Note: K-On! is an anime that was done by the studio Kyoto Animation.
Mio Akiyama finished up another day of college. She had finished her last year of high school which was fitting, because she was on her last form of patience for her friends. Mio was in a band and her fellow band members had a nasty habit of showing up late. In addition to that, the band often goofed off and focused more on tea parties than band practice. Mio had a lot of respect for her band members, but she was getting tired of them messing things up. Mio's friends did so poorly at school that they had to stay at high school for an extra year.
Mio drove to the high school. She walked to the band practice room and saw that the room was darkly lit. She walked inside and saw that she was the only one there. She was a few minutes early, so she tried to remain optimistic and hope that her friends showed up on time. She sat down and started humming while waiting for her friends.
Mio's hums became louder and louder and she eventually started singing a song out loud. Azusa Nakano was walking to the band practice room while listening to Mio's singing voice. She walked inside of the room. Mio stopped singing and said, "Hi Azusa."
Azusa replied, "Hi Mio. Your singing voice sounds beautiful."
Mio was a little embarrassed that Azusa had heard her singing. She lightly blushed and said, "I didn't think that anybody was nearby, so I started singing my new song out loud. It's pretty embarrassing."
Azusa replied, "No offense Mio, but it's kind of silly for a singer to be embarrassed to be caught singing."
Mio thought about it and said, "Good point. I barely understand why I would feel that way."
Mio and Azusa looked at the clock. Band practice was supposed to start five minutes ago. Azusa paced around the room while asking, "Do you think that the other three will show up soon?"
Mio said, "I doubt it. I admire you for showing up on time."
Azusa replied, "I'm like five minutes late."
Mio said, "I like keeping a schedule, but I'm not a perfectionist. Being a few minutes late is understandable, but being constantly late drives me crazy."
Azusa looked at Mio and replied, "You don't seem like the type of person that could ever be driven crazy. You seem so relaxed."
Mio responded, "Thank you."
Azusa sat down on one of the chairs and said, "I heard your voice, but I was too far away to hear the lyrics. Can you sing them again?"
Mio was a little shy so she replied, "I don't know."
Azusa said, "It would be a good way to start band practice."
Mio replied, "Okay then." She titled her head up and stared around the room. She sang,
"I always see you around
But there was something about you I never found
I talked to my friends and asked around
No matter what I did, I felt confound
To me your voice was unsound
My memories of you were unwound
I finally realized that my heart had been crowned
Being with you was like being in the top round
When you weren't here I frowned
When I realized how I felt I felt astound
You were a part of my heart that I needed to bring around
My life had been handbound
You made me feel like I had been gowned
I looked around and saw my sadness had drowned
You came to me and looked cute while on the ground
Hearing you say I love you is my favorite sound
Because my love for you is a feeling I wish to expound
If you love me then I'll redound
Dating you is an idea I'll propound
Because you're the dearest thing my heart found."
Mio finished her song. Azusa had been staring at Mio, with admiration, during the song. Azusa said, "That was a great song."
Mio replied, "It wasn't that good. I'm not so sure if all the rhymes work. I was just trying to make a song about someone who had a special person that had always been there in his or her life, but the person hadn't realized how much they truly liked the other person."
Azusa responded, "It's very sweet. It's a great song about those who haven't been appreciating someone very important to them."
Mio thought about it and realized that her song reminded her of Azusa. Mio often had to wait for her band members to come to practice, but she didn't have that problem with Azusa. She was the most dependable and hardest girl Mio knew. She looked at Azusa and could feel herself starting to admire Azusa more.
Azusa noticed that Mio was looking at her, so she asked, "What's going on?"
Mio lightly chuckled and said, "This might sound silly, but my song made me think about you."
Azusa replied, "Aww, that's adorable."
Mio said, "You've always been a terrific friend to me. You're loyal, kind, sweet, and cute. I never thank you enough for what you do."
Azusa replied, "I'm hardly special compared to you. You're talented, cool, and beautiful."
Mio said, "Beautiful? Yeah right."
Azusa asked, "Are you kidding me? You're the most beautiful girl that's ever gone to this school."
Mio was surprised to hear that and Azusa was surprised that she had said that. Both girls felt confused about what was going on. They felt they were acting a tad more lovey dovey than friends should act like. Mio said, "Um, thank you for saying that. That was a really sweet thing to say."
Azusa replied, "You're welcome. Your song is amazing and I think that I can relate to it."
Mio asked, "Is there someone in life that you value more than you thought you did?" Azusa pointed to Mio. Mio blushed.
Mio looked at Azusa and saw that she had her hands in her coat. She asked, "Are your hands cold?"
Azusa said, "Yes, can you warm one of them by holding it?"
Mio replied, "Um, yeah." Mio held hands with Azusa. She knew that Azusa was tricking her into holding hands with her. Mio didn't know why Azusa wanted to hold her hand, but she enjoyed the hand holding. The two girls stared into each other's eyes. Most of their feelings were a jumbled mess, but they knew that they were happy.
Mio and Azusa's special time was interrupted by the sudden arrival of their fellow band members: Yui Hirasawa, Ritsu Tainaka, and Tsumugi Kotobuki. Mio and Azusa were embarrassed by their recent bond and being around their friends made them feel an extra level of embarrassed.
Mio tried to not let the others know about her and Azusa's new feelings for each other. She said, "Hi guys. You're even later than usual."
Yui nervously laughed and said, "Sorry, but I Tsumugi showed us a new tea shop."
Ritsu said, "We went there and got a cup of their best tea."
Tsumugi said, "It was one of the tastiest events of my life."
Mio folded her arms and said, "It seems like you're following your tradition of ignoring band practice."
Ritsu asked, "So, you two have been waiting for us?"
Mio said, "We sure have."
Azusa said, "Mio sang her new song to me. She sounded incredible."
Ritsu jokingly replied, "It seems she sings better when almost nobody's around."
Yui said, "We're not very popular, so that's not a problem."
Tsumugi started preparing a cup of tea while asking, "Mio, can you sing that song to us?"
Mio answered, "I don't feel like it."
Ritsu nudged Mio and said, "When we don't feel like practicing, you make us practice, so you better start singing."
Mio replied, "Very well then." She started singing the song again. She and Azusa cutely smiled at each other. They even blushed a few times. They hoped that the other thre girls didn't notice that.
Yui said, "Mio, good song."
Tsumugi said, "It was quite charming."
Ritsu said, "It was kind of mediocre." Mio didn't have a lot of confidence in her song, so she had a look of failure on her face.
Azusa looked at Ritsu and said, "Hey, Mio did a good job. The lyrics aren't perfect, but Mio has an angelic voice that fits with her pretty appearance." What Azusa said made both her and Mio blush.
Ritsu patted Mio on the back and said, "Not a bad singing job. Lets start practicing." The five girls finally started band practice. Mio and Azusa were awkward around each other. They gave each other admiring looks and blushed at each other. The other girls had a sense that something was going on between Mio and Azusa.
An hour later band practice ended. Ritsu, Yui, and Tsumugi ran out of the room while Mio and Azusa cleaned up the place. Afterwards, Mio said, "I better start heading home."
Azusa replied, "Okay." She paused and said, "I had a good time being the first person to hear your new song. You're super talented."
Mio responded, "Thank you Azusa. You're a wonderful friend."
Azusa shyly asked, "Don't I deserve a sweet goodbye?"
Mio politely said, "Of course." She hugged Azusa. Azusa hugged back. It took her a minute to let Mio go, but Mio was okay with that.
Mio looked down, because she felt something on her hand. She realized that Azusa was holding her hand. Azusa asked, "Can I walk you to your car?"
Mio said, "Sure."
Mio and Azusa held each other's hands while walking to Mio's car. Mio said, "Thank you for that. Um, can I give you a ride home?"
Azusa replied, "My parents will pick me up in a few minutes. I'm eighteen, so I've gotten the chance to fail several car tests."
Mio said, "I wish you the best on your next test."
Azusa replied, "Thank you and thanks for helping me realize how lucky I am that you're in my life." Mio and Azusa looked at each other. Their faces were so close that their lips were only a few centimeters apart. Azusa almost kissed Mio, but she let fright stop her. She waved goodbye.
The next day Mio drove to the school. She walked to the band practice room. Azusa came into the room too. Mio said, "Hi Azusa. I missed you."
Azusa shyly replied, "I missed you too. It's rough going to different schools."
Mio said, "Azusa, I don't know what's going on between us."
Azusa asked, "What do you mean?"
Mio said, "We seemed to be bonding yesterday. I think we have a special connection."
Azusa held hands with Mio while replying, "We sure do."
Mio and Azusa struggled to come up with what to say. Their feelings for each other were becoming hard to figure out. Mio nervously hummed. Azusa admired the sound of Mio's humming. Mio looked at Azusa and said, "Since we don't see each other much during the school week, do you want to go to a movie with me on Saturday?"
Azusa replied, "Yes." Azusa wondered if Mio had just asked her on a date. Two friends going to the movies was a common event, so it didn't have to be a date.
A few minutes later the other three band members arrived. Yui asked, "Are we late?"
Mio answered, "Yes, but you aren't as late as usual."
Tsumugi replied, "We had the tea to go instead of drinking it at the tea shop."
Yui looked at Mio and Azusa and said, "Tsumugi found a tea museum."
Tsumugi replied, "We should check it out this weekend."
Azusa said, "Mio and I made plans to go to the movies, so we can't come."
Yui thought about it and replied, "That actually sounds better than a tea museum. Can I come too?"
Azusa nervously responded, "Mio and I would rather go with just each other."
Yui replied, "But I hardly see you two."
Ritsu said, "How typical of those two. They're obsessed with each other." Mio and Azusa both blushed.
Tsumugi said, "Ritsu, you might be embarrassing them."
Ritsu jokingly said, "They probably come to band practice early so they can flirt. They both share such a love of following the rules that they probably consider a rule book a book of love poems."
Mio replied, "Please cut it out."
Ritsu said, "I was just joking." She looked and saw how much Mio and Azusa were blushing. She put her hand on her chin and said, "Actually, I discovered the truth."
The other four girls said, "Huh?"
Ritsu said, "I understand why Azusa always shows up on time and never goofs around with us. It's because she has a crush on Mio and has been trying to impress her."
Azusa realized what Ritsu had said was mostly true. She couldn't stand the pressure anymore, so she blurted out, "I love Mio!"
Mio was feeling similar emotions, so she blurted out, "I love you too!"
Yui and Tsumugi both said, "Aww."
Mio and Azusa were both scared of all the teasing that were expecting from their friends. Mio sighed and said, "Go ahead and get the jokes over with."
Ritsu replied, "No, this isn't something worth making fun of."
Tsumugi put her arms around Mio and Azusa and said, "I'm proud of you guys."
Yui said, "You're cute together."
Mio was pleasantly surprised by her friends' reaction. She said, "Thanks guys." Mio and Azusa held hands with each other.
The other three girls said, "Aww." Mio and Azusa were both blushing from everything that had happened, but they were blushing with the highest form of happiness.
