"Ah, you're here," Ritsu said as Mio accessed the clubroom. "Got the designs?"
"Yes," Mio affirmed, gently shutting the door behind her. "But I want to show it to Mugi first."
Maybe she'll be a little nicer about it, Mio finished in thought, pressing the flyer to her chest.
Ritsu shrugged. "Okay."
It was Friday morning and the girls had all agreed to gather at the clubroom one hour before school began so that they would have enough time to make sufficient copies of Mio's flyer and post a few of them up to begin advertising for the "temporary member" recruiting. They would put the rest of them up throughout the school day and meet back at the clubroom after school.
Tsumugi took the flyer from the shy, ebony haired girl. While the well-mannered Oujo-sama looked over her work, Mio decided to perform a quick scan of the room. Azusa was helping Yui complete some homework, even though she was just a first year. Ritsu was lazily leaning back on her chair, the usual snack and tea cups set before her atop the table, and eyeing Mio with a bit of discomfort.
"Wha'cha looking at me for?" Ritsu blurted out in inquiry.
"No particular reason," Mio responded truthfully, turning to back to Mugi to see how far she'd gotten.
"Your design is quite remarkable, Mio-chan," Tsumugi praised. "I especially liked the bunnies you added in there."
Mio sneered at Ritsu, who in response stuck her tongue out at her. Mio had proved to Ritsu that someone actually liked her design.
"So, we should get Azusa and Yui to color it now, right?" Mio asked.
"That was the plan, yes," Tsumugi recalled, nodding in assent.
Mio and Ritsu would practice some songs they would later play in an upcoming school festival while Tsumugi provided Azusa and Yui some snacks and tea as they colored so they would get energized. Tsumugi would occasionally stop to listen to Mio's and Ritsu's playing. She noticed that the two couldn't be any more out of sync, and wondered how this was possible, considering they were such good friends. After a while, Azusa handed Tsumugi the flyer she and her sempai colored, for Yui had already fallen asleep on the dining table, some drool noticeably dripping from her mouth.
Tsumugi soon after headed out and in search of a scanner, she had brought enough money to make more than a hundred copies, which they would then excruciatingly have to take down once the break began. Though, as long as it helped her friends, she wouldn't mind investing her money in such a way.
"You put a contact number there, right, Mio?" Ritsu asked, just to make sure.
"Yes," the girl in question responded. "And our clubroom number, and our names, and our advisor's name, and—"
"Gee, what else? Our home addresses?" Ritsu sarcastically added.
"…yeah."
"YOU DID!?"
"Was that too much?" Mio queried sheepishly.
"Ha ha ha, it's fine, it's fine," Ritsu reassured with a wave of her hand. "As the club president, I forgive you. But if I get some stalker guy beginning to follow me around, I'll blame you."
"Hey, I'm the one that has a fanclub," Mio quickly snapped.
"Well, you endangered your own self," Ritsu noted stubbornly.
The girls continued to argue with one another, but both wore lively, half smiles on their faces.
"I want a friend whom I can have fights with, too," muttered Yui wistfully with a pout after waking up with all the ruckus Mio and Ritsu had incited.
It depends on what kind of fights, Yui-sempai, Azusa immediately thought.
"Azu-nyan, let's wrestle!" Yui enthusiastically suggested, bringing her hands together in a clap.
"H-hey, look, sempai"—Azusa shouted as she pointed to the door to create some sort of diversion—"Mugi-sempai's back!"
Tsumugi returned with a stack of papers covering almost her entire view and staggered over to the club's dining table, placing the heavy load there. The club members wondered how she pulled such stunt off with indisputable fright. Tsumugi had peculiarities of her own and was someone whom one should not underestimate. Ritsu quickly left her drumming set, as did Mio with her bass, and headed in Tsumugi's direction to check out the flyers.
"Hey, these are pretty cool," Ritsu commented. "The bunnies don't look out of place at all."
"Of course not, Ricchan," said Yui with an air of odd vainness to her. "It was because I colored them in such a way that everything blends in." She nodded to herself proudly.
"If I remember correctly, Sempai," Azusa quickly added, "you did that coloring right after you said that you were tired and just wanted to get this over with."
Why can't anyone ever let me have a moment? Yui thought gloomily with glistening tears welling in her eyes.
"Well, then, should we begin posting them up?" Tsumugi said.
"Yeah," Ritsu acceded, glancing at the clubroom clock. "We have about thirty minutes before school begins."
"Well, we have to split up so that we can cover more ground," Azusa noted.
"I'll take over the cafeteria!" Yui chirped with glee, jumping up and down.
"Then allow me to take the school's right wing hallways," Tsumugi said, pointing to the right.
"I'll do the left wing," Azusa said, directing to her left.
"I'll work on the sports areas," Ritsu declared energetically.
"And I'll take over the library," Mio stated. "Well, we're all set to go so… let's go!"
~\o/~\o/~\o/~\o/~\o/~\o/~
Mio ambled to the library; she knew that there really was no hurry since they'd be posting them throughout the day, anyhow, so she took her time. As she passed the shoe lockers section, she caught a glimpse of white paper conspicuously sticking out of her own locker and made her way over, picking up her pace. She gently slid out what appeared to be a letter and arched an eyebrow as she read it.
Nodoka entered the building and began to take off her street shoes to store in her locker when she noticed Mio.
"Good morning, Akiyama-san," she greeted casually, placing her street shoes in the locker and taking the school ones out. "What have you got there?"
Mio brought her eyes back to the letter and jumped. She began to fidget around with it and think of the appropriate way of explaining it to the girl that had just arrived.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Nodoka finally said, seeing how embarrassed and nervous Mio had suddenly grown. "I shouldn't meddle."
"N-no, it's nothing important," Mio assured, waving her hand frantically in negation, "just a love letter… is all."
"Well, it depends on the person whether they regard something like that as important or not, I suppose," Nodoka said. She then further approached Mio and scrutinized the letter.
Nodoka dejectedly frowned and subsequently sighed after reading the name of the sender at the end.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~\o/~
School was about to begin and everyone had finished at least part of their appointed areas. Azusa and Tsumugi had managed to get a head start on the job since their designated hallways were near the starting point. Poor, unfortunate Yui got lost on her way to the cafeteria and locked herself out of school while trying to find it, which disabled her from posting any flyers and mostly impelled her to cry in self-consolation. Soon, though, some kind guy found her and told her that she needed to pull the door to enter, not push. Ritsu had rapidly run up and down the gym's shiny, slippery floor, aligning an abundance of flyers on the same wall. By the time she left the gym to cover more sports areas, she realized she had run out of flyers and decided to go to class early.
The school bell rang and there wasn't any more time left for the girls to return to the clubroom, so they just postponed the task of "meeting up" for when school was over.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~
It was first period, and Yui had class with Nodoka, since they had chosen the same elective: art. The teacher wrote the assignment on the board and left it there for the students to work on. It wasn't anything difficult or intricate in any way, just free drawing.
"Nodoka-chan, what are you going to draw?" Yui asked, hoping to collect some ideas for her own piece.
"I'm not sure," she responded. "I usually begin with some meaningless lines and the art just takes off from there."
Whoa, Nodoka-chan's a born genius, Yui thought. "That's pretty amazing!"
"I bet you're going to draw food or the like," Nodoka said with a laugh.
Is she a mind reader, too!?
"Don't worry, you're just very predictable," Nodoka assured, seeing how startled Yui appeared.
As Nodoka laughed at her childhood friend's naivety, Yui overheard some girls' conversation in the back.
"Have you noticed that she's gotten a ring?" one of them said.
"Yeah, I think she may have been tied down, if you know what I mean," the other added.
"By whom? Her parents?" another commented.
"No way, I mean by a boy," the other one clarified.
"But it could just be a purity ring," some girl that joined in to the conversation said.
"Well, all I know is that everyone in the school is freaking out over it," a voice farther in the distance stated.
The girls continued to gossip about the topic, and Yui found herself becaming engrossed in it, too, which was rare since she only thought about sweets and food. She continued to pay heed to the discussion until Nodoka brought her back to the present.
"You alright?" she asked.
"Nodoka-chan," Yui began, turning to her friend, "what's a purity ring?"
Nodoka's eye twitched.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~\o/~
The bell tolled and indicated the end of first period and the beginning of the second. Tsumugi made her way to her next class, which took place in the library. Tsumugi maintained an unhurried pace as she headed to her class, contemplating the sight of other students hurrying to their current period's room. When she finally arrived at the entrance, she realized she was the first one to get there. She left her school bag and books on the table and walked over to the book stands to pass the time as she waited for the rest of the class to arrive.
She noticed, as she roamed the library, that the place had no flyers advertising the light music club's temporary member recruiting. Tsumugi wondered if Mio was able to reach her destination in time to complete the posting of the flyers.
After a few minutes, involuntarily loud murmurs emanated from the library's main area, indicating the arrival of the late comers. Tsumugi was reading a book on the "different kinds of love" when she overheard some girls from her class speaking on the other side of the stand.
"Hey, did you see the ring she was wearing?" one of them commented.
"Yeah, I have," the other said in a despairing tone. "I bet she's taken…"
"W-well, maybe it's just the fashion?" another said. "I think I read it in a magazien somewhere..."
"Where was it again? Her left hand?"
"But it should go on the right, right?" another said. "If it's not on the right then maybe it's not official."
"But she's a lefty, and we don't know where they wear them."
"I'm so jealous," the first one said. "I'm going out with someone and haven't been given a ring yet."
At that moment, the teacher intervened and kindly told them to return and take a seat somewhere in the library and keep their voices down. Tsumugi was also spotted and told to sit down, which she obediently complied to.
My, I only know one left-handed person in this school, Tsumugi thought. I wonder…
"Class, today we're going to learn how to operate the school's online library," the teacher announced. "Take a computer, please."
If it is… and certain person hears about it… then things are bound to get juicy, he he, Tsumugi thought mischievously, hiding a naughty grin behind her respective computer.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~\o/~
The bell rang once again and signaled the start of lunch.
Azusa, Ui, and Jun ate lunch together, as they were accustomed to doing. Azusa had brought some bread rolls, Ui some stewed bean dishes, and Jun a piece of fried fish. The girls joined their tables and chattered as they ate.
"Azusa, you almost always bring bread rolls," Jun commented. "Why's that?
"I don't really have time in the mornings to prepare anything else, so I just bring these."
"I always prepare the food the night before," Ui said. "It helps, since I make onee-chan's lunch, too."
"Yui-sempai is fortunate to have a sister like you," Azusa said. Otherwise, I'm not sure how she'd survive.
"Hey, have you guys heard the rumor going around school recently?" Jun said, suddenly becoming a little more cautious and watchful of the students in the classroom.
The other two girls grew incredibly wary as well. "No, what is it?"
"Well," she began, "they say Mio-sempai has gotten a boyfriend."
"MIO-SEMPAI HAS A BOY—!"
"Shh!"
Jun and Ui slapped Azusa's mouth shut and brought her back down to her chair. Other students began to grow suspicious and eyed them with a side-glance to keep them in check.
"It's just a rumor," Jun continued, "so nobody knows for sure yet."
Azusa sighed in relief. "You got me scared for a minute there. But why do people think Mio-sempai has a boyfriend?"
"Because," Jun said, getting closer to Azusa, "she's wearing a fancy ring on her left hand. We all know what that means."
"SHE'S ENGA—!?"
The girls pulled Azusa back down again and silenced her. "No, she's not engaged. It just means she's going out with someone!"
"It could also be a purity ring…?" Ui opinioned.
There was silence, and the three inadvertently broke out in laughter.
"Yeah, right, as if!" they said with disbelief, and subsequently crossed out that possibility.
The girls resumed eating their meals.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~\o/~
The last two periods of the day were no quick trips, for with the excitement of Akiyama Mio's rumored boyfriend, no one could keep from talking about it. In fact, it only made it harder for students to concentrate on their teachers' lectures and school work.
When school was finally over, the members of the light music club hurried to the clubroom with anxiety, already mentally reviewing some of questions they were thinking of asking the now seemingly unavailable Mio. Yui was the second member to arrive, after Ritsu, dragging in with her an air of carelessness and a laid back breeze.
"Yahoo, Ricchan!" she greeted, raising up a cheerful arm and slumping down on a nearby couch. "You're always here first. Why's that?
"I'm the president, and I don't tolerate tardiness, even from myself," Ritsu declared with pride. "Plus, my classroom is sort of close so might as well."
Yui jumped off the couch and checked what the clubroom's mini fridge had to offer her that day. "Oh, by the way, Ricchan, what is a purity ring?" she asked. "Nodoka-chan just kept quiet about it when I asked her…"
Tsumugi bumped her forehead on the door as she made her way into the room after hearing Yui's statement. "Ara, I'm sorry, I'm a little clumsy today."
Ritsu scratched the side of her face in a fidgety manner as Tsumugi set her school bag down on the dining table and fixed some things up. "W-well, it sort of like… um… prevents people from sleeping together! Yeah, that's it!"
Tsumugi knocked her head on the slim window. "Arara, I'm sorry, I just lost my balance…"
"So, then, if I wore a purity ring, I wouldn't be able to sleep with Ui-chan anymore?" Yui queried in dismay.
Mugi suddenly fell on the floor but just as quick rose to a standing position and dusted herself off. "Oh, don't mind me; I was just on my way to get the broom and tripped."
"Um… sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, sempais," Azusa monotonously excused herself as she entered the clubroom. "So, I guess you're also talking about Mio-sempai's ring?"
There was an awkward "crack" sound in the background, as if the harmonious setting of the clubroom had been unexpectedly disturbed, and the easygoing mood simply vanished.
~\O/~\O/~\O/~\O/~
Mio accessed the clubroom with heavy feet, displaying an exhausted demeanor. As she stepped in, her school bag hanging loosely from her shoulder, the first thing that came into her line of sight was Ritsu's back, with Ritsu herself contemplating the scenery out the window. Tsumugi was brooming the floor, Azusa reading a book, and Yui eating some sweets. The odd thing about the picture Mio was currently viewing was that every one of them had their backs turned on her.
"Um, sorry I'm late," Mio apologetically said, shutting the door behind her.
"You're late!" Ritsu chastised, whipping around to face her. Her features didn't particularly exhibit anger, only a tad of agitation.
"Yeah, I know I'm late, I just said it," Mio noted.
"But perfect timing, Mio-chan, we were just talking about how late you were," Yui said.
"Um, isn't it a little too late to say that, Yui-chan?" Tsumugi queried.
"Why are our sentences getting so repetitive as of late?" Azusa wondered aloud.
"Can we stop using the word late already?" Mio suggested, growing tired of the meaningless word play.
By now, everyone was facing the dark-haired beauty that had just arrived. Their gazes quickly darted down to Mio's left hand and just as fast returned to making eye contact with her. Sure enough, they caught a glimpe of the infamous ring she wore on her left hand. Ritsu frowned and her eyes squinted as she slowly rose from the chair she was occupying to amble over to where Mio stood.
"So, Mio-chan, my best friend, my voice of reason, my never-keeps-secrets-from-me buddy," Ritsu drawled. "Why were you late?
"I was busy," Mio responded without faltering.
"Busy, you say," Ritsu repeated. She draped an arm over Mio's shoulder and let it hang loosely. "Ha ha, we're all busy at times, huh? What were you busy doing?"
"I had to take care of some things at the library," Mio informed with a little uneasiness.
"And I'm guessing those things were a little more important than our club activities?" Ritsu continued, digging deeper into the matter. "I mean, you can just tell me… we're best friends, right?"
"Okay, fine, I was finishing up posting my share of the flyers," Mio admitted with rosy cheeks, clearly embarrassed. "Now, care to tell me what the deal is with all this questioning?"
"Oh, nothing that should concern you… or your boyfriend," Ritsu responded with casualty, suddenly taking an interest in her hand and scrutinizing it as Mio allowed some time for her sentence to fully process in her mind.
"My what…?" Mio trailed off in astonishment.
Oh, my, this is better than television, Tsumugi thought, having left the broom lying at some corner of the room and taken a seat in the couch for a better view of the drama-movie-like events unfolding before her.
"You know what, Mio-chan," Tsumugi said innocently. "That ring basically suggests you have a boyfriend."
"Also," Yui added, " you can't sleep with anyone, anymore."
"It could also mean she's engaged, you know," Azusa explained, getting a little more in-depth.
"What? You guys never mentioned Mio getting married!" Ritsu exclaimed loudly, obviously irked.
Mio quietly watched as the musicians began a fierce argument with one another over what the ring's true implication was. Mio skeptically continued to observe their ridiculous exchange as she wondered just how stupider they could get. She sighed and stood between them, raising both her palms up to indicate a halt.
"First of all, let me clarify something," Mio said, hoping to assuage the commotion. "I don't have a boyfriend, and whoever told you that I did is substantially misinformed."
Azusa shrunk to a "chibi" in utter shame.
"Then what's the ring for?" Yui inquired.
"This?"—Mio said, raising her ring finger up—"Nodoka-san gave it to me."
~awkward silence~
Ritsu was the first to speak up. "Hmm, never thought she'd swing that way," she mused thoughtfully.
"So Nodoka-chan played for the other team, I see," Tsumugi said in a reserved manner, but obviously implying something.
"Congratulations, Mio-chan," Yui said with authentic gaiety for her friend.
"No, no, you're misunderstanding!" Mio quickly added with a furious blush and a frantic wave of her hand. "I mean, she gave it to me so that I could avoid bothersome people from asking me out."
By the perplexed looks and expressions she received in return, Mio figured she would have to get a little more in-depth.
"Well, you see," she began, "as I made my way to the library, I happened to find a note in my locker, which turned out to be a love letter, and then subsequently encountered Nodoka-san. I handed her the note to read, and she recognized the name of the sender—one of the members in my fanclub. She told me I would be getting more of these bothersome letters so she gave me a ring which would fake my unavailability so that I could continue to enjoy my high school life."
"That's pretty… clever," Azusa opinioned. "Nodoka-sempai is very bright! I would have never thought of that."
"Ha ha ha, so that was it," Ritsu said, chuckling at her previous cogitation, which turned out to be way off line. "You had me scared there for a second, Mio. I thought you'd gotten a boyfriend before I did."
Mio gazed at her friend with utter hopelessness. "How would I sneak my boyfriend into this school, anyway?"
"It's all good," Ritsu chirped. "Besides, if you did have one, I would have had to play the role of dad and see if this boy was fit for my Mio!"
Mio's cheeks grew hot and emitted a faint redness. "T-thanks, I guess."
That was still great entertainment, Tsumugi thought with pleasure, wiping dry some tears of satisfaction. "So, everyone, should we start working on posting the remaining flyers? Tomorrow is our last day."
Everyone sought consent from one another and nodded with liveliness.
- 0 *Thank you so much for the reviews, everyone, I promise to make this story AWESOME for you! Please tell me how I did. I'd appreciate it!* 0 -