Disclaimer: I do not own K-On!
A/N: Gah...I really like this pairing...
Ritsu Tainaka was not too surprised to find Mio Akiyama weeping loudly on her doorstep late that evening. Several horus ago she had received a text message from the raven-haired girl saying she was about to go on a date with her new boyfriend (the third one this month), and judging from the way Mio was wailing, it didn't go so well. Ritsu sighed as she sat down beside Mio, and placed a comforting hand upon the sobbing girl's shoulder.
"...What happened now?" Ritsu asked, having grown tired of asking this same question over and over again. Mio let out a loud sniffle while she lifted her head from her palms; her eyes were red and puffy, and a trail of snot was dripping from her left nostril.
"He...he left me to foot the bill at the diner, while he went out with another girl...less than...less than half-way through our date..." Mio cried before burying her face in her hands again. Ritsu grunted in annoyance.
"...What a bastard..."
"I...I don't," Mio wiped her arm against her face to rid herself of the onflowing tears, "I don't understand...why does this keep happening to me? I get all dressed up, and I feel so nervous and excited at the same time about making a good first impression that I think I might throw up...and then...and then at the end of all that...they always say 'sorry' and leave without ever speaking to me again...I'm not strong enough to stand being rejected like that...I feel like my heart's been torn out and stomped to pieces right before my very eyes! It's such a terrible thing to have happen to you, especially when you're in such high spirits only a moment before..."
"This is what happens when you agree to go out with every damn sleazeball who claims you're the 'love of his life'...they'll just grow closer and closer to you, manipulating you into thinking that you love them, and then, when you least expect it, they'll do what they want to you, and simply throw you away like you're nothing more than a used piece of tissue paper!!!" Ritsu became a bit animated near the end, waving her hands around furiously as she spoke. Obviously, there were some remnants of the emotional scars left from a previous relationship she had evident in her words.
"...What is it about the 'real me' that men wouldn't like?" Mio asked aloud, "I mean...I'm a good person! I don't smoke! I don't drink! I follow my curfew! I have an 'A-' average! I refrain from using vile language, and I treat everyone with respect! How could they not like that...?"
Ritsu frowned. "...I think all those reasons you just listed are the problem...but also a bit of a life-saver, too...I'm thankful for that about you, Mio-chan..."
"...Huh?"
"It's all because you're not willing to get down and dirty...that's why they leave every time; you're a wimp, Mio-chan..."
"A...A WIMP?!!" Mio gasped; she had never been called a wimp before. Of course, she had been called worse things, but that was beside the point.
"Let me finish," Ritsu said, holding up a hand demanding silence, and then she continued, "You're a wimp, but I'm glad you're a wimp; it means that you'll deny them...they all just wanted nothing more than get in your pants...they'll fuck you and leave you...that's how it works these days...I mean, you didn't plan on having sex with any of them, right?"
"N-No! Of course not!!!" Mio shook her head furiously, causing her long hair to flap into Ritsu's face several times, "I...I try to start my relationships nice and slow...I'm not even considering sex right in the beginning!"
"That's what I mean; they don't want to deal with all that feelings-and-emotions bull crap. They just wanna jump into bed as soon as possible. You can't trust the men of our generation, Mio! Let me say this, though: I'm just thankful none of them were desperate enough to try and rape you, so it's good they still hold onto SOME sliver of the morals human beings once held dear...those damn pigs..."
Mio thought deeply about everything that Ritsu had just told her. "Ritsu-chan...you really don't like men, don't you? I mean, you were never like this when we were in high school...what happened?"
"...I have a phobia towards men now...the only men I can stand being around now are my father and a few of my more friendly relatives..." A dark shadow suddenly cast over Ritsu's face.
"Why?"
Ritsu paused for a second. "...You won't tell anyone else...? You promise?"
"Y-Yes...of course I promise..." Mio felt a bit uneasy by the grave tone in Ritsu's voice.
A large crow passed overhead, letting out a shrill cry to signal its arrival. The mid-evening sky had become a bright orange, illuminating everything with its wondrous glow. Ritsu closed her eyes, heaved a heavy sigh, and pressed her fingers to her temple. Mio had all the time in the world to wait for her. The world around them seemed to have begun to slow down to a stop.
"...I've only had one boyfriend," Ritsu spoke so softly that Mio had to lean in closer to hear her, "I thought he was a nice guy, and he treated me well for the first two weeks of our relationship...but then...but then he began molesting me...and he'd touch me all over...in certain...certain places...and eventually...I can remember it so vividly, the way he sneered as he stripped me...he...he forced me into having unprotected sexual intercourse with him...it hurt so badly...he barely had an idea of what he was doing, yet he did it anyway...he screamed at me, and hit me...I don't know why, but his entire personality, the one I had thought I loved, changed in an instant. When it was finally over, I was so afraid he was going to kill me, like how rapists tend to do in those news stories and stuff, but he just threw on his clothes, erased his phone number from my cellphone, and I never saw him again...thank god I didn't become pregnant, though..."
Mio's mouth fell agape. Never in all of her life had she suspected that her friend would be hiding such a horrible secret. "Oh...oh my god...Ritsu-chan...you...you..."
"You won't tell anyone...? Not Yui-chan, not Mugi-chan, and definitely not my parents...?" Ritsu suddenly looked so tired, like all of her energy had been sapped out of her just from retelling that horrible event in her life.
Mio shook her head. "I won't tell...but why? I mean...your parents should-"
"They don't need to know!!!" Ritsu suddenly snapped, tears pouring down her face now, "I told YOU, Mio-chan. and that's all I'm ever gonna tell, okay? If I tell my parents, then I'll be forced to go through so much reliving of the pain and the trauma, even worse than this, and I just want to live on and forget about it, even though my phobia won't all me to! I...I told you because you're my dearest friend, and...and I know I can trust you with a secret, because I don't want you...I don't want you to go through the same thing that happened to me, okay?! If...If some guy ever forced you into having sex, or even so much as touched you inappropriately, I will swear to God that I'll tear his fuckin' throat out!!! I can't...I can't live without you, Mio-chan!!!" Those last words were totally unrelated to her speech, yet Ritsu still meant everything she said from the heart.
Mio was both immensely amazed and frightened by Ritsu's overwhelming devotion to her. It was a bit flattering, too. She was about to say something about it, too, when Ritsu rested her head on the raven-haired girl's shoulder. She was no longer crying. The sound of a police siren could be heard far off in the distance. The two girls just sat together, staring off into the distance as time slowly moved forward. Eventually, the silence between the two girls was broken.
"...Mio-chan?" Ritsu asked calmly. All of those wild emotions she was exhibiting one moments ago seemed to have vanished into thin air. Tiny stars began to fill nearly every corner of the darkening skies.
"...Yes, Ritsu-chan?"
"Umm...are you planning on going on another date soon?"
Mio shook her head. "No...I mean, after what you just told me, I'm starting to think that maybe you were right...I need to spend more time searching before I can find a potential lover who will love me for me, and will be as devoted to me as you are...whoever that person is, , I could care less whether it be man or woman (although I've never gone on a date with a woman before)...as long as they love me back honestly and truthfully, I'm happy..."
"...That's good..."
Mio nodded in agreement.
Ritsu reached out, and placed her hand over Mio's. It was dripping with cold sweat. "Then...would it be alright...if you and me...we could...go on a date...together...as 'potential lovers'...? Just this one time, I mean! I doubt it'll evolve into anything! I just kinda been thinking about it...especially since...since because I..."
"...Because?"
"I've been thinking about you alot...to tell the truth..." A faint blush crept up on Ritsu's cheeks.
Mio smiled; she had never felt more comfortable alongside anyone than with Ritsu. "Of course we can...Ritsu-chan...we'll go on a date next sunday coming up..."
"G-Good!! But...but we...we don't have to kiss or anything, you know...if...if you don't want to..." Ritsu muttered, looking away in total embarrassment. She had been left in a rather awkward position after her earlier outburst and this sudden confession of hers. Mio pretended to ignore it for Ritsu's sake. The air around them was growing colder, and Mio knew that she had to head home soon.
"Don't worry...we'll kiss at least once on that date...I promise..." Mio whispered back.
Ritsu's cheeks became bright red. "...O-Oh..."
Before she prepared to depart, Mio lovingly brushed a few stray hairs out of Ritsu's tear-stained face, and her smile grew even wider. 'Maybe...maybe you'll really be the one for me, Ritsu-chan...and in a way, I really hope so...'
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"...I lied to you, Mio-chan...I lied about being raped and having a phobia towards men so I could have you all to myself...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I just love you so much...I love you...I need you...stay with me..."