We have reached the second half of this countdown stream, is everybody still following along? Today's oneshot was an interesting one, so I hope that you all enjoy it! Even so, I should come clean and admit that this oneshot was probably one of the harder ones to write; maybe even as much as yesterday's.
A special thank you goes to the amazing Reiriniverse from Tumblr who made the cover image of today's oneshot. You are truly and genuinely amazing!
Disclaimer's the same as always: I do not own BanG Dream! Girls Band Party
It was a bright summer day. The type of summer day where everyone would want to spend the entirety of it outside, whether that be doing specific activities while they could or just enjoying the warmth of the sun shining high above them.
This could not be truer for anyone than it was for Roselia's well-known and beloved bassist: Imai Lisa.
"All right, I'm heading out now!" Lisa called cheerfully back inside the house, making sure that her parents knew that she was leaving before she actually did. With a smile on her face, Lisa adjusted the strap of her bag that was digging in her shoulder a little before she gently closed the front door behind her.
Lisa had not really been looking forward to this day very much, knowing full well that this was one of those weird days where she was free from work and there was no band practice. Even so, Lisa nodded to herself confidently, having accepted this and making it her mission to enjoy the rest of the day to the best of her ability.
It wasn't every day that such a beautiful day rolled around, after all. So Lisa knew that she would have to take advantage of the weather while she could
"Let's see…" Lisa muttered softly, more to herself than anyone else as she looked around her and tried to think of things to do. Smiling to herself when she had finally decided what she could be doing today, Lisa headed out after having straightened out her clothes a little.
Several hours had passed since Lisa left her home and had gone off on her little adventure for the day and it was only now, Lisa noted with a somewhat annoyed huff at the delays the trains had, that Lisa arrived at her destination.
"It sure has been a while, huh?" Lisa said fondly as she walked a couple steps closer to the wooden hut that was towering well above her head not too far from her. As Lisa gently stroked the door with her open palm, relishing the memories that started to resurface as she did so, Lisa heard another voice.
"Hello? Who is there?" a voice that sounded surprisingly familiar to Lisa's ear came from somewhere inside the hut. Even though Lisa thought that she recognized it, the way that the voice came out of nowhere was enough to make the brunette flinch.
No, Lisa knew full well that the voice did more than just make her flinch…
Before Lisa could do or say anything in response, the door of the hut opened and a girl of Lisa's age stepped out of it cautiously. Flinching slightly at the bright sun that was shining down upon her head from above, the girl who Lisa now knew was who had called out from inside turned around until her eyes locked with Lisa's.
"Lisa-san!" the brunette exclaimed once she had recognized Lisa. It only took Lisa a fraction of a second to recognize who the girl was.
"Maya? What are you doing here?" Lisa asked before she knew what she was saying, looking at the girl while trying to silently figure out the answer to her own question. The drummer of Pastel*Palettes, Yamato Maya, didn't seem like she was in a significantly different shape than she usually was, and Lisa quickly gave up.
"Well, you see…" Maya began as she trailed off, using her right hand to rub the back of her head as she looked between Lisa and the hut that she had just gotten out of. Unable to come up with the right words, Maya sighed before motioning for Lisa to follow her back inside, "It would be faster and easier to just show you directly, Lisa-san."
As the two girls stepped inside the wooden place, with Maya leading the way, Lisa had to cover her mouth as soon as she saw what Maya had wanted to show her. The hut wasn't anything like she had remembered it to be; it was clean and well taken care of, something that Lisa had not expected to see.
Gone were the cobwebs that used to decorate the interior of the hut for years. Gone was the thick layer of dust that covered the floor like an unwanted carpet. And even though there wasn't any source of light inside, it almost seemed as if it was radiating light on its own.
"Maya… did you do this?" Lisa breathed out as she still tried to take everything in. No matter how much or how long she looked at everything around her, Lisa still couldn't believe that it was real. That the hut had seen so many changes ever since.
"Actually, yes, I did…" Maya trailed off, slightly embarrassed at the look that Lisa was giving her soon after. Shuffling around to try and escape Lisa's stare, Maya sheepishly added, "Lisa-san might remember her parents pay someone to help maintain and take care of this place over the spring."
"And that was you?" Lisa asked, guessing correctly as Maya nodded in confirmation. Lisa took another couple of seconds to admire the work that Maya had evidently put into her task before she turned back to Maya, "I must say, Maya… I'm very impressed. Thank you for all your hard work!"
"It was nothing, really…" Maya shuffled around, becoming more and more embarrassed at the praise that she was getting. Even though her time in her band had helped her a lot with accepting and receiving praise from those around her, Lisa had effectively been bombarding her with it ever since they had run into each other.
And that was when Maya remembered something.
"Lisa-san, if I may," Maya began, waiting for Lisa to give her the permission to continue. When Lisa finally did, Maya asked the question that had suddenly popped up in her mind, "Lisa-san's parents were paying me to get this place ready by fall, so is there a reason why Lisa-san came here today?"
"I guess you could say that there is…" Lisa began a reply but let the words linger in the air as she gently ran her fingers on the wooden walls. It wasn't that Lisa didn't know how to answer Maya's question or that she didn't want to; being here brought back memories that started to flood her entire being.
Memories that Lisa cherished. Memories that Lisa knew she would have to share after everything that Maya had been doing for her.
"Maya, do you have some time?" Lisa asked, sounding surprisingly calm and quiet in an effort to try and hide the emotion that was trying to get to the surface. Unfortunately for Lisa, she wasn't the best at hiding her emotions, and Maya was quick to notice what Lisa was doing.
With a small smile, Lisa turned around to look at Maya for the first time since they had met that day, "I want to tell you something."
"And that is what happened," Lisa finally finished with a soft smile on her face, picking up her cup of tea and taking a sip as she eyed Maya to see her potential reactions to what Lisa had just said.
About an hour had passed since Lisa had asked Maya to follow her to a nearby a café where the two girls sat down and got something to drink. The two of them were not just there to enjoy the nice snacks and drinks, however; Lisa had taken the opportunity to tell Maya everything about the hut ranging from how it came to be to how much that wooden hut had meant to her.
"I see… so that is why it is so important for Lisa-san…" Maya muttered softly to herself, her gaze focused on the table as she tried to avoid looking at Lisa directly. The story that she had just been told was a heavy one, and Maya felt very privileged and honored to have been trusted enough to be told all of it.
"And that is why I want to thank you again for all the hard work you've put into maintaining it, Maya," Lisa said as she took the initiative to keep the conversation going. Maya looked like she was caught slightly off-guard at Lisa's words, but Lisa didn't give Maya a lot of time to recover, "With all the time that Yukina and I spent here in the past, it has really grown to become something important to me."
"I-It was no problem at all, Lisa-san," Maya said quickly and hurriedly but not fast enough; Lisa had seen the look on Maya's face already and Maya knew this. Thus, in an effort to try and shift the focus to something else, Maya asked, "So it really is that important to Lisa-san and Yukina-san?"
"Yes, it was—no, it still is. Yukina may not have been able to spend much time with it after what happened a few years ago, but it still is… something very important to me—to us," Lisa corrected herself as she lowered her head and gazed at the swirling surface of her drink in her cup. As the momentary period of silence grew longer and longer, Lisa shook her head to try and get herself back to her senses before she added with a smile, "So seeing it like that really did make me happy."
"I'm glad I could help…" Maya trailed off, scratching her cheek as she didn't know what else to say. As Maya struggled to come up with something, she noticed the people walking outside and that had somehow given her an idea. Clearing her throat and turning to look at Lisa, Maya asked in as steady of a voice as she could, "Since it is so important to Lisa-san, is there anything that you want me to do or keep an eye out for in the cleaning and maintenance?"
"Nope, I trust your judgment, Maya," Lisa smiled, taking a moment to let her words sink into Maya before she began digging around in her purse. As Maya looked on in curiosity and interest to see what Lisa was doing, Lisa finally managed to fish out what she was looking for.
"Maya, is there any day where we could meet and hang out again? I'd like to get to know you better and also as a thank you gift for all your hard work," Lisa beamed as she looked at Maya, waiting anxiously for the reply. Lisa had even brought up the calendar application on her phone to allow her to block out a date.
And what was Maya doing?
"E-Eh?" Maya stuttered as she blinked a couple of times. Lisa had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh and could only say it again after several seconds had passed for Maya to regain her composure.
Once Maya was sure that she had understood what Lisa was saying, she took out her own phone and started to look through it herself. Much to her dismay, however, Maya saw that her schedule was completely filled for the coming few weeks.
"Uh… I'm sorry, Lisa-san, but I'll be really busy with school and my band the next few weeks," Maya said with an apologetic smile as she held up her phone to show Lisa what she had meant. Lisa was unable to stop herself from grimacing at all the red that she saw and Maya, noticing this, quickly added, "But I should be free in June again. Does the last Sunday of June sound good to Lisa-san?"
"The last Sunday of… yeah, that works out perfectly, actually!" Lisa said with a bright look on her face as she saw that she was free on that day as well. Recording the day on her phone's calendar, Lisa nodded happily to herself before turning back to Maya with a smile, "Then that's settled."
And with their plans having been set in stone, the two girls then went on to enjoy the rest of their day in the warm summer breeze together.
And that wraps up today's oneshot. I hope that you all enjoyed it despite the fact that I felt it was one of the harder oneshots for me to write, please leave a review telling me what you thought, and until tomorrow for the next oneshot! Take care!
Countdown currently on: four!