Tsubaki liked the arboretum near the college library. It was always so quiet and peaceful. Not many people visited, but that was just as well. Tsubaki hated the crowds. Although, funny as it was (and shy as she was) a tiny part of her always secretly hoped she'd meet somebody there...She sat on the emerald grass, opened her journal, and put in her earbuds. Little did she know, halfway across campus, wearing an all-black ensemble, someone else was listening to the exact same song. It was in a record shop, one of the many stores that dotted campus. A radio played overhead as Aoi worked a shift to make a little money, saving up for new musical equipment.

Half an hour later, though, she was off. It was such a lovely day that she decided to roam around campus rather than returning to her dorm. She followed no compasses and no signs, losing track of time as she wandered, but as fate would have it, who should she run into but Tsubaki? Aoi heard her before she saw her. Is someone...singing? They sound so good! And are they singing...Prayer?

Seconds later, Aoi was at the arboretum. Tsubaki was facing away from her, head bobbing to the music. Aoi watched her from behind a nearby tree, a smile slowly spreading across her face. Tsubaki was just as beautiful as her voice. Right at the final verse, though, Aoi finally made her presence known, stepping forward and harmonizing with Tsubaki to make her solo a duet.

Tsubaki shrieked, ripping out her earbuds and turning around so fast Aoi worried she may have given herself whiplash.

"Woah, there, sorry!" Aoi raised her hands and smiled disarmingly. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just realized that you were singing Prayer and I—"

"Oh! You heard that?! I'm so embarrassed!" Tsubaki buried her face in her hands, shaking her head.

"Oh, there's no need for you to be embarrassed!" Aoi tried to reassure her. "You have a lovely voice!"

"Ah, no, no I don't!" Tsubaki moaned, face still buried in her hands. Poor Aoi, not understanding how much her praises were flustering Tsubaki, tried again to reassure the other girl.

"Sure you do! I'm a musician, too, so I can tell when someone's had vocal training! I'm Aoi Miyake, by the way!"

Tsubaki gave a choked whine before hopping up suddenly. "I...I...Ihavetogo!" And before Aoi could stop her, she sprinted away.

"Wait! You forgot your book!" Aoi reached out to her, but it was too late. Aoi sighed unhappily. She hadn't meant to scare the poor girl off. The musician let her eyes drift down to the book. Oh, it wasn't any ordinary book, it was a journal. Aoi's curiosity flared, but she was an honorable woman and only looked at the inside of the cover, hoping to find a name. Tsubaki Aoyagi. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice...Well, Ms. Aoyagi, I hope we meet again someday...

ooo

Fate was on Aoi's side, it seemed, because she did indeed run into Tsubaki again. Granted, it took a bit of detective work on Aoi's part, trying to track the other musician down again, but the journal offered more clues. Aoi still did not read any more of it than absolutely necessary, but after a quick skim of it, she managed to figure out what year Tsubaki was, and what some of her classes were. One of them, unsurprisingly, was a music class. How funny, song was going to draw them together again, like an invisible string tying them together.

Aoi knew where the music building was, she'd spent so much time there herself. After asking around a little bit longer, she was able to find what time Tsubaki would be there. She met the other girl just as class let out, the faint strains of Prayer still emanating from within the building.

"Tsubaki!"

"Aoi?!" She...remembered my name...

Just like the first time, Tsubaki looked seconds away from fleeing in a blind panic. Aoi was quick to hold up Tsubaki's journal. Tsubaki's face drained of color and even though she opened and closed her mouth, no sound came out.

"Don't worry!" Aoi was quick to reassure her. "I didn't read much of it, only enough to figure out your name, year, and what class I could return this to you. I promise I haven't read anything else!" She held up her free hand in a symbol of promise.

For a moment more, Tsubaki remained frozen, but then slowly, to Aoi's surprise and delight, she started to smile.

"Th-thanks," her voice was so quiet, but Aoi heard her loud and clear. She mirrored the smile on Tsubaki's face as Tsubaki took her journal back.

"You know, I have a class here, too," Aoi said conversationally, gesturing to the music building.

"Oh, which one?" Tsubaki's voice was still painfully quiet, but at least she was talking, and she wasn't running away! Both were good signs!

ooo

Prayer was the name of the song in the cab on the first trip to downtown, just past the college border. How Aoi managed to rope Tsubaki into it was beyond her, but she would be forever glad that Tsubaki said yes. Now, they were on their way to one of Aoi's favorite restaurants for dinner. One conversation had just led to another. First it was about favorite music classes, then favorite things to do, then favorite places to eat. Now here they were, and bold was the waitress on that first-night trip getting food right by the lakes.

"You look like a celebrity singer," she said to Aoi, but Aoi only smiled and waved her off.

"I just have that kind of face!" she chuckled, but even though the waitress let the matter drop, Tsubaki couldn't.

She didn't like the way the waitress looked Aoi up and down with such interest, and she didn't like how...angry? it made her feel.

"Of course, everyone knows you, Aoi Miyake, the famous musician," she said, eyes glued to the table.

"Aww, I'm not that big of a deal," Aoi shrugged, but this time, she felt her heart flutter in response to the compliment. It affected her more than the waitress' compliment had. "I really only work at dive bars and I'm mostly independent. Well, except for Hiiro and Nagisa, I guess..."

"Ah. And who are they?" Tsubaki feigned interest, but her eyes narrowed, although Aoi didn't see it because Tsubaki was still staring at the table.

"Oh! Well, Hiiro's an old friend of mine and Nagisa's a new girl we actually only just met, maybe a week ago, I think."

"Ah." Aoi wasn't clever enough to catch it, but it was clear Tsubaki was jealous. I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you...

"Hmm...You know, if you want, you could always join us for music practice. We're kind of starting a band and we need a vocalist."

"Oh! No, I really don't think I should..." Tsubaki gave another yelp, finally looking Aoi in the eyes, pleading.

"Nonsense," Aoi flashed her another disarming smile. "Nagisa's on guitar, Hiiro's our VJ, and I'm DJ, and none of us is as a good a singer as you!"

"R-really...?" Somehow, hearing Aoi say that made Tsubaki believe her compliments more than ever before.

"Really," Aoi promised, nodding. As she'd said before, she was musically trained, so she knew when someone had a good voice.

How mystical time was. In the span of one evening, Tsubaki had gone from nervous, to elated, to jealous, to disbelieving, to elated again. What was going on with her?! Why was she acting like this?! Were there clues she couldn't see? She was Tsubaki Aoyagi, one of the shiest, plainest girls around, but somehow the great Aoi Miyake (she was great, no matter how she downplayed herself, Tsubaki was insistent on that!) wanted her.

Even stranger, Tsubaki found herself saying yes instead of no. It was as if an invisible string was tying them closer and tighter together.

"I would even say it's destiny," Aoi said at one point. "Like the red thread of fate." It was something Tsubaki hadn't ever put much thought into before, but when she found Aoi taking up more and more of her time, both in-person and in her head, Tsubaki couldn't help but wonder...

ooo

"No! No! I knew it! I knew it was too good to be true! This was all just one big mistake!" Tsubaki beat her head with the heels of her hands. She should've known all good things had to come to an end, she just wished it hadn't been so soon. Only a few short weeks after joining Aoi's band, RONDO, they found themselves performing at a high-end locale. Poor Tsubaki was so intimidated by one of their rival vocalists, Yuki, that she'd gone mute. She wasn't able to sing, or even speak! It was the worst night of her life and she tried to sever ties with RONDO the very next day.

"Ohhh, Aoi probably hates me now!" the girl despaired, tears burning her eyes. But who can blame her? I hate me, too. God, why was I such an idiot back there?! It was Prayer! I know that song! What went wrong?! I knew she was too good for me...And RONDO, is too good for me, too... It was stupid of me to ever even join in the first place! How can I ever show my face to any of them ever again? Tsubaki fled the venue as soon as the concert was over, and no one was able to catch her.

She thought back to her earliest days with RONDO. She kept her insecurities well-hidden, certain that she would be able to move past them eventually. Apparently not. Now all that remained were bitter regrets. Maybe she should've never said yes to Aoi, or RONDO. It would've been better that way, to cut the string early rather than accidentally string Aoi along and let her down like this...

I ran away from her the first time we met. She should've run away from me, too...

Finally, the downtrodden and despondent girl fled her dorm room as well. It was dark and stifling, especially with all the negative thoughts that floated around her head. But during her run across campus, she happened to pass the tiny chapel that resided near the heart of the university. She could hear organ music playing inside. Her eyes widened. I know that song! Prayer!

Without even really knowing what she was doing, biting her lip nervously, Tsubaki pushed open the heavy wooden doors. Sure enough, Aoi was the one playing, fingers flying expertly across all three keyboards.

Wow...She's so good...I can't believe I ever thought I even deserved to perform next to her...

Tsubaki was so lost in another fit of self-loathing that she wasn't even aware that Aoi had stopped playing until she felt Aoi's arms encircle her in a warm embrace. She squeaked, body tensing up as if she was about to run away again, but she felt Aoi shake her head.

"No, don't go, please, stay..." And once again, Tsubaki found herself saying yes instead of no.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, and not just because Tsubaki was crying. Something made all of her big mistakes seem little, Aoi wrapping chains around Tsubaki's demons just as tightly as she wrapped her arms around Tsubaki. At one point, Tsubaki started shivering. It was partly due to the anxiety she'd been feeling for so very long, and partly due to the sheer relief she now felt knowing that Aoi didn't despise her after all. Aoi removed her fur-lined coat and put it on Tsubaki's shoulders where her arms used to be.

"I think it suits you more than it does me," she joked, wiping away Tsubaki's tears. "You're my favorite look of that coat."

After lightening the mood with a bit of humor, though, the two spoke about the failed performance. While Tsubaki apologized over and over again, Aoi waited out the storm with her, calm and patient, forgiving the other girl at every turn.

"I'm sorry keep running away! I'm sorry you keep having to chase me down!" she cried, referring to her earlier demand to leave RONDO.

"But I didn't chase you down," Aoi said with a small smile. "You came back to me, didn't you?" She gestured to the chapel around them.

Tsubaki's eyes widened. "...I...I...I guess you're right...I didn't realize..." It seemed that one single thread of gold still tied Tsubaki to Aoi.

"Even though I would've gladly chased after you anywhere, I didn't have to this time because you came back to me first."

ooo

Another few weeks later, RONDO was performing again. They weren't playing at high-end venues anymore, but they were happy. As Aoi had once told Tsubaki, she would've gladly left all of RONDO behind if it meant she got to stay with Tsubaki (much to the amused dismay of Hiiro and Nagisa, who had also long-since forgiven Tsubaki). That gave Tsubaki the courage to try again, and even though she once had an axe to grind with the one that broke her heart, now she sent her old foe presents (mostly RONDO merch).

"I feel so at home with RONDO that I can't find it in me to be mad at Yuki anymore," Tsubaki said cheerfully.

"I'm proud of you, Tsubaki," Aoi grinned, throwing an arm around Tsubaki's shoulder. Tsubaki started blushing. It didn't matter how long they'd been together, she still got so flustered by RONDO's fearless leader.

After one of their latest successful shows, to celebrate, Tsubaki took Aoi back to the arboretum where they first met. The leaves were gold now, like the love she felt for Aoi. It was funny to think, aside from the leaves, the rest of the arboretum looked exactly the same, and yet Tsubaki felt as though she'd gone through an entire journey. How wonderous time was, Aoi and Tsubaki got lost in it as they gazed up at the purple-pink sky.

"Aoi, it's cool, when you're with me," Tsubaki whispered, intertwining her fingers with Aoi's.

"Isn't it just so pretty to think, all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?" the other girl agreed, nodding. Each one wore an earbud connected to the same phone and the soft strains of Prayer filled their heads. The last, beautiful notes of the song seemed to rise up and swirl in the air all around them alongside the gold rush of falling autumn leaves.

ooo

"So, when do you think they're going to kiss?" Nagisa asked, peering down at Aoi and Tsubaki from her perch in a nearby tree.

"Ugh, not fast enough," Hiiro replied from her own tree, pouting.

"Well, I'd place another bet on it if I wasn't already out of money," Nagisa joked.

"That's what you get for buying so much pudding at the yogurt shop!" Hiiro chided, but she was smiling too.

"Actually, I blame you for my empty wallet," Nagisa teased. "All those bets drained me dry!"

"It's not my fault you keep making bad bets. Don't blame me for your bad life choices!" Hiiro cried. The two shared another laugh, still spying on Aoi and Tsubaki from above. Nagisa would've called herself a guardian angel, Aoi and Tsubaki would've begged to differ.

"Oh, man! Now they're moving out of view!" Nagisa complained.

"So, we'll just move onto the next set of trees," Hiiro shrugged, standing up and balancing on a narrow branch.

"I guess," Nagisa sighed, sliding down from her own perch.

Hiiro watched her descend, a thoughtful and almost...desiring expression slowly spreading across her face. "Actually, Nagisa...Why don't we give Tsubaki and Aoi their privacy?" she asked.

"Pfft! Since when did you care about that?" Nagisa snorted. "Besides, I thought you wanted to see if they'd actually, finally, get together!"

"Well, I do," Hiiro admitted. "But...We both know it probably still won't happen today, even though the time is literally perfect." Hiiro paused to roll her eyes and Nagisa nodded her exasperated agreement. They were both sure they could hold up a giant sign saying, "NOW KISS!" and Aoi and Tsubaki still wouldn't get it. How either of them were smart enough to get into college, Nagisa would never know.

"So I was thinking, in the meantime, maybe you and I could..." Hiiro trailed off, giving Nagisa her best seductive smile.

"Oh, I like the way you think, Hiiro!" Nagisa chuckled, already forgetting about chasing after Aoi and Tsubaki in order to chase after Hiiro.

Now, two happy couples roamed the golden arboretum, each one thinking about how much they'd gone through together. Maybe the red thread of fate tied Aoi and Tsubaki together at the hip, but Nagisa and Hiiro had also become close in the few months they'd known each other. And as Hiiro walked in one direction, away from Aoi and Tsubaki, Nagisa followed her like a lost puppy, as if bound to Hiiro by her own invisible string.

AN: For the fourth of June, have a D4DJ fanfic!

Also, shoutout to Snorlax891, Net Neutrality, and mostly importantly of all, Penguin611! She requested this fic and is the one that got us into D4DJ. We play almost every night together and I had a marvelous time ruining the voices with you! LOL!

RONDO is the first band we played, as well as Penguin's favorite.

Long live Aoi/Tsubaki, RONDO, and Prayer, LOL!