"See that up there, Mio?" Ritsu asked, directing a finger at the night sky. "That's our star."
"Actually," Mio began, "that star is called Marianaluke."
"Let's not bring constellations into this," Ritsu said, waving her friend's knowledgeable comment off.
"If you studied, you'd know that's not a constellation," Mio replied, feeling slight hopelessness concerning her friend. "A foreign guy named Luke bought that for his wife Mariana back in 2004. It's legally theirs."
"Well, I called dibs on it back in 2001!" Ritsu argued with a pout.
"Need I remind you we were just kids?" Mio questioned in monotone.
The ever energetic Ritsu had invited her slightly more reserved friend Mio over to her house for a study session, and after relentless hours of pleading on Ritsu's behalf, the submissive girl finally agreed on going. The two diligently studied the subject in matter, snacking and occasionally chatting as they did. After a while, their conversation led some things to others and Ritsu suggested they go up to the roof to stargaze.
"I'm thinking we should sue them," Ritsu huffed with folded arms.
"I think that would be overdoing it, Ritsu," Mio opinioned with a sigh.
Ritsu suddenly sprang up and balled up a fist which she lifted to the dark sky. "I'll get us back that star for sure, Mio, you'll see!"
Mio inadvertently blushed, only capable of viewing the back of Ritsu's head at the moment. "I-Idiot, what are you saying…"
"I'll name it after our band," Ritsu declared with enthusiasm. "So that when we make it to Budokan, we'll be able to say that we always knew we were going to be stars!"
No pun intended.
"Oh, ha ha," Mio let out a wavering, if not slightly disappointed, chuckle. "So that's what you meant."
"Hmm?" Ritsu turned and squatted down beside Mio, closer to the girl's face. "What did you think I meant?"
"N-never mind that"—Mio pointed a finger beyond Ritsu's shoulder—"L-look, a shooting star."
"He, I'm not that stupid, Mio-chyan~" Ritsu said in a sing-song tone as she grinned mischievously. "Now tell me what you said!"
Somewhere in the distance the girls heard a "Mommy, look, a shooting star!"coming from an unidentified little boy.
Ritsu instantly whipped around but only managed to catch the bright trail the meteor left behind.
"I can't believe I'm that stupid!" Ritsu dejectedly scolded herself. "We could have made a wish and gotten to Budokan even quicker!"
Mio rose from her lying position and shook off anything that might have stuck to her skirt and the rest of her clothing while she was stargazing. She consoled Ritsu and told her that hard work wouldn't mean anything if they obtained everything the easy way. Subsequently, she suggested they go back to Ritsu's room and finish studying for upcoming exams, to which Ritsu agreed.
"Ah, Ritsu…," Mio softly called to her friend, halting her by the sleeve.
"Yeah?" responded Ritsu with an air of perplexity to her. "What is it?"
"C-could you help me down the roof?" the girl timidly asked. "I-I'm sort of afraid of heights."
Mio was unable to clearly perceive Ritsu's expression after relaying her request, but when Ritsu replied with a kind "Sure" and took her by the hand, it all seemed somewhat surreal. Maybe the moon was playing tricks on her. After the girls arrived at Ritsu's room, they realized it was extremely late at night and postponed their studying until lunch the following day, to which Ritsu didn't complain.
~ \o/ ~ \o/~\o/~
"Big trouble, big trouble, everyone!" exclaimed Tsumugi in urgency as she entered the club room, holding a paper in her hand.
Ritsu and Yui were pleasantly snacking on some cookies and sipping some tea before Tsumugi came in. Mio was running a little late due to some unknown matters and Azusa was tuning her guitar. The blonde anxiously ran in panting and gave the president of the light music club the notice she was holding in her hand. Ritsu only skimmed through it.
"A club evaluation…?" Ritsu said to herself, arching an eyebrow. "Oh… ahahaha, don't worry, Mugi. I got it all covered!"
"You say that, Ricchan, but you really have no idea what a club evaluation is, do you?" Yui said with an innocent smile.
W-was I seen through? A mortified Ristsu wondered. "W-well, yeah, I'm not sure what it is, but it's not like our club is going to be shut down, right?"
"Actually, if the evaluation doesn't go well, we will be shut down," Tsumugi informed with a little awkwardness.
Why is the universe trying to prove me wrong lately!? Ritsu thought. "Well, when is it going to be held?"
Azusa approached the girls at the dining table and took the paper from Ritsu's hands. "It says right here that it'll be held next week, during the school's two-week break."
"Aww, during the break?" Ritsu complained, lazily slumping forward on the table. "I don't wanna~"
"Well, too bad, Miss President," Mio, who had been present the moment Tsumugi mentioned the possibility of the club shutting down, resolutely announced, closing the door behind her.
"Mio, you want to be the president for a day?" Ritsu offered with a tinge of hope.
Azusa handed the paper to her sempai and Mio began to read it thoroughly. "Actually, that wouldn't do you any good. It says right here that all the members, as well as our advisor, have to be present and our clubroom has to be in order."
"So we'll have to clean the clubroom?" Tsumugi asked.
"Apparently so," Mio said, setting the paper down on the table.
Yui was about to raise her hand when Mio stopped her with a "And no, Yui, you can't bring your sister to pass off as you and do the cleaning instead," which caused the embarrassed girl to quickly bring her hand back down.
"But how did you exactly obtain this form, Mugi-sempai?" Azusa questioned.
"I happened to run into Nodoka-san, who was on her way here to give this to us," Tsumugi explained. "Since I was heading here, I offered to take it in her stead."
"Well, it's no biggie," Ritsu concluded, carelessly leaning back on her chair. "We just have to gather everyone here on club evaluation day and pass the thing."
"That's the problem, Ricchan," Tsumugi informed ruefully. "I'm going overseas for the break so I won't be able to make it in time."
"What!" Ritsu cried out, jumping to where Tsumugi stood and grasping both of her hands. "H-how come you get to go overseas and I don't!?"
Like, that's not what we should be focusing on here, Mio thought, aggravated.
"Um… since Mugi-chan's already told you about her trip, I guess I should tell you about mine," Yui said from somewhere in the distant background.
Ritsu turned around immediately and pulled Yui's collar. "What—you, too!?"
The airheaded musician nodded and barely managed to choke out a "W-we're going on a family trip…"
Azusa raised her hand and added, "Oh, and since Ui-chan's my friend, she invited me along with them."
"What part of family trip did you not understand, Azusa!" Ritsu demanded in her frustration, and then dejectedly retired to sulk at some corner of the room.
"It seems Ricchan is devastated," Yui noted, bringing a finger up to her bottom lip. "Are you going anywhere, Mio-chan?"
"Hmm?" Mio casually turned to Yui. "Not really. My family's trying to save up money for other things."
Ritsu rapidly crawled back to Mio's side and draped an arm around her neck. "It's good to know that at least one of my friends isn't a traitor, unlike you, infidels!"
Wait… Does this mean I don't have a life? Mio helplessly wondered, and then it was her turn to sulk at some corner of the room.
"So what are we going to do about this?" Azusa inquired, finally taking off her guitar and placing it close to a stereo. "If we're not all here, then they'll shut our club down."
Everyone pondered over the matter for a fair amount of minutes as Mio continued to dwell in her new-found misery.
"Yui," Ritsu called, snapping the girl back to reality as she had been daydreaming of sweets for a while when she couldn't come up with a solution for their dilemma. "Do you know if Nodoka-san is going anywhere during the break?"
"I don't think so," Yui daftly responded in ignorance. "Why?"
"It's time to go substitute hunting…"
~\o/~\o/~\o/~
"I kindly refuse," blatantly responded Nodoka.
There wasn't anything kind about the way she said it.
Ritsu and the rest of the gang had gone to the student council room, which was the place Nodoka would most likely currently be in during after-school hours. Ritsu had explained to the club members of the light music club that they needed to gather three temporary substitutes to replace Yui, Tsumugi, and Asuza on club evaluation day. Yui cried and begged Ritsu not to replace her, for she had so many plans for the club, so many things to do and tell the others, and just before Yui began a painfully long speech about why they shouldn't kick her out of the club, Ritsu reminded her that it was only temporary.
"You see," Nodoka began, standing at the threshold of the student council clubroom, "I have to be here as a student council member on club evaluation day. Not to mention, as the president of Mio-chan's fanclub, as well."
"Uh… Why—"
"Don't ask," Nodoka quickly intervened, not wanting to recall the day in which the former student council president left Mio's fanclub in her capable hands.
"So is there really no way to get around this?" Ritsu asked gloomily.
"I'm sorry," Nodoka sincerely apologized. "I just don't think this is going to work out."
"Just give us a chance!" Ritsu pleaded.
"Uh…Why does this look like some sort of lovers' quarrel?" Azusa queried with a deadpan expression.
"I'm not quite sure, but it's beautiful either way," Tsumugi dreamily replied, allowing both of her hands to cup her now rosy cheeks.
After Nodoka had been called back into the student council room, Ritsu and the others retired and headed for their own clubroom. Ritsu mostly kept to herself the remaining time they had left in the club, and the other members took care of the dishes while others listened to music. After a while, they realized they'd forgotten to practice for the day, so they sought their instruments out and began to play.
"Argh!" Ritsu loudly groaned in frustration, her voice bouncing off the room's adjacent walls and producing an inevitable echo. "Stughiri paffevalu anny oqtfairt heffdalovegds ogthe faj—"
"Why are you shouting gibberish!?" Mio demanded, already beside the drummer and with her palm blocking the hole Ritsu had for a mouth.
"It's a relaxation technique," Ritsu explained, removing Mio's hand by tickling it with her tongue.
In what world!? Mio thought bitterly with a grimace, her hand still uncomfortably tingling due to Ritsu's earlier action.
"Does it really help, Ricchan?" Yui questioned in wonder.
"It helps clear your mind," Ritsu affirmed. "You guys should try it!"
"We're not in the choir, Ritsu," Mio stated after regaining her composure. "Plus, where are we going to get by shouting out nonsensical stuff?"
"I don't know," the girl with the headband mumbled, suddenly down. "I really can't think of anything other than finding substitutes."
"After being rejected by Nodoka-sempai, it must be really hard," Azusa added.
"But she had other things to worry about, so I suppose it's not her fault," the ever-so-calm ojou-sama opinioned.
"I tried and said everything I could think of, but she just wouldn't budge," Ritsu sighed, massaging her temple.
Why is it that our conversations can be so easily misunderstood? Mio wondered, attempting to decipher the reason behind their double-meaning chats.
Yui glanced at the clock that hanged far at the other end of the practice area. "It's pretty late, everyone. Should we call it a day?"
The girls nodded and packed things up. The dishes were done, the room was clean, and all five of them were ready to leave. As they ambled out of the clubroom, they once again began a short discussion concerning the substitutes. They decided they would put up flyers the following day, just to advertise…help. Mio would come up with the design, Yui and Azusa would color it, Tsumugi would print-out professional-looking copies of it, and Ritsu would supervise everything, which everyone at first opposed since she didn't really do anything, but then they began to speculate the various ways Ritsu could ruin the whole process and eventually allowed her to be the supervisor. At least Yui could color within the lines.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~
Later that evening, Ritsu phoned up her ebony haired friend and asked her how her designs were going. Mio was a little embarrassed to depict the structure of her design because she thought Ritsu would criticize or laugh at it, like she does with her songs. Ritsu promised she wouldn't do any of the two as long as she told her what the flyer would look like.
"Aha ha ha ha ha ha," Ritsu guffawed uncontrollably on the other side of the phone. "Bunnies? Why would you draw bunnies on our flyer? I get birds, but bunnies? Mio, you crack me up!"
"T-this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you," Mio muttered over the phone. "And you promised..."
"Nah, I was just kidding," Ritsu admitted. "I really like your idea for the flyer."
"Y-you do?"
"Yup," Ritsu assured. "With it, we'll hop to the top! Get it? Ha ha ha!"
The other end of the line was dead. Mio had hung up.
Where's her sense of humor?
Ritsu redialed Mio's number once again and tried to connect with her, but said girl wouldn't pick up the cell phone no matter how many times it rang. Ritsu sighed and resorted to texting her overly sensitive friend. Mio stared at her flyer with disdain. After what her childhood friend had said, maybe it was trash. She was about to throw the useless paper away when her phone began to vibrate. Mio set the paper aside, leaving the task of discarding it for a later time. The text was from Ritsu.
Remember our star?
Mio pursed her lips and texted a reply.
Yeah. What about it?
It didn't take long for Ritsu to text her friend back.
It'll have to wait. Right now we've got to save our club.
A smile threatened to form upon Mio's lips as she texted a response.
I know that.
Ritsu wasn't very fond of getting emotional and saying stuff that was totally out of character for her, but she thought she might as well.
So… work hard on that flyer, okay? It's pretty good so far.
Mio smirked as she texted the following:
I will. So are you done with tonight's homework yet?
Ritsu cringed in place.
No. Help?
Mio retrieved the flyer she was not too long ago set on discarding and texted her friend back before turning off her phone.
Sorry ;p
Ritsu's reply never reached Mio, but it was stored in her sent folder.
; A ;