This story is in celebration of Mio's up coming birthday. It's a little early but I'll be really busy the next couple of weeks.
It's been awhile since I started writing again. Special thanks to ghikiJ-san for all the encouragement (and putting up with my mistakes and even teaching me), also for Beta Reading this.
Hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON!
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Samidare – Early Summer Rain
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-Chapter1- It's All in the Weather
"You will not talk back to your Mother, Young lady! Now, go to your ROOM!"
A sulking raven-haired bassist was walking rather slowly up the staircase of the Akiyama household. 'It was only twenty minutes, dammit' the raven-haired bassist was cursing her dictator of a mother for yelling at her as if she had some illicit reason for arriving home late from school without bringing the vegetables her Mother had asked her to get before heading back.
Heading into her room, Akiyama Mio was thinking about everything that happened that afternoon. And how unbelievably annoying a certain brunette had been.
A black-haired kouhai had been excused that afternoon because a classmate had left her with what our airheaded guitarist labels as "Azunyan #2" and went home to take care of the feline's dinner. Somehow, the airheaded guitarist convinced the kouhai to take her along. Claiming that she should be there, as a senior helping her kouhai, to help if anything went wrong but the rest knew better though they when along with her sad excuse to skip practice.
The blonde keyboardist also left early that day. They didn't really know why but she's been leaving early the past few days, meeting with a boyfriend then again maybe not. She was the heiress of a large company and her responsibilities have probably caught up, at least that was something the rest would like to presume.
With everyone so busy, the Light Music club canceled practice that day. The band was formed by three seniors, Kotobuki Tsumugi on the keyboard, Hirasawa Yui on the guitar and Mio Akiyama on bass. The rhythm guitarist, Azusa Nakano, joined a year later after hearing the club's performance at the welcoming party. The band had sufficed without a drummer with Mugi's quick fingers to hit snare and base on her keyboard but that was slowly becoming a problem. After all, Mugi only two hands and thus ten fingers. They needed to find a drummer but to no avail. Fliers, concerts, and even dress ups, but to their dismay, none provided them with a drummer.
Mio was walking home that day when she stumbled on an interesting music shop. A bulleting that said "Bassist's Fair, LEFTY and right handed Bass ON 30% OFF!" was clearly printed on the shop entrance. The rarity of a lefty fair was tempting enough but with them on 30% off, there was no holding back for the raven-haired bassist.
The bassist learned not to run even when in a hurry, her mother always told her to remain elegant even in crisis and thus produced "Power walking". Seconds later the bassist was already inside fawning the left-handed basses. 'I-I'll buy everything!' It was something she wanted to say but there was no way the perfect Akiyama daughter would be caught dead doing something so impulsive. Her parents demanded discipline, responsibility, obedience and everything a normal teenager as herself would consider utterly dull. It wasn't pleasing but the bassist always followed what she was told.
A good forty-five minutes had alreadygone by the time Mio decided to snap back into reality. She would usually stay for at least an hour but today her mama had asked her to buy some groceries and that needed attending to. Mio was about to walk out of the store but-
"-and blood spilled everywhere" there was an brown-haired college student and an employee was conversing.
"KYAA!" the bassist curled into a corner repeating 'I can't hear' over and over again like a broken tape recorder.
Most people would have been concerned at the shivering bassist but not this petite brunette. Seeing how frightened she was at just the mention of blood, the brunette wasn't going to stop there. She came closer, bent down and whispered, "There's barnacles on your knees".
The brunette smirked and laughed. People who knew her knew not to rub it in or suffer the consequences.
"AWW! That hurt, you know!"
"Well, you started it and deliberately rubbed it in"
"Who gets scared after hearing blood and barnacles anyway!"
The bassist folded her arms in an as-matter-of-fact manner and twitched her left eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious from what just happened, midget?" the normally calm bassist wouldn't say that but this brunette was being very offensive to her.
"What did you just call me?"
"Oi Ritsu, why don't you just apologize to her already?" The employee the brunette just talked to finally moved from the background.
"What? Why should I? She punched m-"
THUNDER!
The bassist curled into a ball at the corner once more. "I can't hear… I can't hear" the poor thing was at the verge of crying.
"The wrath of the thunderstorm seems to be on her side, Ritsu"
"AGH! The forecast said it would rain too" and as Ritsu looked through the glass window the clouds seemed to agree with the weather report. "I know what you're gonna say and no I am not taking her," pointing at the curled ball "stuck up princess, home"
After hearing that, there was no way Mio was just going to sit there shivering and wait helplessly to let that imposing midget insult her. "Like I'd ever ask for you to drive me home!"
"Well, if you want to get home dry then yah better start walking" There was a mocking smirk on the brunette's face
"I'm leaving!" how she wished to get rid that smirk off Ritsu's face but she was right, the bassist needed to start walking if she wanted to arrive home dry. Unfortunately, the rain poured earlier than they expected. To avoid getting soaked, the bassist stayed under a waiting shed for about thirty minutes, just until the rain stopped. She should have been at home with the groceries her mama asked her twenty minutes ago.
She escaped the wrath of the storm but there was no running from mother
Mio was resting on her bed, arms covering her eyes. She wasn't sleeping, she was thinking and asking herself how anyone can be so deliberately cruel and vulgar to someone they haven't even met before, how this day couldn't get any worse, how her mother could be so exceptionally unreasonable, and why the hell is it raining in January?
Cutting her own trail of thought, the bassist stood up and told herself it was time to do homework. A straight-A student like her couldn't simply idle around thinking of useless things that would only make her feel more irritated.
And so came study time. Studying was second nature to the bassist and unlike most people, she didn't hate it. She didn't like it in particular either but she never complained about it. She didn't complain about anything she was told actually. Things have always been like that, especially with her parents.
Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes and it was all done. It didn't take long enough to get the bassist's thoughts off that irritating midget. 'Her eyes are pretty though'
"NO! I DID NOT just think her eyes looked pretty!" She tried to convince herself but the strangers amber orbs was something she could not completely deny. "Ugh! I must be sick or something" the very disturbed bassist dropped to her bed once again but this time she placed her hands over her forehead, thinking (hoping?) that she might actually have a fever.
Turning her head to the left, the bassist located her iPod and headphones. She needed to cool down and clear head. Listening to a popular song 'Girls in Wonderland'
I can only see what's in front of me, there's no turning back
Today I'll go on with all my might, simply surrounded by what I "love"
"Not happening, with my parents" she sighed inwardly, She felt like a caged animal. A frog in a well. A bird deprived of its wings to sing for her owner.
Like most teenagers, she had many restrictions, only that she actually followed them. Clean your room, be home before six, study without being told, no TV on weekdays, read rather than play silly computer games. And do what you parents tell you to, the fundamental rule of her parents. Her parents were very strict with what they want for their daughter, regardless if she wanted it.
The bassist irritation dispersed after a few loops of song in her iPod. Now, it was time for a bath, a relaxing long bath to wash the worries away. This was the time Mio usually spent just spacing out and giving that complex head of hers a break from all the thinking. She could stay in there for an hour and not mind what happened to the rest of the world.
This little peaceful moment disturbed when she got out of the tub only to realize her handbook, where she kept her ID and a list of club activities and goals, wasn't in her blazer's pockets.
"Now, where could I have-" she didn't know where else to look, Mio Akiyama was after all a very organized species and hardly ever misplaced her belongings. In other words, it was either stolen or dropped and she didn't even notice. The latter, of course, made so much more sense. Who would steal her ID? Sighing, the bassist decided she would think of about it tomorrow. It was getting late and she was tired from all the hell life was throwing at her.
Sleep claimed her faster than usual but that didn'tnecessarily mean it was good thing.
Mio was running through a dark and long tunnel. What she was running away from? Perhaps it washer fears, her parents or maybe it was the boogie man stalking her, she didn't know. She wasn't interested in what was behind her anymore.
There was a light, and she wanted to see what was beyond it.Anything was better than this dark lonesome tunnel. She didn't like this tunnel of dark terror. She didn't like not knowing what was and wasn't there. But just before the end of the tunnel, there was pit of pitch black.She didn't even want to know how deep the obstructivehole was.
The only thing she knew was that she needed to jump through this pit to get to the light. And so with all the force her legs could muster, she jumped.
The little girl inside Mio was screaming in joy as she just barely reached the edge of the other side only to find herself lose footing and slid backwards, falling into that seemingly endless pitch black pit not knowing what she was to find at the bottom.
Thud. "Strangely that didn't hurt" she told herself.
"Oh, but this will" a giant figure of Ritsu was about to step on the bassist
"AH!" the raven-haired bassist shot up from bed covered in cold dampness of her sweat only to realize she was just dreaming. And it was only 2am, there was simply no way Mio was going back to sleep after that.
By the time Mio's alarm clock hit seven o'clock the bassist had already changed into her school uniform. She couldn't sleep after waking up from that dream. She couldn't and didn't want to. She didn't want to risk having to dream that again, once in one night was scary enough. Twice and Mio would be in trauma for a week.
Although sleep deprived, Mio headed down to the kitchen. She found a note on the fridge that said "Me and your Father will be working late and probably won't be home for the next two days. You'll find breakfast on the table and food supply in the fridge for the next two days. –Love Mum"
Relatively happy her parents won't be home to nag of every little thing. A good to all that bad that's been happening. The lone bassist ate her breakfast and headed out the door.
Conspicuously, there was car parked right in front of the Akiyama household's gate. It was a black, shiny convertible that probably belonged to someone rich. This naturally made the bassist stop, and after seeing who was inside that luxury, the idea of going back to sleep became so much better. But no, she was not just about to turn around and pretend that person was outside her house.
"Good Morning, Mio~chan!" that irritatingly familiar voice almost made the bassist want to simply ram herself at the woman
"Why are you here? And how did you know my name and address?" Mio was glaring at Ritsu like a hawk.
"Aren't we grouchy today, princess" it was much too early for the bassists' liking for this, much too early.
"Just tell me what you want and leave".
"I'll drive you to school" Grinning as brightly as she could. "Get in the car and I'll fill you in"
"No! Over my dead body am I going on the same car with you!"
Drop.
"Well~ if you really want to test those clouds' patience~" again the wretched weather was on her side. Mio swore she'd get back at Ritsu tenfold after this.
The bassist clenched her fists but still quietly followed Ritsu inside the convertible. How she wished to punch the baka's grin off her face and send her flying light years away. "Now, tell me what you want".
"Can't we just talk about something else for a while? It's all business with you" the brunette said as she started the engine and drove.
"No and my school, Sakuragaoka's in the opposite direction"
"Alright, alright. No need to pull a knife out on me" Ritsu said while pulling out a small notebook, one that looked very familiar to the bassist. "I do believe this belongs to you, Mio-chuan~"
"GIVE THAT BACK!" the bassist was now crouching up on her seat, trying to reach for the handbook but the brunette simply opened a window and stretched her arm out.
"Nah-uh, not 'till we get to you school or~" a sly grin was evident on the brunette's face. "-you say a cute thank you"
"What! Why should I thank you? When did you even get this?".
"Well, I'm driving you to school and I did find your ID, I also came all the way here. Oh and just before you left the shop yesterday".
"What? Why didn't you give it back then?" sulking in her defeat, the bassist sat back and decided to just wait until they reached school and she'd be free from this intruding baka at last.
"Well…"
It took about five minutes by car to reach school, less than half the time she spent from simply walking. Though this certainly had risks, like nearly hit a pre-school girl, breaking speed limit and being nearly run over by a truck but they, and the car, did arrive to school in one piece.
'I think that just took half my lifespan' the bassist thought to herself as she stepped out of the convertible.
"Here you go then-" Ritsu said as she handed Mio the handbook. "-pick you up at 5pm"
"Hell. No. I'm never going on that car again. EVER!"
The brunette watched as the raven-haired bassist walked beyond the gates and entered into the large building. When the bassist was finally out of sight, "We'll see about that, Akiyama Mio". The brunette left moments later.
DING DONG!
Today was a stress filled day for the bassist, classes felt longer than how Mio remembered them. Images of the brunette would pop up in her mind every so often during class. She tried shoving the said images deep within her mind only to have them resurface once again. The bassist seriously did not need all that distraction but the stubborn image of the brunette would simply not leave her mind. The bassists' thoughts irritated her, just what had the bassist done to her that make's that brunette want to torture her so much?
The day went by like a blur to the bassist who was almost at the point of a nervous breakdown. She didn't even bother to listen to a thing the teacher was saying. She didn't talk to anyone, afraid she might accidentally snap her temper at them.
"At least, I won't have to see that Baka ever again" she thought as she packed her back. Oh how she got that wrong.
Checking her handbook to remind herself what club activities need attending to, she opened the small booklet.
"T-This is… Tainaka Ritsu… damn that midget"
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: Please note that this has no outline or what so ever. I can't tell where in carnations this is going or how it'll end.
Sorry if they're OOC. I'm really not that experienced in writing, Thanks again to ghikiJ-san for all the help (and there was a lot of helping done). Leave me a review of what you think, constructive criticism is highly recommended. Knives, flames or whatever you call it are all accepted.