A/N; ok, so I've decided to finally post this, even though I do still have other things that need finishing... But hey, Digression is my middle name, or it would be if it wasn't...
hah, see what I did there? :3
Anyway, I've told you the date, I will only do this a couple of times, simply to give perspective on when the day changes, and how much time has passed between chapters. So if I don't give you a date at the start of the chapter, assume it leads on from the last, so it's either the next day, or the same day, 'kay? ^_^
Enjoy my very first K-on fic, the (C)overlords :3
11th of April
3:40pm, on the way to the clubroom
Azusa walks to the club room in a hurry, she'd gotten a text message from her senpai that they had some new prospective members. Supposedly they were new students that were in her year, just arrived today.
She opens the door in a rush, excited to see her new fellow club members...
What she sees when she opens the door is three guys in what looks like a male adaptation of their school's uniform.
"Oh, Azusa-chan. Meet the new club members; Yuji Shimada, Mikeru Kyoku and my younger brother; Hideyoshi Akiyama." As she names each new student, Mio indicates them one by one.
Pointing out Yuji first she waves her hand in the direction of a student roughly an inch taller then Yui, making him nearly four inches taller then Azusa. His hair is cut to sit just above his shoulder, giving him a slightly delinquent appearance, deterred by the way he carries himself, no delinquent would walk or stand like that... What the hell? Is his hair white? These thoughts race through Azusa's mind as she continues her assessment. His eyes are hazel and he's a little wider then the average student. He looks kind of bear-like, Azusa thinks to herself.
The second student she introduces; Mikeru is almost half a foot taller than Yuji, and fairly thin, giving him a slight "beanpole" appearance. His hair is red and spiked, his eyes a bright green. This one sort of reminds me of a scarecrow...
The final new member was Hideyoshi, Mio's little brother. He's roughly the same height as Azusa, maybe even a little shorter. His hair, the same rich ebony as Mio's, sits around his chin, framing his face and giving him a slight feminine look. His eyes are a vibrant light blue colour. He looks almost more girl-like than his sister.
Azusa looks at Mio with confusion sprawled across her face.
"But Mio-senpai... I thought this was an all girls school?"
"It was, but they changed that at the start of the term, the boys will be integrated into the classes as of tomorrow morning. They came to school today to get their schedules, familiarise themselves with the campus and join any clubs they might like the look of..."
"And now we have new members.. Isn't that great Azu-nyan?"
Yui's being her usual cheery self.
"Senpai, I get that you're excited.. But aren't you a little worried about having boys in the school?" Azusa looks at Yui with concern.
"Not at all Azu-nyan, there's not really much difference between these guys and half the girls at this school anyway so what does it matter? Besides, now we have a back-up drummer and bassist."
Yuji steps forward to address his new senpai.
"Well, while that's true Hirasawa-senpai, we're also our own band. The three of us were a cover band in middle school and we were pretty popular back then. Of course our old high school from last year didn't have any music clubs we could join, but we still performed at home. When we heard that we could attend the school that Hokago tea-time came from we were ecstatic, we saw you girls at the live show and it was incredible."
Mikeru steps up and speaks next.
"We're very much looking forward to rehearsing with all of you and we would love to show you what we can do..."
"Well why don't you play a song for us? Yuji and Hideyoshi have their instruments and you can use my drums Mikeru-kun. I don't mind." Ritsu offers up her instrument with a smile.
"Alright, but most of the songs we cover are in English."
"That's fine; it's the sound that matters. Besides, most English songs are fairly easy to understand."
"That's true sis. Alright guys, what do ya say?"
"Sure, let's give 'em a show; you want vocals 'Yoshi?"
"Nah, go ahead Yuj'."
"Alright, get ready guys; Watashi wo Futikobasu."
"You would pick that one..." Hideyoshi mutters under his breath as they start to play Blow me Away by Breaking Benjamin
The boys take their "rocker" poses, Yuji in a slight power stance with his 3/4 Gibson Explorer, feet shoulder length apart with his head bowed.
Hideyoshi takes a slightly more humble pose, feet a little closer but still separate, shoulders drawn back only slightly and hands resting on his 5 string Fernandez Gravity.
Yuji readies himself as they begin to play, leaning into the mic to start the vocals.
"They fall in line
one at a time,
ready to play."
Hideyoshi darts towards the second mic to throw in the back-up vocals.
"I can't see them anyway."
"No time to lose
we've got to move
steady your helm."
"I am losing sight again."
"Fire your guns
it's time to run
blow me away."
"I will stay in the mess I made."
"After the fall
we'll shake it off
show me the way."
The two start singing in tandem when the chorus comes around.
"Only the strongest will survive
lead me to heaven when we die.
I am the shadow on the wall
I'll be the one to save us all."
The girls react in shock when Hideyoshi starts the lead for the second verse, singing in a soft, feminine voice.
"There's nothing left
so save your breath
lying in wait."
Yuji takes over Hideyoshi's role of back-up while he's doing the 'girl parts.'
"Caught inside this tidal wave."
"Your cover's blown
nowhere to go
holding your fate."
"Loaded I will walk alone."
"Fire your guns
its time to run
blow me away."
"I will stay in the mess I made."
"After the fall
we'll shake it off
show me the way."
The two sing in tandem for the chorus again,
Hideyoshi swapping back to his guy voice.
"Only the strongest will survive
lead me to heaven when we die.
I am the shadow on the wall
I'll be the one to save us all."
Hideyoshi softens and fades out at the final chorus line,
leaving Yuji to sing by himself.
"You wanted it back
don't make me mad."
Hideyoshi steps in to back him up again,
switching back once more to his 'girl' voice.
"Don't make me Ma~~d,
Blow me a~~way."
"Only the strongest will survive
lead me to heaven when we die
I am the shadow on the wall
I'll be the one to save us a~~ll"
"Save us a~~ll.."
Yuji and Hideyoshi finish with the final note, panting with the excessive energy needed to both sing and play such an energetic song.
Mikeru is slouched behind Ritsu's drum kit, shoulders slumped in apparent exhaustion.
"Nice work doing Valora's parts Hideyoshi."
"You could have said you were planning that song!" Hideyoshi voices his complaint with a little pout while brushing the hair out of his eyes.
"My bad, but it's not like you don't know it."
"No but you know I hate singing girls parts."
"Yeah, but I did offer lead vocals before we started." Yuji replies with a smile.
Their conversation/playful argument is soon interrupted by the sound of applause from Yui, Mugi and Azusa.
"That was incredible!"
"Yes very good, your playing might just be better then Yui's was when she started here."
"That was amazing, I can't believe how well Akiama-san did the girls lines in the song, then switching back to guys parts, that takes awesome pitch control..."
"Thanks. You're Nakano-san right?"
"That's right, I'm Azusa Nakano. I'm in class 2-2 this year, nice to meet you."
Azusa smiles at the three boys.
"Nice to meet you too Nakano-san. By the way, Yuji's the better singer of the two of us."
"Now, now Hideyoshi. Don't sell yourself short.." Yuji smiles at Hideyoshi.
"Short jokes, really? You're like four inches taller than me."
"Yeah and don't you forget it..."
Yuji ruffles Hideyoshi's hair causing him to pout again (not helping his girly appearance at all...) as the two share a smile. Mugi seems to have noticed how Mikeru is seated.
"Are you alright Kyoku-san?"
Mikeru looks up at Mugi, a massive smile spread broadly across his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine Kotobuki-senpai. It's just been a while since we've performed for an audience. That was a blast!" He stands up, handing Ritsu's drumsticks back to her.
"Thank's for letting me use your drum's Tainaka-senpai."
"It's cool, and call me Ritsu, last names are so stuffy." Ritsu makes a face that makes her look like she just tried swallowing a lemon whole.
"Oh, ok Ritsu-senpai, thanks." Mikeru smiles at her and Mugi feels an inexplicable pang of jealousy.
"So, who wants some tea?" She starts busying herself with the teapot.
"Oooh, yes please Mugi-chan! You guy's are going to love Mugi-chan's tea, it's amazing. Do you have any sweets today Mugi-chan?" Yui reverts from excited to her usual sweet-addicted self.
"Oh I'm so sorry Yui-chan, I forgot to bring any today... but if we look there might be some cake in the cupboard, it's probably stale though..." Mugi's face falls as she realises that she's disappointed her friend.
"It's alright Mugi, I'm sure we can go without for a day. It won't kill us."
"Well. If you guys want something sweet to have with your tea, I'm sure Yuji-kun has something from the cafeteria..." Hideyoshi says with a sly grin. His comment has the desired effect of causing Yui to bounce up from her seat in delight.
"Ne, ne Shimada-kun. What is it?" Yuji resists the urge to pat his senpai on the head. She reminds me of an over-excited puppy... he thinks with a sigh.
"I got one of those golden éclair rolls. Figured I'd share it with the guys after school, but I'm sure there'll be enough for all eight of us."
"Sugo~ii, those are supposed to be really hard to find! How did you get it?"
Yuji shrugs. "It was just sitting there in the cabinet, I guess I was lucky."
Yui runs up and hugs him, hanging off of him like a parasite. "You're incredible Shimada-kun!"
"A-ano... Arigato, Hirasawa-senpai." Yuji's face starts to turn a light shade of red.
"Senpai, you're embarrassing Shimada-san..." Azusa steps forward. "Come sit down Yui-senpai, drink your tea." She drags Yui to her chair while thinking to herself; what a child...
Ritsu and the others are already sat around the tables which have had more chairs added around to account for the extra people. Yuji puts the roll on the table.
"Anyone got a knife?"
"Yes, here you go Shimada-san." Mugi hands him a knife with which he promptly cuts the roll into eight pieces and hands one out to everyone, leaving the smallest for himself.
"Are you sure you have enough Shimada-san?"
"Yeah, it's cool Nakano-chan. I'm not that big a fan of sweets so I don't mind small servings, I prefer them in fact." He flashes a smile in her direction, causing her to dip her head to hide her blush.
"Y-you can call me Azusa... i-if you want." She smiles shyly back at him.
"Thank's Azusa-chan. In that case, call me Yuji." Yuji keeps the smile on his face as he takes a sip from the tea cup that Mugi's placed in front of him.
"Well, since we're all in the same club why don't you three just go ahead and call us all by our first names." Mio says diplomatically, trying to cover up for Azusa's embarrassment.
"How nice of you Onee-chan, I doubt the guys would mind if you call them by their first names either." Hideyoshi responds to his sister's comment.
"Alright! Now that that's settled, let's dig in already before the tea goes cold!" Ritsu declares excitedly.
"Here, here. Well said Ritsu-senpai. C'mon guys the tea's going cold!"
That's Mikeru for ya, always thinking with his stomach...
Outside the clubroom. 4:30pm
"Oi, Azusa-chan!" Yuji calls out to his class mate, causing her to turn around, her twin pigtails spinning around her face. Yuji chuckles to himself at the amusing sight.
"Yuji-kun, what's the matter?"
"I was just thinking, since Mio-senpai, Ritsu-senpai and Yoshi-kun are all headed the same way, maybe you'd want to walk home with me instead.. I mean, we live in the same direction so..." Okay, little white lie there but hey... can ya blame me?
"I was going to walk home with Yui-senpai and Ui-chan..."
"Oh, that's fine.." Yuji smiles, secretly disappointed at having missed a chance to walk home with his cute future class mate.
"But, I guess I can walk with you instead.. I mean I walk with those two all the time so I doubt they'd mind me skipping out on them once." Azusa smiles shyly at him.
"Awesome! So, what got you into playing guitar Azusa-chan?" Yuji starts up a conversation with a smile, indicating the direction of the stairs to get her headed home.
"Well, my parents are both jazz musicians, so I got into it at an early age. I guess playing alongside the rest of the club has really improved my skills a little.."
"Really a little... that's a bit of a contradiction Azusa-chan." Yuji says with a playful smile.
"Hey... I know what I meant! Anyway, I mean my musical range and stuff... But I also didn't sing before I joined the club either."
The two stop at their shoe lockers, swapping out their school shoes for their real ones. Yuji holds the door open for Azusa, causing her once again to blush.
"Thanks," she says softly.
"Any time." Yuji smiles. His hand brushes Azusa's shoulder as it falls to his side, causing her to gasp.
"Sorry, that was an accident..."
"I-it's fine... I was just surprised... that's all.." Azusa's face has turned a deep red and her eyes are pointed firmly downward.
"You seem a little embarrassed." Yuji says teasingly.
"Can we just change the subject!?" Azusa blusters slightly as she makes her request.
"Sure, sure." Yuji smiles at his new friend. She seems to embarrass easily...
"Anyway, what made you start playing guitar?"
"Well, Hideyoshi got into the bass because of Mio-senpai. Then he had the same idea as Ritsu-senpai; to start a band. But he needed a guitarist and a drummer, that's where me and Mikeru came into it. He suggested guitar to Mikeru first, but Mikeru had the same reaction Ritsu-senpai had; hell no."
Yuji smiles fondly at the memory of Mikeru losing his shit at the prospect of moving his fingers so quickly.
"My ankles aren't that strong so using the bass drum constantly in some songs would tire me out too quickly. So Mikeru the slow finger mover and me the weak ankled guy decided to swap instruments so we were both happy. I got into the guitar, and he decided to practice the drums, and we both love it."
"So why don't you guys write your own songs?"
"Well I can't speak for the other two, but I've never had the right muse... Never had anyone to sing about or for.."
Azusa finds herself blushing at that comment, for reasons she herself can't figure out.
"That sounds so sad when you say it like that..."
Yuji chuckles. "Haha, I guess it does. But I don't mind, when I find someone to sing about then I'll start writing my own songs..." he looks across at Azusa with a coy smile, causing her blush to deepen.
"If I didn't know better I'd think you were hinting at something..."
"Well, that would be silly. Flirting with a classmate I only met today.. Wouldn't it?"
"Maybe, but you never know until you try..." Azusa looks up as she sees familiar surroundings.
"This is my house, see you tomorrow Yuji-san." Yuji smiles.
"I told you Azusa-chan, just call me Yuji."
"I-isn't that a little too informal?"
"Not at all, we're friends aren't we?"
"R-right... Then, just call me Azusa. I-I don't really have a nickname... not one I like anyway.." She puffs her cheeks out when she thinks about Yui's pet name for her. This action makes her look like an angry squirrel, causing Yuji to start laughing.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow Azusa." She nods and closes the door.
Yuji looks around. Right... now to figure out how far from home I am... He starts heading back the way he came, seeking a familiar land mark. Unfortunately for him, the first familiar landmark he finds is Sakura high...
Kyoku residence. 5:30 pm
Mikeru lies on his bed, thinking about his meeting with the famed Hokago Tea Time.
Kotobuki-senpai's rather friendly; she seems sort of regal too... Akiyama-senpai keeps to herself a little... Tainaka-senpai's almost as energetic as I am... And wow, that Hirasawa-senpai... she's got an appetite, at least she's easy to keep happy...
I liked Kotobuki, she was kind of cute...
Mikeru gets up from his bed, walks over to his desk, grabs a notepad and a pen and lies back down on his stomach, leaning his arms on his pillow.
Thinking of Tsumugi and nothing else, he begins to write...
Half an hour later
Mikeru looks proudly at his work, reading and re-reading it. I guess I should name it huh?
Thinking hard and looking it back over again he writes a title at the top of the first page, his work having taken up a page and a half in the little notebook. Piano in the dark.
Nice name, not a bad anthem for Kotobuki-senpai. A little presumptuous, maybe kind of dark, but I'm sure she'll like it, at least I hope she does...
Akiyama residence 6pm
Mio sits at her desk, doing her homework when her phone starts playing fuwa fuwa time. Flipping it open she sees a text message from Ritsu.
'Hey Mio, what'd you think of those new kouhai?
They're pretty good players, I mean we already
knew Hideyoshi was good but Yuji's gotten better
and that Mikeru was awesome!
Anyway, what are you up to? :)'
Mio shakes her head in disbelief that Ritsu could be so... sporadic in her behaviour.
'I've heard them practice in the garage before so
I already know how good they are.
Mikeru can play piano too.
And one of them can play the violin,
but I'm not sure which one of them it is...
Also, I'm doing the homework that you should be
doing too!'
Meanwhile, in his room. Hideyoshi sits in front of the small television in the corner, watching a music video while taking notes on hand positions and such. One can never know too much... he thinks to himself.
He then feels his pocket vibrate, pulling his cell phone out he sees a text from Yuji.
'Dude, I think we should start trying to write our own songs...
I was talking to Azusa on the way home and she asked me
why we don't yet, so maybe we should start.
Just a thought, anyway... 'Sup?'
Hideyoshi starts thinking to himself.. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try, not like we could write anything as fluffy as the crap big sis' comes up with...
'Sure, we'll talk more about it tomorrow in the clubroom...'
It takes a couple of seconds for Yuji to reply.
'Sweet, but let's talk about it at lunch.
I want to keep it a secret from the girls,
'til we're ready y'know?'
Hideyoshi sends a short reply before getting changed and going to bed.
'Sure sure, well I'm goin' to bed. Night'
Yuji doesn't reply to this, he never does to messages that say goodnight.
A/N: as stated in the disclaimer, none of the songs sung in this fiction are mine, Piano In The Dark is a song written and performed by Sweetbox and of course I mentioned in the story who sings Blow Me Away, the version sung in this story is the one featuring the singer Velora hence Yuji's comment afterwards.