I'll Be
A/N: Thanks for the reviews you guys! I'll try to update every Saturday. Please enjoy this chapter! Much love ;)
~Chapter 2: Your Crying Shoulder~
"Your dad wants to leave your mom?" Ritsu asked, her jaw literally dropped.
Ritsu could hear sniffles from where she was sitting. She brushed Mio's hair away and saw tears. She got a hanky off a table nearby and handed it to Mio. She nodded as a sign of thanks and wiped her tears away.
"Turns out my dad was busy cheating on my mom. She found out and well, it all led to this."
"I'm sorry to hear that Mio." Ritsu could stop and stare at her best friend whom she thought had a perfect life.
"I guess that's why I'm an only child; I probably have like, five or three half brothers and/or sisters from another mother." Mio sighed.
"Hey, cheer up! Come here…" Ritsu pulled Mio into a hug and let her rest her head on her shoulder. She softly patted her back and played with her hair.
"Your mom'll call soon." Ritsu whispered into her ear.
"I don't care." Mio let a soft yawn then made herself comfortable on Ritsu's shoulder. She eventually fell asleep and Ritsu noticed it. She chuckled then planted a soft kiss on Mio's head. She then fell asleep as well not too long after.
So there, Mio and Ritsu fell asleep in that position. Mio's head was on Ritsu's shoulder while Ritsu's arm was wrapped around Mio's body.
Ritsu woke up first, noticing Mio on her shoulder. She almost let out a gasp until she stopped herself, fearing that she'll wake Mio up. She laughed, but not too much, at Mio's sleeping face. In the end, she decided to wait for her to wake up.
About seven minutes later, Mio finally woke up. She found out that she was still on Ritsu's arm and darted upwards.
"OH MY GOSH! Ritsu, did I give you a dead arm?! I can't believe I fell asleep like that, I'm so sorr- "
"Why are you apologizing?"
"What?"
"It's cool…well, aren't I supposed to be your crying shoulder and all? I am your best friend, right?"
"I was crying?"
"Well before that."
"Oh, right…" Mio facepalmed then put her free hand on her hip.
Ritsu suddenly heard her door creek. She walked towards it and found Satoshi who was in the middle of escaping. She grabbed him by the collar and wrestled him to the ground.
"What are you doing here shrimp?" Ritsu growled.
"Ph-phone! Mi-Mi-Mio-nee's m-mom is o-on the ph—"
Ritsu didn't let him finish. She simply grabbed the phone out of his hands and heard Mio's mom's screams.
Oh hell no… Ritsu thought.
She went back in the room and stretched. She sat on one of her bean bags as if nothing happened. Mio got suspicious and spoke up.
"Well?" Mio said.
"Well what?"
"What happened?"
"Oh, your mom's on the phone. She was screaming too much so I hung up."
"Are you insane?!"
"Yeah I was born that way."
"Shut up!" Mio ran out the door and grabbed the phone which Ritsu left on the floor. She picked up and redialed her mom.
Ritsu couldn't care less so she just remained in her comfy room. She suddenly had that feeling again.
Her hair is so soft…wait, what? Ritsu put her hands on her hand, then slapped herself repeatedly with one hand.
Damn it Ritsu, stop it just…stop it. Stop it!
Mio went back inside with her head down. Ritsu got up immediately then walked up to her.
"What's up tiger?"
"My mom's pissed. I should go soon."
"Mio, you do realize we're late."
"I'm not going to school today. Can you uh…can you skip class with me?"
Ritsu jaw dropped. She tackled Mio to the ground out of shock.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MIO AKIYAMA?! YOU SIMPLY AREN'T HER! MIO?! MIO! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU BIT—" Ritsu bit her lip when she saw Satoshi right in front of her, jaw dropped and eyes wide open.
"Nee-chan…?"
"YOU SAW NOTHING." Ritsu moaned, dragging Mio away to the closet. It really looked like this weird anime scene.
Satoshi shook his head then walked away.
Meanwhile, in the closet, Ritsu was still trying to find out what was wrong with Mio.
"Ritsu, damn it, it's me. I just don't want to go to school. I'm…pissed. It's…urgh!"
"Whoa, calm down sport."
Mio gasped then let out a curse "Oh shizz!" close enough.
"What's wrong?"
"How are we gonna practice the dance for the culture festival?"
Ritsu smiled then grabbed Mio's hand "Let's practice here then."
"You're kidding."
Ritsu didn't give an answer. Instead, she put her hand on Mio's waist and waited for her to play along. Mio finally gave in and put her hand on Ritsu's shoulder. They did the first few steps, then adding in the twirl. Ritsu was getting used to it. Mio somehow had the skills.
They ended on one step then smiled. Mio put her hand away then half smiled.
"Well done, Ritsu. But, you forgot one more thing again."
It was Ritsu's turn to take her hand away "What thing?"
Mio squeezed Ritsu's cheeks with one hand then made her face her. Like, straight in the eye.
"EYE CONTACT YOU IDIOT."
"Well it's hard!"
"Okay then, why not we practice that part."
"How?"
Mio smiled then gave Ritsu this plain gaze. "I'm giving you different types of gazes. I wanna see which gaze you feel more comfortable with."
Ritsu raised an eyebrow. The plain gaze was a competitive one so, Ritsu fought back. It soon became a squinting contest so Mio stopped. Mio then gave her a sad gaze. Ritsu almost gave in so she moved on to a new one. Mio put on a happy gaze but Ritsu laughed. Mio face palmed so she put on an angry gaze. Ritsu almost ran away looking at that.
Mio almost gave up.
Mio then put on a fierce gaze but Ritsu didn't respond. She found out that she got bored and fell asleep with her eyes open (somehow). Mio finally brought out the big guns and gave Ritsu a seductive gaze. (K-On! OST: Hold on your love. Skip to 0:25 BWAHAHAHA)
Ritsu was almost weakened.
Mio started to have fun so she acted even more seductive. She bit her lip then winked. Ritsu was starting to sweat from above her ears. She brushed them away immediately. Mio then got even more seductive. She slowly went up to Ritsu with this creepy yet flirty laugh.
Ritsu was about to go outside until Mio pinned Ritsu to the door and put her hand against it. Her face then got close. Ritsu was closing her eyes. Then, Mio finally took advantage of the moment. She put her face close to Ritsu's ear then softly whispered…
"Weak." Then she bonked her on the head.
So much for ruining the moment.
"DAMN IT MIO!"
"I can't believe I got you to shudder at that gaze." Mio laughed.
"Shut up!"
Suddenly, they heard loud beeping from the outside. They decided to go and check. They soon found out that it was Sawako. She parked on Ritsu's garden.
"SAWA-CHAN DOUSHITE?!" Ritsu screamed.
"Ohayou Ricchan! Ohayou Mio-chan!" Yui said, in a tone as if she didn't notice what just happened.
"Maa, maa, it looks like we killed a few plants, nee?" Mugi chuckled.
"A FEW?! HOW ABOUT EVERYTHING?" Ritsu fell on her back then passed out.
When she woke up, she discovered Yui was singing the Jigglypuff song over and over again. She also smelled the scent of a Sharpie marker. She looked at her face into the mirror then jaw dropped.
"A WILD YUIPUFF APPEARED." Ritsu growled.
Yui slowly turned around doing the crane "YUIPUFF USED TACKLE!"
"ATTACK MISSED! RAITSU USED THUNDERBOLT! RAIIIIIIAAAAATSSSUUUUUUU!"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" Mio said, throwing pillows at both of them.
"A pillow fight?" Mugi asked calmly.
"OH HELL NO. MUGI'S GOT A HARD THRO-" Mio wasn't able to finish.
"It was a good decision not to bring Azusa…" Sawako said proudly.
Once they all got settled, Yui decided to ask Mio about her problem. Mugi also prepared tea for them.
"Oh, uhm…my parents are getting a divorce."
"YES!" Sawako said out loud.
Everyone stared at her.
"What? Well…I thought there might be another man for me and all and…I'll be quiet now…" Sawako faded out towards the end. She scooted away bringing her tea with her.
"Divorce? I'm sorry to hear that." Yui said.
"Well, you know most of the waltz, right?" Sawako asked, hoping to get the sadness away.
"I practiced with Ritsu. She can pick up fast."
"Make sure you come to school tomorrow, okay?"
"Hai…"
"See ya tomorrow! Ja neeeee!" Sawako said, driving away with Mugi and Yui.
Ritsu waved then put her hands in her pockets. She gave Mio this look then finally said "Your mom'll be worried."
"About what?"
"You know, where you ran off to and stuff."
"She already knows who's the first person I'll run to." Mio smiled at Ritsu.
Ritsu shuddered at Mio's smile. It was a calm yet captivating one.
"But yeah, I guess I should go now." Mio went inside for a moment to grab her hoodie. Once that's done, they were off.
Mio insisted on walking all the way instead of riding a train. She also took Ritsu with her. Ritsu walked with her hands on her head while Mio put her hood on and shoved her hands in her front pockets.
The sun was setting, it was a pure orange color with a mixture of the blue afternoon sky. It was quite breezy, but, it was the comfortable type of breeze.
"Isn't it pretty?" Ritsu beamed. This startled Mio but in a good way. She smiled in response to Ritsu's statement then sighed.
"Seems like a rather sad sunset…"
"A sad yet beautiful sunset." Ritsu put emphasis on the word 'beautiful'.
Mio raised an eyebrow at Ritsu, waiting for her to explain what she just said.
"Look, despite that happy and breathtaking color, there's this depressing color it's hiding. Like a mystery and stuff. It doesn't want to show it because it wants to please whoever is watching it. It doesn't want to bring everyone to depression as well because well, like I just said, it just wants to please the people around it, watching and adoring it." Ritsu slowly looks down to her knees as she finishes.
Mio is still silent, she's at a loss of words.
"…it's kinda like you." Ritsu finally says.
Mio's eyes widen in shock. She cocks her head to one side then half smiles. She then lets out a soft chuckle and shrugs "I uh, I guess you could say that." She chuckles once more but then her expression suddenly falls, remembering this depressing color she's hiding.
"Hey, cheer up you annoying idiot." And instantly, Mt. Fuji has appeared on Ritsu's head. That just proves that Mio can plant a sucker punch even in her darkest times.
And finally, they reach the Akiyama residence. Mio looks to her right and she sees her dad's car. She sighs heavily then walks up to the porch. Ritsu suddenly pinches Mio's nose to lighten up the mood.
"Stop. Being. So. Bummed. Baka." She laughs.
Mio successfully pushes Ritsu's arm away and holds her hands up in defeat "Fine then, I'll try my best." She grins as she holds her doorknob.
"See you tomorrow!" Ritsu exclaims as she runs off.
Ritsu then comes to a stop when she's suddenly deep in thought. She facepalms then slaps her head repetitively.
Damn it Tainaka! For the last time it's frickin' impossible! Live with that fact!
"But I think I can't…" Ritsu whispers. She shakes her head then puts her hood on. She wipes her face with her hands then sighs. "I'm a screwed brown-haired Japanese high school girl." She moans.
Ritsu gets home and heads straight for her bedroom. She locks her door then hides herself in her blanket. In less than twenty seconds, she's asleep.
How can the basic rules of society take me down so easily? Ugh…but it still is impossible. It is definitely impossible. Well…it's impossible if I see it that way. So if I see it the other way around then maybe…NO NO NO NO. I'm not taking the risk. I just…who am I kidding…it's possible if I want it to be possible…
Ritsu shudders in her sleep as she dreams of herself locked in a room where she has to settle this thought.
A/N: WAAAH! I am so sorry it took so long! SUPER SORRY! School and our exams got over me and then my cousins came over and…I'M JUST SO SORRY. Okay, I like taking things slow but not in terms of my very poor updating speed but, in terms of the story. Did I succeed in that? Suggestions anybody? Thanks for the reviews! Much love ;)
