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During middle school, Ichika had to deal with Saki being hospitalized then having a falling out with Honami and Shiho directly after due to Shiho and Honami both becoming victims of bullying and not wanting to drag Ichika down with them. Ichika didn't even get an explanation as to why Honami and Shiho were leaving her either, she just got told "I don't want to be your friend anymore." and it got left at that. Even though Ichika still attempted to reach out, she got little in response and became extremely lonely as a result. Ichika blamed herself for the groups falling out and carried a lot of guilt about it for years; she felt listless and empty. She felt even guiltier since she was hiding the fact from Saki, who was already lonely and isolated enough as it was due to being hospitalized. Ichika spent 2 years all alone, no other friends, trying to get Shiho and Honami to talk to her, but all her efforts were fruitless. All she wanted were her childhood friends back During middle school, Honami was a big people-pleaser due to the overwhelming fear of being hated by other people. She was bullied because she had the tendency to befriend and show sympathy for people in different friend groups and avoided picking sides, to the point that she was accused of sucking up to others to avoid being hated and was called two-faced. She was treated as an outcast in her class. Once the next school year rolled around, she was afraid of being bullied again by her new classmates and only hung out with a small group of people, and subsequently, she started avoided Ichika and Shiho. Even after she started hanging out with that small group of people, Honami became wary that she'd be ostracized and hated all over again if she even made one small mistake. In one of Kanade's side stories, Honami admitted that she had the desire to "disappear" before. During middle school, Shiho preferred solitude and being by herself. She'd reject her classmates invitations to hang out, and ultimately, people started talking bad about her due to her aloof demeanor. Shiho didn't mind the gossip or rumors, but once people started talking bad about Ichika as well by default since she hung out with Shiho, Shiho pushed Ichika away and distanced herself from her in order to protect her. Since Honami was being bullied as well during that time, the two gradually grew apart once they both decided to stop interacting with the friend group. Shiho was in the light music club during middle school, and got frustrated due to the members lack of work and dedication. Once she brought it up, the club got into an argument which subsequently caused them to split up, only further worsening Shiho's reputation. She didn't mean to hurt either Ichika or Honami, all she wanted to do was protect them from getting hurt by her bad reputation. During middle school, Saki was hospitalized all throughout the duration of it due to her weak body and chronic illness. She was bedridden for days on end, and was extremely isolated and lonely. She questioned why she was the way she was, and was extremely jealous of people who could experience life normally. She never got to experience things like playing tennis, travelling or even going to school due to her poor health. Outside of immediate family, Ichika was the only one to visit her in the hospital, which she deeply appreciated. Whenever anyone visited her, Saki put on a brave face and smile so she wouldn't further upset anybody, despite how empty and hurt she was deep down inside. She'd spend her days crying without anyone there to comfort her, and often worried that she'd never get better. While in the hospital, she was completely oblivious to the groups falling out since nobody ever told her, and she only realized after being discharged from the hospital. Instead of making fun of Leo/Need for not being the most visually striking and having "boring" personalities, I think you should actually read their group stories, cause all of their lore is really interesting