Chapter 1
Otonokizaka High School, the school known for being the birth place of legendary idol group μ's. Some time had passed since the group had taken their leave, and, though they were gone, the school continued to be a bustling hub of activity for students of all kinds. One such was a second year by the name of Riko Sakurauchi. A relatively unassuming girl, she was a bit shy but also well-liked, and was quite good at playing the piano. Though it was only her second year, Riko was beginning to get a bit bored by her school life; there was nothing wrong with her, she had simply gotten herself into a bit of a mental rut. She'd tried doing things to… spice up life, like hanging out with her friends often or taking long walks through the streets of Akiba, but nothing did much to help, so she just resigned herself back into her routine.
Winter break had just ended and the unfortunate necessity that is school was back in session. The first day back, Riko had gotten to school a bit early, as she had become accustomed to doing. The peacefulness of the quiet classroom gave her some time to think and from her seat by the window, she could look out into the courtyard and see the trees blooming, or rather, where they would be blooming. With nothing in particular on her mind, Riko began absentmindedly playing through some of her piano pieces in her head, until something caught her eye. The something in question was a brown mass moving through the corner of her vision in the courtyard. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the brown mass was in fact hair and that hair was attached to an unfamiliar head. When you sit near a window, you somewhat unintentionally begin to recognize the faces of everyone in the school as they pass through their days, and in the months she'd spent staring out her window, Riko had never seen this girl before. Though she couldn't get the best look at her, the girl seemed a bit lost, and Riko thought she saw a pair of glasses on her face. She was wearing the Otonokizaka uniform, and from the color alone Riko could tell that she was, A first year student huh? I wonder what her story is. Before Riko could ponder the thought too much, the first bell rang and students began filing into the classrooms.
Once everyone was in their seats, the teacher stood up at her podium in the front. "Ok class, I hope you all had a good winter break. I know this is a bit sudden, but we have a student transferring in today, please give her a warm welcome." At this prompting, the door to the classroom opened up and who stepped in but the student that Riko had seen earlier. From her closer point of view, Riko could now get a look at her and see more than just that she had glasses. Though she'd seemed a little nervous and lost a few minutes ago, the mysterious girl standing in the classroom seemed completely calm. She had a confident stride, a very pretty face, and… no glasses. Riko could have sworn she saw a pair of frames on her face earlier, but now, they were nowhere to be found. "Hi everyone! My name is You Watanabe and I just got into town this week. My dad is a sailor and someday I hope to follow in his footsteps. I hope we can all get along! Yousoro!" When she said the last word, she winked and gave a little salute with it. For unexplainable reasons, Riko's heart was suddenly struck with an emotion she'd never felt before, but it was warm and pleasant. The rest of the class seemed to have similar sentiments as well, as a dull roar had erupted in the classroom. The teacher clapped her hands and reigned back in the rowdy crowd. "Alright alright everyone, you can talk more about Mrs. Watanabe later, but she's going to need someone to help show her around later, do I have any volunteers?" Though she had never been one to do it before, Riko wanted to get closer to this student, she wanted more of the feeling she'd just experienced it. I can do this! Be confident Riko, you can do this! Raising her hand, she nervously began volunteering herself. "I could do it tea-" "I'll do it!" "No, I'll do it!" Riko was swiftly, and quite loudly, interrupted by multiple other girls in the class. You had seen Riko raise her hand first, but she was startled by the sudden uproar in front of her. The teacher, much to Riko's disappointment, chose one of the louder students to be You's guide and promptly assigned You a seat towards the back of the class. Riko felt a bit dejected, but when You was moving to her spot, she briefly locked eyes with her and flashed a big smile, setting Riko's heart aflutter again. She didn't know how she'd do it, but Riko became determined to know more about this girl; something was beginning to change inside of her and while she didn't know what the change would bring, she was surprisingly anxious to find out.
Sometimes, Riko felt like she was living a scene right out of a manga. For most of the class, any second that wasn't being spent working on classwork was spent hovering around You's desk, berating her with questions about her past and her hobbies; Riko did not partake in the mobbing as she didn't think it was the… nicest thing that the class could be doing. You seemed a bit startled by everything, and when everyone left, Riko could see that she was incredibly worn out. The day went on like this and by the end of the day You looked as though she'd had enough, but she still put on a smile when people talked to her. Riko was going to try talking to her when school ended, but apparently the student guide had snatched her up almost instantly when the last bell rung. With the mental and emotional rollercoaster that had been Riko's brain all day, she too felt a bit worn out, so she retreated to the solace of the music room for rejuvenation.
The sky today was dark gray and filled with clouds that seemed ready to spout rain or snow at the flip of a switch. Riko, as she positioned herself on the piano bench, thought they were quite beautiful in a melancholy sort of way. She was going to place sheet music on the stand but decided against it; today, it was just going to be her and the piano, a conversation of emotions between two friends. Closing her eyes, she hopped off her emotional rollercoaster and just began to play. Were anyone to walk into that music room they would be awestruck by what they heard: a symphony of sounds that simultaneously had no order but flowed together in a perfect way. She had no idea how long she played, but she was so absorbed in the music that she didn't really care. Eventually, her melody came to an end and Riko felt renewed, like she'd just woken up from a long nap. She was enjoying the moments after her performance still deep in thought but suddenly, she heard clapping.
Opening her eyes, she saw two people sitting nearby, evidently having been at least a temporary audience to her playing: it was You and her guide. "We were finishing our tour and heard music, so we decided to listen in, I hope you don't mind." The guide explained, answering Riko's question before she even asked it. "A-ah, no, that's fine, I was just doing a bit of… warming up." Riko had most certainly not been warming up, but it was a much easier explanation. "Wow, that was really good! Your playing is beautiful!" You had stepped forward and was now standing in front of Riko. "I saw you in class but I didn't get the chance to meet you, I'm You Watanabe, but you can just call me You." She said this with a smile on her face and extended her hand towards Riko. "I-I'm Riko, Riko Sakurauchi, it's nice to meet you." Riko returned the gesture and was surprised by how soft and warm You's hands were. "I've got to be getting home soon, but would it possibly be okay if I came back and hear you play again? I really enjoyed it." Riko was surprised by the comment but was also extremely happy. "Please do!" The two exchanged smiles once more as the pair made their way out of the room. The feeling from earlier had creeped back and Riko could feel herself blushing profusely. Oh my gosh. D-did she like it? Does she like me? Was she just saying that to be nice? Her mind became overwhelmed with these thoughts, worries and excitements equally scattered about. Her heart too frantic to continue well, Riko decided to just go home and collect her thoughts for the day.
For the first time in a long while, Riko was genuinely excited to go to school. Unlike some people who would have to greatly adjust their schedules to try and see someone early at school, she had the benefit of already being an early riser. On the ever adventurous trek from her home to school, Riko began composing something other than music: a game plan. She'd made plenty of friends before, but something was different this time and this something did not like making it easy for her. How should I approach her? I don't even know what she likes… Is she into sports? Music? Nothing? Eventually, she settled on the idea of inviting You to eat lunch with her, a very bold step for a heart. She thought about everything she was going to do, from what she would say to how she would say it, all the way till she reached her seat. Partaking of said seat, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, a task she wished were easier. As she noted from her walk in, You hadn't arrived at school yet, but Riko was determined to be ready for when she did. To pass time, Riko was doing whatever she could to try and keep her mind off her goal, reading and studying for the day being the primary means of that. The clock kept ticking; no You. It was now getting dangerously close to the final bell and You still hadn't shown up; seeds of worry began to spout in Riko. Is she ok? Did something happen? Did I scare her off yesterday? Oh I hope she is ok. In an exquisitely timely manner, You managed to run into the class mere seconds before the bell went off. Riko was delighted to see that she seemed to be doing well, but was also slightly disheartened that now her plan wouldn't work, at least not now. Resigning herself to try again during break, she focused her mind to schoolwork in an effort to make time go by by even a second faster.
The ever elusive break finally came and Riko was prepared to make her move. Well, she was ready, until she looked and saw that, once again, You had unintentionally attracted a huge crowd. I guess everyone else has the same idea as me huh? Riko felt a bit dejected that she had missed two opportunities to talk to You, and since lunch would almost certainly be the same story, she resolved herself to try her plan tomorrow. The time between lunch and break passed much slower than Riko wanted, and when the meal finally arrived she couldn't help but release a big sigh. The only place she could think to be alone, she began taking her lunch to the music room to get away from the hectic classroom. However, on her way out, she was stopped by someone quickly grabbing her hand, and when she looked, the owner of that hand was none other than You. "Ah, I'm sorry everyone, but Riko-chan already promised to eat lunch with me!" Upon saying this, You got up and put her arm around Riko's shoulders in a very friendly manner, but the action planted You's mouth by the redhead's ears. The words "Please help me!" came in a whisper and Riko slowly put together what was going on. The desk You had previously been occupying was, once again, surrounded by classmates, but this time they were all holding lunch sacks, and with You at her shoulder, they were all giving menacing gazes to Riko. Not knowing what else to do, she put on a forced smiled and managed to get out a very unconvincing, "Y-yes, we're going to lunch, c-come on You-chan!" At this juncture the pair waddled their way out of the room, the harsh gazes still bearing down on them. Not knowing where else to go, Riko went where her mind had already decided upon: music room.
In the most twisted way she could have thought possible, Riko somehow ended up getting her wish. The two finally reached the promised land of the music room and were both exhausted (they ran there merely because of the confusion and adrenaline of the situation). Riko wearily moved herself to one of the benches in the room while You elected to simply slide down and take up residence on the door. After taking a moment to catch her breath, You looked over at her unintentional companion. "I'm sorry for draggin you into this, those girls will just not let up… You don't have to eat lunch with me if you don't want to, I can go somewhere else. You looked like you were going to eat by yourself, sorry about that again…" The irony of the situation and its circumstances finally caught up to Riko and a laugh escaped from her mouth. "No, no it's fine. They certainly do seem to be a bit pushy. I'm glad for the company, I'd like it if you stayed!" She hadn't exactly intended to say that last bit, but the smile You gave made her glad she did. Much to her surprise, You pulled out a pair of black framed glasses and put them on her face as she prepared her meal. So she DOES wear them! She looks… really pretty… I wonder why she doesn't wear them more? Taking a bit of a leap of faith (this day was already crazy, a little more bravery couldn't make it worse could it?), she took her lunch and sat down next to the brown haired girl.
A few minutes passed in silence (Riko was too nervous to start a conversation), but eventually You asked her about what she did for fun, how she got into the piano, things like that. They both continued this slightly investigational rapport throughout the whole time and both had many laughs from stories of the other. Riko learned that You was a swimmer and was probably planning on joining the swim team when they start accepting members, as well as many other interesting tidbits. Before they knew it, lunch was almost over and they had to, unfortunately, go back to class. Dusting themselves off, the two were left facing each other. Suddenly, You seemed to have an idea. "Riko-chan, do you have a phone?" The question caught her very much by surprise. "Y-yes, I do, but I don't use it much…" You began beaming. "I just got a phone when I moved here and haven't gotten to use it yet, would you be the first number I get?" The words filled Riko with a mixture of awe and excitement, inciting a reciprocated beaming smile. "I'd love to be!" The exchange occurred and it was finally time to head back. Riko had thought they were going to walk back together but You started off in a different direction. "I have to grab something real fast, I'll see you in the classroom. Thanks again Riko-chan!" You broke into a light jog down the hallway, leaving Riko to stand there in her own thoughts. The walk back to the classroom was spent happily reflecting back on what had just happened. Hoping that today was not a single encounter, Riko felt a bit of a spring in her step, and she could feel her outlook on life beginning to brighten. Just like this morning, for the first time in a while, Riko was feeling a bit excited for the unknown that was her future, and she hoped that her new friend would play a big part in it.
