A/N: Hello people and welcome to my story :3 This story was inspired by many things actually. Mostly episodes in the K-ON! series but other things such as songs and stuff inspired it as well. This story is kind of sad too so beware xP. If you're new to the series you need to have watched Season 1 Episode 13 Winter Days before reading this otherwise you won't get some of the references. Oh and HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN THE MOVIE YET? OMG it was so great! I watched it yesterday on animefushugi (-or something like that anyways lol) and it was fabulous! It was mostly AzusaxYui focused though and a scene I wanted to see apparently didn't make it into the actual movie :c Oh well. Anyways here's the first chapter of "The Maelstrom"! Enjoy and review. Criticism welcome.
Also Please Note: I will be using words such as Rewind Play Pause FastForward to better illustrate which parts of the story are happening when so hopefully no one gets confused.
Chapter I: Secret Prince/cess?
Mio sat on the couch and tuned the new strings she had just put on her bass. Of course the others were messing around at the table and she would soon join them but for now it was time to bond with her beloved instrument. She had always felt a personal connection to the bass ever since she had first started playing. Many people often overlook the bass and most can't even tell you the bass player's name in their favorite band, which is exactly how Mio felt for most of her life. Kids in her class had never bothered to play with her or get to know her since she never stood out. That was just fine with her though she didn't like to stand out.
In a strange stream of consciousness she was reminded of one classmate in grade school that found interest in her meek behavior. Ritsu Tainaka. The reminder brought a bittersweet feeling of warm friendliness and slight irritation. Mio's brow furrowed in an annoyed expression at Ritsu's idiotic behavior.
But… Mio sighed and shook her head. She finished bonding with her bass and went to her normal seat at the table.
"Mio-chan!~" Yui stretched over the table to hand Mio a small folded piece of paper.
"What's this for?" Mio inspected the paper closely unsure of whether to open it and inspect its contents.
"Nodoka handed it to me in the hallway after the bell rang. She said it fell out of your desk and she tried to give it to you but you left too quickly." Yui stared curiously at the note as well and was still leaning forward over the table.
"Open it, Mio-chan!" Mugi spoke excitedly and held her hands to her face.
"It's probably a love letter from Mio's fanclub." Ritsu cleared her throat and batted her eyelashes, "Oh, Mio~", Ritsu began in a high-pitched mocking tone; "I love you so much! I've loved you ever since you flashed your pan-" Ritsu's mouth was clamped shut by Mio's hand.
"Wah! Shut up, Ritsu!" Mio still felt the humiliation of that dreadful moment from last year's school festival.
"Mio-senpai, open the letter I want to see it too!" Azusa smiled calmly and almost reassuringly.
"Ah, r-right." Mio nervously opened the note and looked over its contents.
Whoever wrote it had neat handwriting she noted and then began to read it.
Akiyama-san, I have noticed you for some time now and I must say I have become fascinated by you. I adore how your eyes sparkle whenever you have your bass in your hands and how you get so captivated on stage. You're always acting so shy in public but once you start to play on stage I can see the shyness leave your very being, replaced by pure joy and happiness. I admire you beyond words and hope you will soon grace me with your presence. I have work today but maybe tomorrow? Meet me outside by the school's entrance after school if you'd like to see me. I'll be waiting, Akiyama-san.
~ S. A.
"So? What's it say, Mio?" Ritsu tried to peer over the top of the paper.
Mio jumped and blushed lightly. "Oh! It's uhm…a love letter…"
The others just stared at her for a moment in shock. No one had ever gone this far and given one of them a love letter. Mio wasn't exactly sure what to feel. Mostly she felt embarrassed but another part of her was deeply confused and wondering who her admirer was.
"Does it say who it's from?" Mugi asked in wonderment.
"No, it just says 'S.A.' at the bottom."
"That must stand for Secret Admirer! Congratulations, Mio-senpai!" Azusa piped up.
"Tell us what it says, Mio-chan~!" Yui was wiggling anxiously in her chair.
"Uhm, it says that they'll be waiting for me at the gate tomorrow after school. They were going to meet me today but they had to work." Mio was still holding the letter and rereading its contents.
"How romantic!" Mugi breathed. "I can't wait for tomorrow now!" The blond went into a small giggling fit.
Yui smiled a little, "But you aren't the one meeting them, Mugi-chan."
Mio realized that Ritsu had not made any snarky comments as of yet. She folded up the paper and looked at her friend who had a surprisingly unemotional expression.
Ritsu's upset. Mio could tell since her friend always had some sort of expression upon her face. "What's wrong, Ritsu?"
"Ritsu-senpai?" Azusa waved her hand in front of Ritsu's face. Ritsu didn't respond.
"Ricchan~?" Yui waved her hand even more persistently in front of Ritsu's face than Azusa. "What is it, Ricchan?"
Ritsu finally came to and looked up at her concerned friends. "Ah? Oh, it's nothing. I'm hungry, Mugi-chan, do you have any more snacks?"
"I have some cookies left… Are you okay, Ricchan?" Mugi pulled them out of her bag and handed them out amongst her friends.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Ritsu chomped down on a delicious snickerdoodle cookie.
A silent understanding between the other three said to let it go and act as if Ritsu wasn't being strange. Mio nibbled on her cookie with the words from the note repeating in her mind. It gave her butterflies. One side of her was curious as to who it was while the other side was embarrassed and wanted to ignore the invitation. It was difficult to narrow it down anyways. The person could very well be from her fanclub or someone who had watched their performance at last year's school festival or even at the First Year orientation ceremony. What would have helped is if the person had identified themselves as male or female. Mio sighed inwardly and decided to ignore the situation for the time being.
Ritsu, again, kept putting off practicing no matter how many times Mio pestered about it. How did Ritsu expect to go to Budokan if they never practiced? Despite this they continued with the usual routine of talking about nonsense and eating snacks. Yamanaka-sensei even came in to join them before all of the treats were gone.
"Sawa-chan~!" Yui waved enthusiastically.
"I wanted to see you girls before you left for the day." Sawako put on her smile she always wore to keep her image up.
"You just wanted to eat the snacks before they're gone!" Ritsu put on a playfully suspicious look and smirked.
Sawako gave a glare and sat down at the table. "I haven't had any sweets for almost two days!"
"But, Sawa-chan, you had two slices of cake yesterday," Yui once again bypassed the thought-to-mouth filter and consequently made Sawako hang her head and whine.
"I'm going to get fat like this," Sawa-chan whined again and yet still grabbed a cookie.
Ritsu looked at Yui, "You've got nerve, Yui."
Once again the chatter continued late in the afternoon until everyone had to go home. Sawako waved to the girls as she drove past, "See you girls tomorrow!" The five waved back and smiled.
"So, Mio-chan, who do you think the lover is?" Mugi was just as overexcited as always.
"L-lover? They're not my lover! And, uhm, I don't know. Maybe they're from my fanclub?" Mio felt a small blush coming on.
"Do you think he's handsome, Mio-chan?" Yui read the love note again after Mio passed it around.
"What makes you think it's a boy, Yui-chan?" Of course Mugi would be the one to ask that question.
"Hmmm, I guess you're right, Mugi-chan, there are a lot of girls that like Mio-chan in the fanclub." Yui's face contorted in deep concentration.
"Do we have to keep talking about it?" Mio spoke softly and looked at the ground.
"But, Mio-senpai, you're the only one who got a love letter!" Even Azusa was a bit more excited than usual.
"I don't want to be involved with a crush. They might interfere with our practicing." Mio was trying desperately to hide the fact she was a bit excited herself.
They reached the corner where everyone had to split and Yui handed Mio back the note, "Don't be embarrassed, Mio-chan, it's fun!"
"Yeah, I guess. Bye guys." Mio and Ritsu bid their farewells and continued walking home.
"So, Mio, have you come up with another song yet?" Ritsu seemed as cheerful as always.
She's not making fun of me about the note… "No, not yet. It's hard to come up with a new song with all of the distractions."
"We should think of at least two more new ones before the next live. People might start to think we're boring!" Ritsu made an amusing sour face that made Mio giggle.
"You're more relaxed when you're just around me, Mio." Ritsu's statement caught Mio a bit off balance.
"I've known you since childhood of course I would be."
"What about your crush then? What will you do about them?" Something was definitely wrong with Ritsu. Why was she so angry?
"I don't know. I'm not even sure who it is. I don't even know if I'll like them or not. Why are you so irritated by it anyways?" Some of the pieces were starting to come together in Mio's mind. She wasn't sure if those pieces were correct but why else would Ritsu be so upset?
"I'm not irritated." Ritsu slunk back into a quiet state.
"I won't abandon you or anything, Ritsu. You're the most important to me and no one will change that." Mio tried not to turn red when she said it but it was just her nature to blush.
Mio thought Ritsu said something back but couldn't make out the words so she left it alone for the time being. Ritsu was just being Ritsu. She remembered Ritsu acting somewhat similarly when she first tried hanging out with Nodoka. Mio didn't remember Ritsu being this upset about it however.
It's one thing to try and make and new friend but something completely different when it comes to love and crushes I guess…
"Goodbye, Mio!" Ritsu smiled and waved at Mio as they split to go home.
"See you tomorrow!" Mio returned the favor and walked inside her house. "I'm home!" She called to her family and headed for her bedroom to change.
A million thoughts racked her brain that night. The same things kept repeating themselves over and over again: who was the admirer? Why was Ritsu so upset? It was like a broken record on a continuous loop and no matter how many times she tried to move the needle it wouldn't budge. She wanted to ask someone why Ritsu was being so strange but no one knew Ritsu for as long as she did aside from Satoshi but he was young and wasn't around Ritsu as much. Mio sighed and stared at the ceiling. She didn't know when but eventually she drifted to sleep.
Rewind
Everything had been going fine that day. The usual routine. Walk to school with Mio and the others, go through boring classes, mess with Mio during break, chill in the music room after school. Ritsu liked this routine. She found it strange how days could start out like every other but have an extremely different ending. She had only been joking when she asked if Mio's note was a love letter and it never occurred to her that she might be right. Although Ritsu had to admit she saw this coming eventually when the band started.
Mio's pretty and her voice is mesmerizing. The way she stutters when she's nervous and blushes a cute shade of pink is irresistibly cute. Eventually someone would confess to her…
Ritsu remembered how it looks to watch Mio's back as she plays and sings. Her gut ached in an unfamiliar way when she thought of someone else feeling the way she did now. Her trance was broken by the others trying to get her attention. She played her spacing out off as nothing. She was good at that. She was also good at tossing things from her mind that she didn't enjoy…which she also did until everyone needed to get home. Of course the walk would only worsen her situation. Everyone wanted to talk about Mio's note and read it. Honestly, Ritsu wanted to read it too even if it did bring a pang of hurt to her stomach.
"Here, Ricchan, read it!" Mugi handed Ritsu the note eagerly.
"It's probably full of cheesy junk," she teased. She read over the words and the pain in her gut became stronger than before. The words were so familiar as if someone had attached some kind of machine from her brain to the admirer's and had them transfer it onto a piece of paper. Ritsu made a humorously disgusted face and handed the note back to Mugi, "Sap, sap, sap. Gross."
"You're just like a boy, Ricchan!" Mugi laughed.
Maybe I should have been one to begin with. Maybe if I was a boy I could've given Mio a note like that. If she had only been born a boy things could have been different between them.
Ritsu waved almost mechanically as the others left. The others leaving was a bittersweet feeling. It was good to be alone with Mio given the circumstance but given the same circumstance she would be forced to act more naturally. She resorted to simple conversation about the band but then another thought popped into her mind.
"You're more relaxed when you're just around me, Mio." She didn't quite mean to say it like that or make Mio jump the way she did by saying it.
"I've known you since childhood of course I would be."
Now she admittedly became frustrated. "What about your crush then? What will you do about them?"
"I don't know. I'm not even sure who it is. I don't even know if I'll like them or not. Why are you so irritated by it anyways?"
"I'm not irritated." Ritsu slunk back into a quiet state. Why are you being such a hypocrite, Mio? You say you're comfortable around me because I've known you for so long and yet you're going to meet some stranger?
"I won't abandon you or anything, Ritsu. You're the most important to me and no one will change that." Mio blushed and Ritsu noticed but she didn't say anything.
"That's not why I'm angry, Mio," she mumbled quietly so Mio couldn't hear…she didn't want Mio to hear.
Despite her inner feelings she smiled and waved at Mio as if nothing had happened. She could hear her brother playing video games as she walked in.
"I'm home!" She called.
"Hey, Nee-chan!" Satoshi called back. "Mom and Dad are going to be a little late today so dinner might be late!"
"Alright, thanks, Satoshi!" Good it will give me time to stop feeling so weird.
Play
Ritsu flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling with a slight headache. Maybe she was suffering from one of those mood swings teenagers get. Usually she could ignore it though and be normal but this one was very strong if that's what it was. She felt kind of bad for acting the way she did toward Mio and picked up her phone to text an apology.
I should apologize to everyone else too…
She texted a generic apology to everyone else but took more time apologizing to Mio. She did act the worst to Mio after all. Ritsu read over the text a few times wondering if she was being too personal…or not personal enough.
"Mio, I'm sorry for being so weird earlier. You know our friendship is rock solid, right? You should really do something about those white dolphins behind you too."
Ritsu tossed her phone on the bed and grabbed her drumsticks and began drumming on her bag. Drumming always calmed her down and helped her think. Her phone beeped after a moment:
Text from: Mugi
That's okay Ricchan. Are you sure you're feeling okay? I'll bring some healing tea for tomorrow if you're feeling sick.
Ritsu expected that kind of reply from Mugi and texted back: Thanks Mugi-chan you're the best!
Ritsu's phone beeped twice more. She was a bit disappointed when Mio's name wasn't one of the two that popped up.
Text from: Yui
Don't worry Ricchan! I'll ask Ui to make her special cookies and bring some to you tomorrow! You'll be the old Ricchan again!
Text from: Azusa
It's fine, Ritsu-senpai, we all have those days sometimes. A good cup of soup may help if you're feeling ill.
Ritsu sighed. They all think I'm sick…and they all recommended food. That's the Light Music Club for you I guess.
Ritsu thanked them both and went back to drumming on her bag. Minutes went by and Mio still hadn't texted back. Ritsu glanced at the clock and assumed Mio must be eating or showering. More time passed and still no reply from Mio.
"Nee-chan, dinner's ready!"
"Coming!" Ritsu dropped her drumsticks and joined her family for dinner. In all of the madness she'd forgotten how hungry she was.
"What's wrong, Nee-chan?" Satoshi spoke in a low tone on the staircase.
"What do you mean, Satoshi?" Ritsu stopped and attempted a cheerful smile.
"You're down I can tell. Did something happen with Akiyama-san?" Of course he could see right through her façade he was her younger brother after all.
"Don't worry about it, Satoshi, it's okay. Let's go eat!" Ritsu ruffled her brother's hair and dashed downstairs.
"Nee-chan!" Satoshi gave a playfully annoyed face and followed her.
Dinner was simple and thankfully her parents didn't notice anything suspicious and the conversation was simple.
"Ritsu, help me with the dishes please?" Ritsu's mother asked.
"Okay, Okaa-san." Ritsu disliked doing dishes more than anything but the distraction was nice.
The time was late and Ritsu decided to be the first to take a bath and warm herself from the cold weather.
I wonder if Mio replied yet. It was late enough that Mio should've already eaten and bathed.
Ritsu left the bath and returned to her room and grabbed her phone. No new messages had been received.
Is she mad at me? Mio's never done this before. I guess I screwed up big this time. She lay back onto her bed with her phone still in her hand and wished the world had a rewind button. Sleep enveloped her shortly.
Ritsu's phone beeped but it didn't wake her. A text waited that said:
Text from: Mio
Ritsu I'm sorry for not replying sooner. I fell asleep. You're right our friendship is solid. I promise I won't leave you ever. Goodnight Ritsu
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The alarm on her phone roused Ritsu from her sleep.
"What?" she mumbled, "Oh school." With an annoyed sigh Ritsu rose up from the dead and readied herself for the day.
The house was quiet with her parents still sleeping and her brother already off to school. A nice breakfast sat on the counter with a note: Love you! Have fun at school ~ Mom
Heh. Thanks, Mom.
Ritsu glanced at her phone to check the time and noticed Mio's text. The pain that had been aching in her stomach went away and she smiled.
A/N: Well, there's the first chapter! Abnormally long for what I usually write but that's what I'm aiming for! Anyways let me know how you guys liked the story and if you didn't like something (about my writing) let me know so I can become a better writer. Peace!