with Nyx, having been given permission from Hifumi.

"You’ve been a good girl," Koharu whispered. "Sensei was happy with you. Seia and Nagisa—" Her voice trembled. "They’re proud of you. They’re watching you. From above the stars."

Mika's lips parted, her hands trembling as she looked at Koharu like she had never seen her before. Slowly, she pulled away and stepped outside.

The night was cool, the sky endless above her. Stars scattered across the abyss, twinkling like tiny souls watching from afar.

Mika stared up at them, eyes wide.

"Nagisa… Seia… do you see it? The stars are so pretty tonight…" Her voice quivered. "You’re up there, aren’t you? Beyond the sky? Beyond the rings…?"

Her breath hitched. Her body shook. And then—

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!"

She fell to her knees, sobbing, wailing into the night, her tears soaking into the cold pavement.

"I—I love you both! You were like my sisters! I miss you—I miss you so much!" Her voice broke into pieces, torn apart by grief. "Please, please, come back… I can’t do tea time without you… I can’t—I—"

Her body convulsed with every sob, her fingers clutching at a pendant hanging from her neck. Inside was a small picture—Mika, Nagisa, and Seia, smiling together, frozen in time.

Koharu knelt beside her, wrapping her arms around Mika’s shaking frame, holding her as she wept. Nyx watched, silent, her heart too heavy to speak.

Mika cried until her sobs quieted into weak hiccups, until exhaustion pulled her under, until she collapsed into Koharu’s embrace, still holding onto the pendant like it was the last piece of them she had left.

Koharu looked up at Nyx, her voice hoarse.

"We need to break Azusa out."

Nyx blinked. "What?"

"Azusa’s in a mental hospital," Koharu said, her voice bitter. "After Nagisa died… and then Hanako… she lost it. She attacked students. Nearly killed them. They locked her away."

Nyx frowned. "Then why do you want to take her out? If she’s dangerous—"

"Because she’s my friend!" Koharu snapped, her eyes fierce, desperate. "I already lost Hanako! I already lost Nagisa! I am NOT losing Azusa too!"

Nyx exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "…Shit."

The stars above twinkled silently, watching, waiting.

Mika stirred, whispering into the night.

"Seia-chan… Nagi-chan… just wait a little longer… we’ll have tea again… won’t we?"