/*Author's notes (Published 3rd March 2014)
Running- this is big project three. I wonder if I'll ever complete any of these 'big projects?' Oh well, only time will tell.
Hopefully the intense focus on Azusa in this fiction will compensate for the lack of her in (my other fan fiction) 'K-ON! Continued!'
*/
A chill morning breeze blew through the courtyard of Sakuragaoka High School. The final bell rang and the usual hurried packing of school bags of the students commenced. A young girl shouldered her guitar, flicking her ponytails back so they wouldn't get caught under the guitar case.
"Ui, Jun, I'm heading to the clubroom now. See you tomorrow." With a smile and a wave, she began the small journey up the stairs, her hand brushing against the golden turtle. "I wonder if we're going to practice today." As she reached the door to the light music clubroom, her thought process was cut off.
"Azu-nyan!" Her eyes saw a flash of brown before she was heckled by her sempai.
"Yui-sempai…" Azusa let herself be smothered for a few seconds before pushing the older girl away. "Have you been practicing?"
Chocolate brown eyes shifted uneasily. "Um…"
"Let's have some tea, Azusa-chan." In the back of the room, three more girls sat round a table, each lifting delicate teacups. It was the blonde that had spoke, her sapphire eyes twinkling as she offered a pink teacup to the twin-tailed girl. The cat face on the porcelain teacup smiled at her. Suddenly, Azusa felt herself being dragged to her seat as Yui hurried them to the table.
"Mugi-chan, what cake is it today?"
"Dacquoise from France." From a small fridge in the corner of the room, Mugi revealed the desert.
Yui pounced. "Sugoi!"
"So how are you finding your second year?" asked the raven-haired girl. Azusa looked up; her deep orange eyes met grey.
"It's not that much harder than last year," she replied. After pausing to look both ways before crossing the road, Azusa politely asked a question. "What's being a senior like, Mio-sempai?"
Mio thought for a moment. "It's not much different except there's no-one older than us except the teachers." She shifted the Bass on her back.
"That means we're the most mature students in the school!" Azusa sweat dropped as she looked at the drummer. Her hazel eyes shone with pride until Mio started pointing out her flaws.
"You forgot to hand in the forms again and you haven't been to a single student council this term. You fell asleep in class again today too, even though it's the first day of the week."
"Eh? That was only a short nap."
"Then answer this question." As Mio began the spot test, causing Ritsu to fumble and mumble on each question, Azusa slowed her pace to match the other two.
"Azu-nyan!" Thankfully, there was a Mugi between them. "What are you doing tonight?"
"I have a lot of homework and a test coming up so I need to study."
"Neh, do you want to come to my house to study?"
"You mean play don't you…"
Mugi giggled. "It's nice to relax once in a while."
It feels like that's all we do in the Light Music Club, thought Azusa. "Maybe next time, Yui-sempai."
"Aw…"
"Azusa," said Mugi, "Do you like coffee?"
"Um, I've never tried it."
"Okay. I'll bring some in tomorrow. It goes really well with this new cake that we received yesterday but I don't want to bring it if it will go to waste."
"Oh, okay. Thank you Mugi-sempai."
Before long, they each split up to go their separate ways. Somehow, Yui managed to get another hug in before leaving.
"Bye-bye, Azu-nyan!"
"Finished," announced Azusa to no one. She closed her notebooks and looked at the clock in her room, a cat style clock she had received for her birthday from a particular sempai. There was still time before going to bed so she flicked on the television. There was nothing particular she wanted to watch though and after some news and a quick yawn, the girl found she was getting ready for bed. Lying on her mattress beneath her grey ceiling.
She closed her eyes.
She opened her eyes.
The ceiling was white, like a hospital room. She quickly rolled out of bed, slightly confused. Strange, she was in her day clothes. There were a few creases here and there but the more pressing thought was where am I?
White ceiling, white walls, white room. Her eyes lingered on the door that was almost camouflaged if the doorknob was not silver. It opened smoothly at her touch to reveal yet more blinding white. The corridor was long and there were few other doors. On impulse, she found herself exploring, checking each room before deducing the place was empty. There was no colour anywhere. The artist didn't have enough paint and had left the canvass blank. The only thing that told her she was not suddenly colour blind was her self. A single black ponytail dangled over her shoulder and her shirt was dotted with cherry red polka dots. A black, frilly skirt draped over her legs, seemingly coated in blue tights and trainers covered her feet.
The final door she opened led to a staircase but un-shaded bulbs flashed their artificial light without concern for anyone- too bright. The white walls were overwhelming as they reflected the light almost like mirrors onto the poor girl. She was the focus, under the microscope. She didn't belong. Hiding her eyes beneath the shade of her own arm, Azusa walked down the stairs whilst her other arm was held out in front of her. It took a long time to get to the bottom, and after stumbling down the last few steps, she found the doorway out.
"Where am I?" She was on a simple pedestrian street. Her orange eyes tried to seek useful information. The building she had just emerged from seemed like a skyscraper, as with all the other buildings that she could see. They loomed over her, blocking out the sky. The sun hung lazily above with few clouds passing overhead and its light bounced off the hundreds of windows of each structure down the narrow street; the arrow straight street. Azusa shielded her eyes from the sun and tried to see the end of the road yet it disappeared into the horizon. The other direction was the same.
There were people at least. All seemed to be business men and women. The boring colours of dull blues and black suits fell into the monotony of this white world. It seemed Azusa was the only splash of colour in this weird dream.
"Yeah, it must be a dream."
"Excuse me." Azusa turned to find a police officer. He was tall. A white helmet over his head shielded his face and the rest of his attire was the same colour. He could stand next to a wall and she wouldn't be able to see him. "May I see your ID please?"
The small girl tried to search her skirt for pockets but to no avail. After a quick check on her person, she replied, "Um… I'm sorry sir but I don't think I have ID."
"Really?" He seemed surprised. "Can you come with me please?"
Under normal circumstances, Azusa would not follow a stranger into a vehicle. However, in her confusion and assumption that this was a dream, she followed the man into the car.
As she was being driven off, her eyes caught a flash of brown staring in the shadows of an alleyway; a face that she recognised.
"What's your name?"
"Azusa Nakano."
She didn't understand what was happening. Of course, dreams didn't make much sense but being questioned by the police before sent into a cell- she felt horrible. Maybe it was a nightmare. From behind the white bars of the prison, she could hear someone typing away on a computer of some sort and the mumblings of her name being repeated constantly.
"It's even white in here. What kind of dream is this?" She pinched herself. "Hm…" Obviously still in the blank world, she could only wait until something happened or she woke up.
Something changed. She could hear something knew; there seemed to be some activity by the front desk. Azusa leaned towards the source; her cell was fairly close to reception by the entrance. Since the only interesting thing was the conversation, Azusa found herself eavesdropping.
"Excuse me, but I believe you have my daughter."
Is that who I think it is?
"Do you have ID?"
"Of course I have ID."
Pause.
"Do you have the girl's ID?"
"Oh, I don't, sorry. She must have lost it, the poor thing. My poor girl has had amnesia and a few problems."
That doesn't seem like her… But her voice is the same. And do I have amnesia?
"We can't let her go if you don't at least have ID."
Are they talking about me? Is that my mum? But it isn't.
"Can I at least see my little girl?"
Pause.
"If you must lady."
Azusa heard footsteps heading her way and she braced herself. Past the white bars, her eyes lingered on a girl only a year older than herself. Brown boots, navy jeans, and a light blue t-shirt. Brown hair, brown eyes, and a signature pair of yellow hair clips. The one that claimed to be her mother was none other than Yui Hirasawa.
"Oh my, darling, how long have you been here?" She winked, trying to get Azusa to play along. However-
"Yui, what are you doing here?" Suddenly, Azusa went quiet as brown eyes met Orange. Never has she looked so scary.
"Yui?" said the police officer next to them. "Your ID says your name is Tae Kikuchi."
"Ah, I'm your Mother, baby. I'm not your aunt." The police officer looked unconvinced but finally Azusa played along.
"Oh, Mother!" Azusa went to the bars of her cell and tried to hug her 'mother.' It went awkward.
"Darling, you must not be feeling very well. I have your medicine here." She pulled out a white powder. "Excuse me officer, can you get my baby a glass of water?"
With a nod, he walked off. Yui handed some of the substance over and winked at the girl behind bars.
"Hello. How do you know my real name?"
"Y-Yui?"
Her eyes became dead. "Don't ever say that name again." Azusa was shocked at the sudden outburst; her sempai's face was deathly serious when she said it. However, it turned back into a gleeful smile that the world knew. "I knew you were special when I first set my eyes on you but we have to get you out of here first."
"How are you going to do that?"
Yui paused. "I don't know. How can you not have an ID?" With a sigh, she tapped her hand on her head as she tried to rack her brains. "I guess we could do a standard break out. It'll be messy but sneaking you out isn't an option, we don't have much time." She pondered on the options. Azusa was thoroughly confused. "How can you not have ID?" she repeated again. Suddenly, a mobile phone was in her hand and her fingers became a blur as she texted messages to some unknown person, or people. "I'll get Eyes And Ears on it. Maybe even Band too if she's free."
Unsure what Yui was doing, Azusa sat back down. "I don't understand what's going on… Where am I?"
"Do you actually have amnesia? Because I made that up."
"This is one strange dream."
"Oh, don't actually swallow this substance." The officer returned, handing them a bottle of water. Azusa pretended to take the medicine but quenched some of her thirst. As the police officer started talking to Yui, she hid the powder in her shirt.
"Miss Kikuchi, we would like to ask you some questions."
"Eh?" Yui was suddenly on the defensive, her feet shifting to a fighting position. Her hands were raised and open though, giving an unarmed impression. "W-why?"
"Because your names don't match up." Yui gulped. "And we cannot find any data on a 'Yui Kikuchi' or your sibling."
Azusa sweat dropped. It took them a while to realise their surnames did not match. Nakano does not equal Kikuchi. Yui didn't even look old enough to even be her mother. How they had bluffed this far for so long, she didn't know.
"I'm sorry but she remarried recently-"
"You don't have a sister, Tae Kikuchi. In fact, your ID is a fake. You are being placed under arrest for possessing false ID and disrupting the police."
Yui began whispering under her breath, apparently ignoring the officer. "I'm sorry, darling, but this is going to get messy."
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a cou-"
The officer stopped talking. That was because he couldn't. Yui's hand had moved across his throat with a small knife. Her other hand slipped into his jacket and took out his gun. The man was falling to the floor, Yui jammed her knife into the jail's lock and it sprang open. The gun hand was raised, firing shots into the distance.
Red on white. Azusa could not hear the bullet shots, the heavy mechanical explosions in the pistol each time the trigger was pulled. Her ears were strained to hear the dead man's finishing words, as though she was still listening to the famous speech that would no longer finish. Instead, the sound of his death gurgle filled her mind. A red liquid dripped from his neck, bubbling out and spilling. He hit the floor, unmistakably dead.
Azusa opened her mouth to scream yet she found her throat dry and no sound came out. The bottle of water dropped from her hand and it splashed into the puddle of blood that was spreading towards her.
"Let's go!" the go-happy guitarist said. Yui was pulling her out of the prison and they were running. They passed reception and a heap of bodies. Each had a single bullet hole in the head. Azusa almost threw up but she was dragged along so fast the bile was forced into her stomach.
Outside, they headed into the alleyways. The buildings were too close together. Azusa could touch the walls either side of her if she stretched out. However, her hand was being torn off as she was rushed at Yui's incredible pace.
A turn, Azusa was almost flung into the wall and the sharp corner.
Yui took out an earpiece and put it on. Then, she was changing her direction, heading back the way they came. Before the next corner, she stopped, letting Azusa catch her breath. The wail of sirens screamed past and soon they were moving again, crossing the road into the next set of alleyways.
And finally, they headed into a building. They took an elevator up, though Azusa was fatigued to the point she couldn't see straight. Everything was a blur; everything was messed up. Finally, they got to the roof.
She managed a question. "The roof?"
"No cameras."
Yui led the way, pulling the smaller girl with her. "We should be safe here. We'll wait till it goes quiet then we'll head to base.
"I'd like to ask you some questions though." Yui gave a charming grin. "How do you know my name?"
"Yui?"
Suddenly, Azusa felt a gun pressed to her face. Sweat immediately dripped from her face.
"I told you never to say that name again."
"W-what do I call you then?"
"Call me Clips."
/*Author's notes
I hope you enjoyed the prologue.
This is a teaser of what this third project is going to be about- the plan is to do this for NanoWrimo (so November... That's a long wait. Chances of me breaking this plan?)
Also, I do not understand 'Genres'. Most stories have all the genres... Anyway, I'm not sure what this story fits in to but I've tried my best.
The other two projects are 'K-ON! MMO Illusia' and 'K-ON! Continued!' (So whilst you're waiting for this one to update, one could read those.)
And here is the standard 'Please Review' bit.
*/