Part 1
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Tainaka Ritsu had lost her hair band. She had searched every nook and cranny in her house, through her closet, under her bed, in her brother's drawers and even in the bathrooms. Her trademark hair accessory was nowhere to be found. It was a nightmare, a catastrophe.
The end of the world.
"I still can't find it!" Ritsu burst into her brother's room again, nearly ripping the door off its hinges.
The young boy stared at his sister, annoyed at the fact that she had barged into his room for the fourth time this morning. "Nee-chan...Is it really that important to wear it?"
"Of course! Otherwise, I'll look weird without it!" The panicked girl grabbed tufts of her hair in her hands, dropping to her knees as she screamed in anguish.
"We're gonna be late for school if you don't hurry." He finished packing up his schoolbag as he stood up to leave the room, ignoring the wriggling mass of Ritsu rolling around on the floor.
"Wait! I thought you were going to help meee!" She grabbed at her brother's legs, begging him not to leave, but he swiftly kicked away her hands and dashed down the stairs, rolling his eyes.
Sitting on the floor, Ritsu hung her head dejectedly. Then, her face turned a bright red as she suddenly remembered something. "I...think of how your parted hair fits you so well..." She whispered to herself, falling backwards on the floor as a rush of thoughts filled her mind. The hot blush grew deeper as more lines came to her. "But I want to see how you look with your bangs down..." Rolling onto her side, Ritsu let out a frustrated growl, pulling her hair.
"RITSU! What are you doing up there? Your brother's already gone!"
The yell came from downstairs and Ritsu hastily picked herself up, rushing to her room as she gave her reply. "I'm coming! Just go to work already!" Scrambling to fit her books into her bag, Ritsu paused as she saw the creased piece of paper sitting on her table. Without a second thought, she zipped up her bag, snatching up the folded up letter and stuffed it into her pocket.
"Oha-yo~" Ritsu flashed her friends a cheeky smile as she entered the classroom. Instead of a greeting, she was met with two pairs of wide eyed stares. "Uhh...Something on my face...?"
Yui stared at the girl blankly, pointing a finger quite rudely at Ritsu. "Who are you?"
"You serious...?" The drummer's jaw dropped, her eye twitching. She looked over at Mugi expectantly.
Laughing sheepishly under Ritsu's intense stare, the blonde replied in her ojou-sama like politeness. "Umm...I'm sorry, but have we met before?"
"So all that time we spent together was nothing!? How can you not recognize me!?" Ritsu slammed her hands on the desk, her voice dripped with desperation.
Mugi gasped. "Could it be...?" Her eyes lit up and a wide smile spread across her face.
"Yes??" Again, Ritsu looked at the rich girl, her heart full of high hopes.
"Anna-chan!"
"Wrong!" Ritsu pouted, crossing her arms as she let out a huff of anger. "It's Ritsu. Ri-tsu. Riiii-tsu. Do I need to write it out for you?"
"Ah! Ricchan!" Yui finally got the picture as she stretched out a hand, pulling back Ritsu's front bangs.
With that, Mugi recognized her as well. "Ohh!"
"Tada!" Yui let go of Ritsu's bangs and pointed. "Stranger!" Pulling up the girl's bangs again, she did a makeshift drumroll, pointing once again. "Ricchan!"
Sitting at her desk, Mugi clapped at Yui's impromptu magic show.
"What...Are you guys in elementary school?" Ritsu sighed and set her bag down on her desk, taking a seat.
"But, but Ricchan, you look really different with your bangs down! They're really long, but they make you look kinda cool." Yui smiled in her blissfully ignorant and completely honest way.
"That's right! You almost look like one of those famous rock stars with your intentionally messy hairstyle!" Mugi commented innocently, turning to Yui as they discussed who Ritsu reminded them of.
"I'm glad you guys think so, but I really have to get a new hair band. I just don't feel like Ritsu without it." Slumping down in her chair, the brunette let out a long sigh.
"Okay, quiet down everyone! Class is starting!" The teacher walked through the door, calling to order the start of the school day as the students scrambled to their seats. "Today-" She began, but suddenly stopped as she spotted Ritsu.
"H-hai, sensei?" Ritsu cowered under the glare she received.
"Excuse me, but are you in my class? If you aren't, I'm afraid you'll have to return to your proper classroom." The tall woman pushed up her glasses with one finger, narrowing her eyes.
"I'm Tainaka Ritsu..." Ritsu could feel the stares on her now, the whispers floating around viciously.
"You're Tainaka?" The teacher stared at her sceptically, her classmates around her doing the same.
"Tada! Ricchan!" Yui jumped in and pulled up Ritsu's bangs, and a sudden wave of recognition swept through the classroom.
"Wow. That scared me. I almost thought you were one of those delinquent transfer students!" The bespectacled woman let out a hearty laugh, some of her students joining in as well. However, amidst the laughter, Ritsu could hear some girls talking in a not very quiet voice.
"Ne, ne...I never knew Tainaka-san could look so look so much like a yankee!"
"Well, with the hair it's no surprise. She doesn't tuck in her shirt either."
"But I still think she looks better with her hair down. Kinda cool, don't you think?"
Sighing for the umpteenth time that morning, Ritsu gave up trying to make sense of the situation. Everyone was entitled to their own opinion anyway. Not like they could make a difference in her life, right? The only opinion that mattered wasn't here.
"Okay, settle down. We have a lot of work to do about our play for the winter festival." The teacher called up the class rep as she took a seat at her desk, leaving the hassle to the trusty iincho-san.
"Thank you, sensei." The prim and proper student nodded at the teacher, turning to address her fellow classmates. "Okay, so for our play, are we sure we want to do Wuthering Heights?"
"Haaaai~" A collective agreement rang out from the girls, small conversations sprouting up here and there.
"There are lots of male roles...and the drama club has the stage booked for like three weeks..."
"We can just hold class productions right here!"
"Yeah! And we could set up a cafe for the audience!"
"That's a good idea. We can have all the non-actors be the waitresses!"
Ideas burst out from each and every corner of the room, the classroom erupting into a mix of conversations.
"H-hey, hey! Don't get ahead of yourselves here! We still need actors for the play and costumes...setting...and I think a cafe's pretty hard to do on top of all this..." The class rep was getting a migraine, wishing the teacher would come and help her or something.
"I vote Tainaka-san to be Heathcliff-sama!" A hand shot up as a student caught the class' attention.
"W-wait, what!? Heathcliff's the main guy isn't he? Why do I have to do it!?" Ritsu stood up abruptly, her eyes pleading with the iincho desperately.
"Hmm..." The class rep sent a scrutinizing stare at Ritsu, contemplating for a moment. "How many people vote for Tainaka Ritsu to be Heathcliff?"
At that, a sea of hands shot up and Ritsu's face paled. Her day just couldn't get any worse.
"Okay. Then it's settled. Tainaka-san's going to be our Heathcliff. Any ideas on Catherine?"
"I think Kotobuki-san should be Catherine! She has such an oujo-sama air to her!" The girl squealed and the whole class erupted into laughter.
Writing down the ideas on the board, the class rep looked over at Mugi. "Kotobuki-san, are you alright with that?"
Mugi was all smiles, nodding enthusiastically. She smiled serenely to herself, content with the situation in the classroom. Being at an all girl's school really was nice.
At lunchtime, Tainaka Ritsu was the new fad in class 2-B. Girls were crowded around her desk, shooting non-stop questions at the girl. Ritsu searched for a way out, but all around her, she could only see uniform clad bodies blocking her way.
"Ritsu-san, you play in a band don't you? Are you guys going to perform again?"
"Are you good friends with that bassist who flashed her panties last year?"
"Why the sudden change in hairstyle!"
"Do you use gel?"
"Do you have a boyfriend, Tainaka-san!?"
"I can't wait to see you as Heathcliff-sama~"
The voices started to overlap, becoming jumbled as they filled Ritsu's head. "Uhh...I don't know, yes, I don't know and no. Uhh...Aghh! Mugi, Yui! Save meee!"
"Ne, Mugi-chan. Who makes your bentos?" Yui stole a chunk of omelette from the girl's lunchbox, lighting up as she chomped away on it. "Ahh~ Umai!"
"My maid makes my lunch every morning. She always prepares a full course meal, but I keep telling her that I don't have time at lunch to finish all that! Funny, isn't it?" Mugi giggled to herself, leaving Yui gaping.
"Huh...Maid...Ui makes my lunch...so is Ui my maid?" Yui pondered the connection, wondering if Ui would ever wear a maid outfit.
"Welcome home, Onee-sama!"
Yui drifted off as her mind was preoccupied with a meido-fuku clad sister of hers.
"Ahhh! I can't stand it anymore!" Ritsu stood up abruptly, pushing through the crowd as she dashed out of the room.
"Ricchan!" Yui was shocked at the drummer's hasty exit, looking about at the disappointed girls in the room. "Maybe I should go after her..." The guitarist thought hard, peering out the open door and glancing back at Mugi's bento, which was still pretty full...
"I'm sure Ritsu just needs a little bit of time to herself." Mugi smiled her unwavering smile, giggling to herself.
Her eyes still glued onto Mugi's bento, Yui made her decision. "Ne, Mugi, are you still hungry...?"
"Ah mou!" Ritsu stood in front of the mirror in the girl's change room, scrubbing at her dress shirt with a wet paper towel. "Stupid people with hot coffee not watching where they're going..." She muttered under her breath, her brows furrowed. Thanks to some careless person, there was an ugly brown stain down the front of her shirt and her skirt. Not to mention the fact that it was soaking wet and made her smell like coffee.
Letting out a sigh of frustration, Ritsu threw her blazer onto the bench. She walked over to her locker, turning the dial on her lock as she opened the door with a creak. Luckily, her jersey was in there, so she had something to wear home. Sighing again, the drummer pulled off her tie, unbuttoning her shirt as she slipped her arms through her jersey. Stepping out of her skirt, she hurriedly pulled the track pants on, wincing as the cool air brushed against the slight burns on her thighs.
"Today's just been horrible..." The brunette pouted, folding up her clothes neatly as she made her way out of the change room. "I better get a new hair band after school today. Without it, I'm getting all the bad luck..."
"Gomen!" Ritsu bowed to Yui and Mugi as she apologized. "I really can't stand another minute without my hairband! I've got to go to Shibuya or something to buy a new one." The drummer laughed nervously, scratching her head sheepishly.
"Aww it's okay Ricchan, but it'll be boring without you or Mio-chan." Yui pouted, rocking back and forth on her heels as she watched Ritsu change her shoes.
"Mio's not going to club today either? Why's that?" Ritsu slipped her jacket on, doing the buttons up as she wrapped her muffler around her.
"I think Mio-chan has to do some errands for her mother today. She came by at lunch to tell us, but you weren't there." Mugi blinked, looking to the side as various thoughts ran through her mind. Ritsu blinked at that too, wondering whether she should feel relieved or disappointed.
"Oh...is that right...? Well, if you see Mio tomorrow then, don't tell her I skipped! I'm sure she'll yell at me for being lazy or something." Ritsu rolled her eyes, waving as the girls said their goodbyes.
"Gah...It's so cold!" The brunette jogged out into the school courtyard, shivering as she clutched her long coat against herself. A cold breeze blew past and she could feel the wind go through her track pants. It wasn't much better than wearing a skirt, but she would choose pants over skirts any day.
Walking down the street, Ritsu froze in her tracks as she recognized a familiar figure walking just meters ahead of her. She had silky black hair, a fuzzy blue muffler and long slender legs. It was unmistakeably Akiyama Mio, their expert bassist, the Dangerous Queen. Ritsu snickered quietly at that, applauding her genius at coming up with that name.
"R-Ritsu?"
At the sound of Mio's voice, Ritsu panicked and darted off to the side, diving behind a bush. She just couldn't Mio see her like this, without her headband.
Mio had turned around, staring at the road behind her, her brows furrowed in confusion. "I swear I heard Ritsu's stupid laugh just now...Maybe I'm hearing things..." The bassist shrugged it off, continuing down the sidewalk.
Watching from behind the shrubs, Ritsu waited until Mio rounded the corner before she determined that the coast was clear. "Guh...what was that? I so do not sound stupid..." She rubbed her elbow, wincing at the swelling that was surfacing from that crazy dive.
Shoving her hands in her pocket, Ritsu scoffed, turning around to find another route to the station. She just couldn't risk being seen by Mio again. Feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, Ritsu knew that she would just die if Mio saw her like this.
"Thank you!" Mio flashed a smile to the store owner as she walked out, her hands full with heavy grocery bags. She flexed her fingers, wincing at the cold that seeped through her mittens. Pausing on the sidewalk, the bassist looked up at the dark sky, wondering why winter had to make the sun set at 4:30 and why it had to be so cold.
Shivering, Mio shrunk down, burying her nose in her muffler. She passed by the stores on the side of the road, the warm lights looked so inviting. Suddenly, something caught her attention. Mio stopped and stared at the person buying a box of steaming takoyaki. It was a slim figure in a long grey jacket, a very familiar grey jacket. Looking again, she was certain that Ritsu had a jacket just like that. However, as the person turned, Mio could feel her cheeks flush with a light embarrassment.
She hurriedly rushed past, her pulse suddenly racing. Tearing her eyes away, Mio scoffed, laughing at her own reaction. She was acting like an airhead schoolgirl drooling over some pretty boy. A guy with really cool hair... "W-What am I saying..." Mio shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts, but she stole another backwards glance. She didn't know what it was about the guy, but his messy hair framed his slender face so well, making her heart thump against her ribcage in way she only ever felt once.
If she wasn't such a cynic, she could've sworn it was love at first sight.
A/N: This is my first K-ON fanfiction :D Not sure about characterization, but if you want me to continue this, please leave a review! Thanks for reading~