"I can't believe you let your strings rust. You really need to take better care of your guitar, Yui-senpai," Azusa moaned as the members of the Keionbu club wandered through the local shopping mall.
"Mou, it's not like I didn't dress him up in nice clothing, and treat him well," Yui whimpered in reply, clutching the aptly named Gita, her guitar, tightly to her chest as she walked behind the rest of the girls. She had completely neglected to give the delicate piece of equipment the maintenance it rightly deserved, and, as a result, the instrument needed to be tended to urgently.
"I'm just going to wait out here. You know I don't like seeing all those guitars and nothing I can appreciate," Mio said, as they came to the music shop that Yui had originally purchased her guitar from originally. Ritsu, the bands drummer smirked her sly smile, and slunk across to her friend.
"Are you sure about that, Mio? Look, they're having a lefty fair right now. I bet you could find something to interes..." she began, but stopped as the bassist dashed past her, into the shop. The drummer smiled sweetly as she watched her friend walk, making sure that none of her friends caught the adoring gaze she was giving the raven-haired girl. It would have meant answering a lot of awkward questions.
"Are... are we in heaven?" Mio asked, gazing at the left-handed basses, all two of them, that were in the fair. She turned her head towards the counter. "I'll take them all!" she cried out, before the rest of the group arrived.
"Now now. Let's not go too far," Ritsu said with a giggle. She turned to the two lead guitarists, and they nodded, and wandered off. Tsumugi, the bands keyboardist, began to wander the shop, idly glancing at the books of musical score that they sold, flipping through one or two with a carefree abandon that gave her the feel of air headedness, even though she was quite a sharp thinker. Eventually, RItsu joined her in her perusing, and the two girls wandered the shop.
"Ric-chan...Did I ever tell you thank you for asking me to join the club?" The blonde haired maiden asked as the two girls inspected some symbols. Ritsu tilted her head to one side, and looked at the woman's earnest expression, before smiling lightly.
"You didn't, but you don't need to. I should say thanks for joining, without you there wouldn't BE a club, you really saved my dream," she said, hugging her lightly. As she pulled away, however, she felt a tightening of the girl's arms, a flinch that made it seem as though she didn't want to break free, one that was very quickly overruled. Ritsu glanced into her eyes, and saw something she was afraid of seeing behind the sparkling blue pools.
"Mugi-chan..." she mumbled.
"Hey, there you are! They cut his strings, they deflowered my Gita!" Yui called out as she and Azusa arrived alongside the girls. The shortest girl sighed, and put her hands on her hips, looking up at the air headed student.
"If you'd kept him clean, you wouldn't need to do this," she said, and Yui blushed, brushing the back of her head lightly, an embarrassed giggle escaping her lips.
"Ah! Lady Tsumugi!" A voice called out suddenly. One of the store workers had recognised the heiress to the rather vast Kotobuki fortune, whose assets included the store they were stood in. Ritsu breathed a thankful sigh of relief as the girl with the odd eyebrows was crowded; it was bad for her friend, but good for her, to get the blondes mind of what she hoped and prayed was not in fact on her mind.
The work on the Guitar took only a few minutes, after which time the clerk brought the now shiny and restrung guitar back to the young girl, who squealed with joy.
"Gita! I was so worried. They didn't hurt you, did they?" she said, cuddling the guitar like a younger person might cuddle a cherished soft toy. The band exchanged embarrassed glances at her actions, but did not say anything more.
"You're welcome... I think... Now, how will you be paying?" the clerk asked. Yui looked up at him with a somewhat blank expression. Agonising seconds drifted by as the musician stared up at the male, who couldn't help but feel as though he had just done something wrong.
"Pay?" she asked eventually. The girls of the band let out a groan. "I... I didn't know I had to pay for maintenance...will five hundred Yen cover it?" she asked, turning to her friends. Mugi fished around for her purse, pulling out the laden container.
"Uh...I think I have enough on me," she stammered, but before she cold actually withdraw any funds, she was inundated by the clamours of the members of staff, with clamours of 'It's OK' and 'We'll put it on the tab, Lady Tsumugi'. Ritsu gave another relieved sigh, happy to have the girl preoccupied with anything other than her. She left the girls alone, and went to seek out her bassist.
"Hey, Mio. Ah, there you are. Come on, let's head back," she said, as she walked up behind the girl, who was crouching before the basses.
"No," came the rather blunt answer from the black haired girl, and Ritsu couldn't help but giggle, she sounded just like a young child.
"Come on, everyone's waiting for you. We're ready to go," she added, sneaking up behind her slowly. The girl simply kept looking at the guitars before her.
"No," she stated again, and Ritsu made up her mind. With a single lunge, she was beside the girl, her hand gripping the scruff of her neck tightly.
"Come... on!" she grunted, pulling the bassist backwards and up. Mio began to complain and struggle, but years of playing drums with all her might had given Ritsu a great deal of upper body strength, and she found it easy to pull the flustered Mio along. Her latest tease unfortunately was abruptly cut short, when the easily embarrassed girl tripped, and slid down onto her rear, quite heavily.
"Uh...ahahaha, come on, Mio, what're you doing?" Ritsu said, brushing the back of her hair gently.
"Ritsu, you're an idiot..." Mio snapped bluntly. The drummer bristled a little when she heard this, but nevertheless, she fought back. She was going to say something more personal to the woman; however, the other three arrived before she could. As the girls left the store, Mugi suggested that they all go and have some tea.
"Ohhh, I wish I could, but I told Nodoka that I'd meet her. Sorry, everyone," Yui said, batting herself on the back of the head.
"N-Nodoka-chan? Do you think she would mind if I tagged along too?" Mio asked, eager to see the friend that she had grown close to, since she was the only club member to be in a class without friends, save of course for the school committee member. Ritsu glanced at her, and made a barely audible tch noise, a tut of indignation, that Mio wanted to spend so much time with Nodoka, and so little with her.
The day passed by without much incident, Ritsu decided to follow the two girls to their meeting with Nodoka, dragging Azusa and Mugi along for the tirade, but she quickly made herself scarce once she had gotten her fill from Mio. The next day, at lunchtime, still feeling extremely jealous of Nodoka for hogging her Mio, she burst into the classroom, and dragged Mio off, declaring that they needed to practice. Once there, however, the drummer began her usual antics.
"So, Mio, what're you going to wear for the culture fest this time? You showed panties last year, maybe you'll wear an even shorter skirt, or no undies at all!" she giggled, dancing around the irritated bassist, who glared angrily at her, even making a swipe at her with a hand.
"Ritsu, will you settle down, you dragged me out of lunch with Nodoka to practice, so will you sit down and start playing!" she said angrily. Ritsu stopped moving around her, staring up into her eyes. Suddenly, she looped her fingers, and placed them against Mios face.
"Takoyaki!" she exclaimed, simulating the game that young girls and boys in Japan played. This only aggravated Mio further.
"Ritsu..."
"Ponytail!" she cried out, clasping the girls hair, and puling it back into a loose ponytail, tugging at her hair as she did, which irritated the bassist beyond her usual limits.
"Dammit Ritsu, I hate you when you get like this! Knock it off!" the black haired lead, rather reluctant lead singer of the as then unnamed keionbu club band snapped, glaring angrily at her band mate who looked back at her for a few moments. Something seemed to change within her, though, and she pulled back.
"If you're just going to be dumb, then I'm going back to lunch," Mio said.
"We'll practice..." she mumbled, slumping down onto her drums. As the group began to start up their song, Ritsu found herself dwelling on the woman's words. I hate you. I hate you. I HATE YOU. The words bounced around in her head as the song progressed, she failed to notice, or indeed, care, when the others noticed the absence of her powerful drums. As the music stopped, she finally realised, and lightly tapped her symbol.
"Ritsu... it's good that you're not outpacing yourself, but... you need to play a little harder, we couldn't hear you," Mio said, trying to bring a little bit of fun back into the group, but, as she watched Ritsu stare at her drums, something very worrying crept over her.
"It doesn't feel right..." the drummer muttered, standing from her kit. Silently, she walked from the room, and leaned on the door.
"Idiot, Ritsu..." Mio mumbled, and the drummer had to suppress a gasp, clamping her hands to her mouth. Moments later, she slammed her eyes shut, trying in vein to stop the cascade of tears that flooded down her cheeks. A little time passed, and after school practice time came. As Sawako-sensei, or Sawa-chan as she had become known, entered the room, she was surprised to find that Ritsu was not present. After the explanation had been given to her, she sighed.
"Well, there's no two ways about it. MIO! Let her play with you! Become her teasing post for a day!" she cried out, pointing a finger to the shocked young girl, whose eyes widened, and she began to shake.
"I... I... I... I can't... let her do that!" she squeaked, her face flushing brightly as her mind began to conjure up all sorts of naughty images.
"Well then...we need to start looking for a replacement..." Sawako said, causing a shock to the rest of the members.
"Wh... what?" Azusa asked, giving the teacher a surprised glance as she leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of her tea.
"It's just a precaution. She might not get over this before the culture fest, and..." she began, but was halted by a hand slamming into the table.
"NO! NO, I won't play in a band that doesn't have Ritsu as drummer! She may be fast... she may be playful... she may be headstrong... but she's ours... our Ritsu... I don't want to," she snapped, shouting at first, but devolving into a series of sobs. Yui rubbed her back gently, as Mio stared at the woman, unblinking. The day ended without event, and, the next morning, the bassist couldn't help but notice that there was a certain drummer not making her life hell.
"Ah! Mio!" Yui cried out, as she and Tsumugi approached the fair-skinned bassist, who was peaking into the classroom with a worried look on her face. As she heard the boisterous young guitarist call her name out, she squeaked, a blush spreading across her face.
"I-I-I wasn't looking for Ritsu!" she stammered, looking around for some way of getting out of the situation she had placed herself in. Tsumugi smiled faintly, a smile of relief but concern at the same time.
"She has not been in all day. She seems to be home ill with the flu," the blonde girl said, looking across at Mio, whose features twisted with concern.
Stupid Mio. Stupid stupid STUPID Mio! Ritsu thought to herself, as she curled up a little more in her bed. She hated being so susceptible to the illnesses in the air, but it was her one weakness. At least, the only one she had no control over. Stupid Nodoka stealing her from me. KEEP HER, see if I care. I DON'T care, who would want Mio anyway... I mean... she's only the most beautiful girl in school... smart, funny, big boobed, talented, pffft, who wants all that when they can settle for scrappy and flat chested...she continued within her own mind, gripping at the duvet covering her tightly. To her own surprise, she found that moisture was beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. She wanted scrappy and flat chested... Why... Why do you hate me, Mio she thought, sobbing as she did so. Hours and minutes seemed to blur, she had no idea what time it was, or even what day it was, as her head span. She saw mocking images of Nodoka clasping a tiny Mio in her hand, cackling maniacally, all the while getting ready to step on an equally small Ritsu. She must have drifted in and out of sleep, because the next thing she could head was murmured voices, too quiet to make anything out, and a slow, careful footfall on the stairs. Her heart skipped a beat; she would recognise those steps anywhere. Silently, she cursed that her hair was tied up so ridiculously, in a tall bundle atop her head, and a cooling patch rested on her irritatingly large forehead.
"Mio?" She croaked, just as the girl went to knock on the door. The bassist smirked to herself, and slowly opened the door to the darkened room. As she regarded the bundled up bassist, her own heart pounded, the drummer looked adorable rolled up in her blankets. She looked up at Mio, a faint smile on her face.
"You knew it was me?" Mio asked, kneeling by the side of her bed. Ritsu nodded, shifting a little in the quilt.
"I recognised your steps..." she mumbled in return, before turning away slightly, a blush spreading across her face. "Is...is everyone mad at me?" she asked, and Mio let out a soft sigh, resting on the mattress.
"Of course not, they just want you to get better, silly," she said, and then also looked away, a blush spreading across her pale cheeks. "I... want you to get better too... I... I miss your drumming. I... I need it. I love how it feels... Like it resonates within me, with my bass playing," she said, which made them both blush even more. The girl turned to get up, when Ritsu suddenly let out a little giggle.
"Are you...You've been fooling me, haven't you?" she said, and Ritsu smirked, sitting up on her bed.
"Nyahaha! Fooled you! I'm completely better! Urrgh..." she said, her brief flourish making her head spin and her stomach heave. She collapsed back to her bed, and Mio giggled to herself.
"That's what you get for acting up. I'll go get you some t..." she began.
"Stay with me," Ritsu squeaked.
"Huh?
"Stay with me until I fall asleep. Please."
"OK," Mio breathed, shuffling up to Ritsus bed as close as she could, looking down at the ill girl with a gentle smile. A few minutes drifted by, nothing but the gentle ticking of her clock in the background as the two girls gazed at one another.
"Mio?" Ritsu whispered eventually. Mio looked back at her, nodding slightly once again. "D-did you... did you miss me as well as my drumming?" she asked, her cheeks flushed with the fever and her own embarrassment.
"Of course I do," she replied, instantly. She had a feeling that Ritsu had a lot on her mind that she needed to vent, and she'd do her best to help her out.
"Do... do you still hate me? When you, you said, yesterday, I..." she stammered, tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks, her body shaking with sobs as she remembered the harshness of Mios words, and how much it had hurt her.
"Ritsu!" Mio exclaimed suddenly, pulling the girl upright. She stared deeply into her eyes, tears of her own beginning to form. "I...I would NEVER hate you! I just... you know you push me to my limits sometimes... I guess we both went a bit far..." she said.
"Uh..uhuh.." Ritsu mumbled, sobbing and sniffing as she tried to rub her eyes. Mio sighed, and leaned in, hugging the drummer against her tightly. With a tenderness rarely seen from even the usually calm bassist, her lips gingerly brushed the girl's cheeks, brushing away the falling tears as she did so. Ritsu whimpered at the touches, gripping onto Mio as tightly as she could.
"I love you Mio," she whispered, her eyes no longer able to stay open as fatigue washed over her. The raven-haired girl smiled, and gently lowered the woman to the bed.
"I love you too, Ritsu," she breathed, her hand clasping Ritsus own.
The rest of the band arrived and, for a little while, they chatted in quiet tones, in order to keep from waking Ritsu and, apparently, Yui too. They talked about potential band names and songs to perform for the concert, and, eventually, the others left, leaving Mio alone with Ritsu still clinging to her hand. Mio delicately pried her hand free, and was just standing up when she heard a gentle murmur from the ill drummer.
"Mnnnhh... Mio... stay with me... forever..." she said, her throat hoarse as she spoke. Mio looked down at the girl, and gasped a little when she saw the state the girl was in. The girls face was constricted in pain, and the sweat from her body had completely soaked her pyjamas.
"Ritsu...Hey, come on, wake up. You need to get into new clothes, you can't sleep in those," she said, walking over to one of the chests of draws, selecting a new pair of garments for her friend, who whimpered louder, sitting up in the bed.
"Miiiooooo!" She cried out, stumbling forwards. One of her hands slipped, and she found herself tumbling from the bed. In an instant, Mio leaped from the draws, cradling the tumbling girls
head in her lap as she fell from the bed. "'M not gunna... stay alone..." Ritsu said, looking up with her bleary eyes at the bassist. Mio let out a sigh, and gently eased the girl back onto the bed, where she knelt, staring blankly at the wall at the foot of her bed.
"OK, fine...But just tonight, OK. We've already talked about this..." she said, going back to pick up the dropped clothes. Ritsu nodded, but it was barely a wobble. "Are you even listening to me? You need to change clothes," she want on. Moments later, Ritsu tossed her trousers at the girl, sitting back on the bed in her kneeling seat, a wide smirk on her face.
"Your turn now," she said with a giggle. Mio blushed brightly, her eyes wide.
"Wh-What?" She squeaked, crawling up onto the bed, sitting on it in a similar way to Ritsu. The drummer giggled, and leaned forward again.
"I go, you go. I'm not gunna sit here naked while you get to look. That's not fair. So I wanna see you too," she said, before adding, "I remember the promise. BOTH of the promises."
Late at night, way past the time the two youngsters should have been asleep, they both sat up, watching the flickering pictures on Ritsus television, the dulled music just reaching them as they both watched the concert. Twelve-year-old Ritsu could barely contain herself as she watched, getting more and more worked up as she watched the musicians have the time of their lives up on the stage. She was even more a bundle of energy when compared to Mio, who was staring at the screen, unmoving save for the snack she was nibbling on.
"We should do that! We should totally do that!" Ritsu squealed, shaking the girl from side to side as she watched. Suddenly, Ritsu pushed the table away from them, and slid almost into Mios lap, clutching her shoulders with her hands, looking deeply into her eyes. "We can do it, can't we, Mio? I'll be the drummer, and you be the bassist!" she said. Mio could do little but blush as she looked back into Ritsus sparkling blue eyes. She had had a crush on the girl for as long as she could remember, not only was Ritsu the first person to take her seriously as anything other than a blushing, frightened little thing, but she had a way of acting that, while it made her even more embarrassed than most people did, it also made her just a little bit proud of herself. Being around the girl made her more sure of her own worth. Of course, she hadn't said anything, how could she, but the atmosphere, the closeness of them, the way that Ritsu had seemed to latch onto the band idea, gave her hope.
"O-OK..." she stammered, her cheeks already bright red, "B-but... if we do... you... you have to marry me," she squeaked, her voice barely above a whisper. Ritsu pondered this for a few moments, and the nodded.
"Kay! You're really cute, anyway! I get a band AND a cute wife!" she said, grinning as she hugged the timid girl.
"Bringing that up again... it was silly," Mio said, her face redder than beet as she felt the buttons of her shirt finally released, giving way to her pale skin and bright pink bra Delicately, Ritsu slid the shirt down her arms, being sure to allow only the fabric to touch the girl, for the moment. She looked down at the blushing bassist, and smiled.
"It wasn't silly, Mio. I loved you back then, I love you know. Only, back then, I didn't know what love meant," she replied, dropping the shirt to the floor as she sat back, allowing Mio to do with her what she chose. Still brightly blushing, Mio crawled forwards, until the two girls knees were touching, and, slowly, she reached her hands down to the seam of Ritsus top.
"And... what does it mean?" she asked, her voice, due to her nervousness and attempt to be quiet, taking on a rather husky quality that Ritsu found too good to resist. The two girls had seen one another naked before, but, only on one other occasion, and at that time they had not been alone. In the five or so years that they had been 'dating' they had never been together in such an intimate way. Slowly, Mio dragged the sweat soaked top upwards, the setting suns light crawling through the window, revealing a glistening film of moisture upon Ritsus firm stomach. As the top was pulled away, and dumped on the floor, Mio allowed herself to glance down from Ritsus face. She gasped, feeling a touch of moisture come to her eye as she marvelled at the girl she loved. From head to toe, the woman shone, the evening light giving her a glow of beauty that went unrivalled in the woman's mind.
"Y-Y-Y-Your turn," Ritsu mumbled, looking away, trying to cover her breasts with her arms, her cheeks as red as Mios as she spoke. Mio sat back, unable to pull her eyes away from the Japanese beauty that sat before her. She almost didn't notice when the girl leaned forwards, and pulled her bra off in one quick motion. Squeaking loudly, she clasped the undergarment to her chest.
"Ah, you flinched. Forfeit time," Ritsu said with a giggle, pulling the bra down, and Mios hands with it. She gave an appreciative whistle upon seeing them, and teasingly ran a finger along the underside of each of them, making Mio shudder. "Hmmm... I think... you should... kiss me!" she said, triumphantly.
"What!" Mio squeaked, and then clamped her hands to her mouth. Ritsu grinned, and leaned forwards, their bodies inches away from one another.
"You heard. Kiss me. We've not done it properly before, and... I wanna..." she said, blushing a little. The drummer was hoping to push the girl beyond her limits, tease her once more, and had not been expecting her to do it so readily. Mio darted forwards, hands on Ritsus shoulders, and pressed her lips to the drummers, her tongue tracing them gently. Closing her eyes, Ritsu pressed back, her hands touching the girls skirt as her lips parted just enough to allow Mio entry. She pressed her tongue to her loves, and the two women melted into each other's kiss, mutual moans of enjoyment escaping their throats as lip and tongue danced. The two girls pulled back eventually, and Mio regarded Ritsu, letting out a soft giggle.
"Was it... really that good? You're shaking," she said, then took note of the pale expression on the girls face. She leaned forwards, pressing her forehead to Ritsus.
"You're burning up, but shivering... your fever's getting to the bad part..." she said.
"Then... leave me. I don't... want you to... get it," Ritsu mumbled, her eyes blurring as she spoke, meaning that she kept blinking to keep her focus.
"No. Never. I'm staying with you, and I don't care what happens to me. I love you, Ritsu. For ever," Mio said. She squeaked as the drummer suddenly embraced her, their bodies pressed together as she hugged her tightly.
"I love you too, Mio," she whispered, her grip becoming weaker and weaker as she slipped gently back into slumber. With a little work, Mio had the girl under her duvet, her arms still locked around her waist.
"Good night Ritsu," she whispered, leaning up to kiss the girl on the forehead.
"Night... Mio..." Ritsu whispered in reply, content in knowing that when she woke up, she would be in the arms of the girl she loved. As the two girls settle in, there came a sudden murmur, as Yui, the ditzy guitarist stirred from her slumber.
"Ritsu? Mio?" She muttered, wiping her eyes, as the two topless girls blushed in embarrassment.