Rainy Walk
Standard disclaimer applied
Lately, she's been thinking a lot. Not the usual lot, like how Ritsu manages the club without hassle even if she herself is unmanageable, how Yui produced wonderful songs as of late and like how prepared they are for their next live. Rather, it was a bit more petty stuff like how Ritsu now walk more like a girl. Ritsu, since she knew her had always a bit of a boyish walk. She swaggers, ungracefully, unladylike and without care. Despite that, she though Ritsu's walk was very Ritsu and it suited her perfectly.
But now, she had this slight movement from her hips, the way she walks. It's almost like she's floating. She never thought she would think about it like this but Ritsu has a beautiful walk.
When she went and asked Ritsu about it, Ritsu suddenly jumped, cover her body with her hands and started screaming, "PERVERT, BALDY, MOLESTER, GET AWAY FROM ME!"
It took a right hook punch to quiet her that time.
She's been thinking a lot lately. It was one evening when she entered the club room, she saw Azusa with her guitar, practicing. Azusa has always been an obedient and diligent member of the group and out of all of them, the most serious. However, at that time, her focus was precise, her notes dangerous and her play was marvelous. She practiced hard for quite a while and when she noticed her, Azusa put down her guitar and greeted her.
"Good afternoon, senpai."
Mio could only smile at that. Azusa picks up her guitar and proceeds to practice again. Mio remembered telling her that she did well, and Azusa gave her a bashful smile. When Mio asked if there's any reason for her to practice so hard, the younger girl's face suddenly turned cold. Mio had known her for quite a while she had never seen her looking so fierce and hostile. She may be imagining it but at that time, she thought Azusa's eyes were burning red, her nostrils flared and her eyes glowed blood.
"Senpai," she suddenly said and Mio thought she had never heard something sounded so cold.
"Bullies only answer to power, right?"
Mio gulped and just nodded.
Azusa suddenly laughed, a dark creepy laugh, "If that's the case then I shall have more POWER!"
It was then when she suddenly stands, screaming her lungs out and started riffing and plucking and strumming the guitar like mad. She knows that Azusa was a great guitarist; she didn't know that Azusa could be the next Sawa-chan sensei. And she thought at that time, Azusa has definitely surpassed sensei. A tiny part of her thought that the statement was very unsuited for a petite girl like Azusa.
Mugi has been dreaming a lot lately. She didn't know how to say it but recently she often found Mugi staring aimlessly. There's a dreamy look in her eyes and a pretty blush on her cheek. She was always smiling when she did that and Mio thought that probably Mugi had something happy happened to her.
Yui on the other hand has been writing very good lyrics lately. When she first started, Yui often write nonsensical stuff like the pink of her pencil case, the turtle who tried to fly and Hot Curry, Sweet Curry. It was one of those days when Mio saw Yui playing the guitar by herself. She started strumming and plucking. It started nonsense but then, a rhythm was formed and she started singing. It was unlike anything she had ever written. It took Mio quite a while to realize that it was a love song. Yui's soft voice, the consistent guitar strum and the gentle lyric of it all made such a simple sound into a most honest music. The song was beautiful.
As Yui finish her last lyric and Mio entered the room, Yui wave her hand. Mio told her that it was a beautiful song.
Yui just smile in return and resume playing Gitah.
"You know what, Mio-chan? I think love is amazing!"
Mio turn and ask her why she thought that.
Yui just shrugged. "I've been watching a lot of love story lately and I think that they're amazing. It's such an honest thing you know?"
Yui doesn't know how to explain it. She just continues playing her guitar and sings her gentle song.
Mio has been thinking a lot lately. It was not the usual lot; rather it was little petty things. It took her quite a while to finally understand that the reason she's been thinking a lot was that her friends has began to move on, she was at the same spot she stand since the beginning of the club.
As she took her bass bag and left the club room, she wondered how much longer it will be until all of this will end. After all, this is just another fleeting summer's dream. However, the thought of it ending left a blacker hole than she thought possible.
It was one of those days when she saw him outside of the café'. It was near the train station where people gather. There were two of them, him and his friend. From the distance she could make out they were doing a sort of street live. He was singing and his friend, the younger boy with dark hair, amber eyes and pale skin was playing the guitar, strumming to and plucking to the tune. He mentioned sometime ago that the boy's name is Akira Fujii. They make such a good combo she pondered and she was not the only one thinking that.
All around her, people started to gather, little by little. And just like them, she too was attracted to his golden voice and the deft guitar playing and by the time he finishes his song and the boy his last strum, she too was one of them who clapped and cheered.
They were such a crowd gatherer, all great and somehow somewhere, there's a little sense of jealousy and envy towards them. But rather than heart breaking, it was pleasant. There was something special about the boy and that made her want to try harder.
By the time they were finished, people flock among them, some paying some notes to the box in front of them, some went to shake their hands and some seemed to purchase tickets from them.
"Remember!" he shouted, "Show's on Friday at that new live house. You can purchase the ticket from us or the place or any other music shop around the area!"
There's a look of fatigue in his eyes and she wondered how he could look that happy and satisfied. But what bothers her was the fact that even when she was here, watching him, she felt like smiling. There was something refreshing about him.
It took him quite a while to notice her and when he did, he just shouted, "Akiyama!"
She just laughs in response, "Just do your job, Ichinose!"
He holds up a hand, asking her to wait as he handed the many tickets to purchasers. She just gave him a smile and proceeds to sit at the nearby bench.
It's been about two week since that show in 'Shout'. When she arrived at the café the next day, he just approaches her and suddenly they just click. It was about an hour later and two cups of tea when suddenly they were screaming at each other. He like this kind of music and she, that. It was a funny conversation she thought and it was a bit regular for her to be talking to him on daily basis. The last time she saw him, he approached her with this intense look and out of the blue and just said, "Tell me you love Bruce Springsteen." Maybe that's why he was doing a cover of 'Fire' just now.
It was a bit dark today. The temperature felt cold and the winds were blowing a bit harder than usual. This area of the station was quite popular with this kind of activities. Especially in the night, once in a month, many bands would come together and randomly presents their songs. Because of that, many referred the area as 'The Golden Live Gate'. And, it was one of her secret dreams to have enough courage to perform here.
There was something cold touched her cheeks and she nearly screamed. When she turned, he was standing there, with a can of lemon tea close to her face; her favorite brand.
"Thank you," she said as she took it. The surface of tin felt cold to her fingertips.
He comfortably sits beside her and opened his can of tea. He took a few gulps from it and let out a long breath. And once again, she could only smile at that.
"Kou!" the pale boy called him as he runs towards them.
When he reached closer there was a confused look on him as he noticed her. "Aren't you that bassist girl from that band- wait what's it called again?"
"Houkago Tea Time" she supplied him.
The younger boy snapped him finger, "Ah! You're the crazy bassist who played as awesome as Tsukiko that night at Shout!"
She could only blush at that statement, "Ah, Thank you"
"Wait, since when did you guys were all buddy-buddy?"
"Dude, get lost!" Kou suddenly shouts.
"No, seriously. I thought Riku said you were like pathetically in an unrequited affection with-"
"Just GO!" Kou just kicked him away and the boy just laughs.
"Seriously dude, since when did you associate yourself with a great bassist like her?"
Mio just smiled then. "You're a great guitarist yourself."
"Nah," Akira dismissed it. "There's this girl I know who played better than me. But that's just cheating. No one should be that cute and play the guitar like friggin Jimmy Paige! Someone should just sue her or something. I'm telling you, I think she must've used black magic or sold her soul to the devil herself. She-"
"THANKS Akira!" Kou just cuts in.
"No dude, I'm telling you, it's-"
"GET LOST, MAN!" Kou kicked him again. The action itself was silly but they look like they're having fun.
"Ah, whatever. I'll see you then." The boy gave her a quick bow, adjusts his beanie hat and just ran to the station.
"Sorry about that," Kou said as she saw Akira climbing the station stairs, "He still bitter that a girl could play better than him."
"Yeah, I know how you mean."
Her mind ponders guiltily to Azusa.
"It was a bit gloomy today," he remarked.
"Kinda." She replied. "Nice show by the way."
It was then when he let out that smile, the gesture between proud and embarrassed. "Ah, thank you."
He took another sip from his can.
"Do you always do this, street live I mean."
He let out a small laugh, "It's been a while actually. Back in the day, me, Akira and Tsukiko always just find a spot somewhere and just- go nuts. It's hard recently. Tsukiko's in college now. She barely had the time."
"Must be fun,"
"It was," he said. There was a certain glow in his eyes. "We used to do that for fun and back then we just laugh and laugh and laugh. Kinda suck we can't do it now."
She saw that look before. Ritsu always had that look when she talked about The Who, Sex Pistols or Drums. He must have love just singing. It made her wonder just how much passion she had for music. In all honesty, she never thought her band could go this far. She knew they worked hard for this to happen but will the band last after all this. The four of them will leave school and go for further studies. Will dreams of Budokan just die as well? If that bound to happen, is it vain for them to just keep going?
It was then when she felt a drop of water on her hand. When she looked up, droplets of water began to fall. It was starting to rain. As she quickly stood up and takes her bag, he took his and pulled her arm and guides her to the nearest shade. Under the sudden heavy rain, they ran towards the close bus stop.
Under the small roof she took her handkerchief and just wiped some of the rain of her. The boy in question just ran his hands through his hair and just shakes the droplets off. It looked funny and barbaric and somehow, she could only smile at that.
That's strange, she suddenly thought. She's been smiling quite a lot recently.
When he was finally done with the display he just laughs, "Look at that."
It was raining heavily. From under the bus stop, she could barely make out the surrounding station and under the bus stop she felt as if they were truly separated from the world.
The boy sits and she followed suit. They watched the rain.
"It's been a while since it rained this hard," she said.
"Yeah," he nodded, "It's getting colder now."
She noticed that too.
It was pretty dark; most of the cars had their lights on. The mist, the cold and the water, all mixed up and under that one roof, she thought to herself that the world beyond seemed like a wonderland.
She stands up; suddenly she had a crazy notion.
"Akiyama?" the boy noticed.
"I suddenly have this crazy notion," she said, her eyes did not move from the rain.
The boy looks at her, looked at the rain and looked at her again, "Akiyama, don't."
She had to laugh, "Oh, come on! When was the last time you did it?"
"When I was younger and dumber and honestly, dude, it's not the best decision." He always had an interesting way of talking, she thought. It was nice.
Mio Akiyama sits again, laughing.
The boy looked at her when suddenly; she hopped back up and run toward the rain.
"AKIYAMA, WHAT THE HELL?" He shouted but the girl did not listen.
The boy chased her into the water and the rain falls heavily, against his ears, his cheeks, his shoulders and the cold water envelops him.
She just laughs and sings and dances. She twists and turns and the rain falls down on her. She was wet and cold and she did not care and the boy thought at that time the same thought he had all these time. Her hair close to her face and her clothes enwraps her form like a second skin.
"Isn't this fun?" she suddenly said.
The boy makes a face, "I'm freezing, I have an extra class tomorrow, I will have a high chance of catching a cold and this," there was a pause for dramatic response, "is my last school uniform!"
Mio smiled, "Has anyone ever told you that you think too much?"
"I'm being sensible here. Honestly Akiyama, this is dumb."
She laughs again and just stares upwards. The sky was dark and the rain was far from letting out. She felt a slight shiver from her shoulder and a part of her starts questioning what on earth was she thinking.
She turned to him. The boy had both his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, his form hunched a little. As she moved closer to him, she finally realized how taller he is from her, a head taller. He's shivering, he looked cold but he didn't walk back under the bus stop. Instead, he was standing here, in the middle of the road, shivering, yet still with her. There was something about that little action that put a smile on her lips. But then, her chest tightened and she felt like crying.
"Ichinose," she called. The boy turned towards her.
"I'm afraid," she finally confessed.
The boy didn't answer but his eyes never left her.
"This is my final year," she began. "And this year has been a very wonderful year. Our band is doing great, we've performed in many more places and we've got a name for ourselves. We still do crazy stuff but above all, we did our best."
She took a breath, "I don't want it to end."
She felt like crying but she was smiling. "We went through so much, buying Yui's guitar, accepting Azusa's applications, playing everywhere, getting fanmails and all those useless, insignificant but very, very wonderful things."
By then, she couldn't hide her tears.
"My friends changed. Not in a bad way but they've changed and I felt proud but part of me felt like they're slowly leaving. Even Ritsu." She paused again.
"Ichinose," she called him, her voice shaking. "Am I being paranoid?"
The boy didn't answer. He approached her, raises his hand and gently chopped her head. It did not hurt.
"This rain is making you dumb." He said.
He then took her hand gently and led her toward the bus stop.
The rain calmed after a few minutes. During that time, she never spoke a word. As she bid him goodbye, he offered to take her home. She just declined him and just walked.
"Akiyama!" he suddenly shouted. "Nothing last forever!"
The girl just laughed, "Ichinose, that's plain dumb!"
"I know!" he confessed. "I was about to say something cooler but it got away from me!"
He was trying to say something cooler. But, isn't the fact that they were crazily screaming at each other in the middle of the street is embarrassing? She didn't really ponder about it.
"Ichinose," she shouted, "You think too much!"
"I know!" he said. "Now be gone!"
She arrived home half an hour later. She quickly took her bath, changed into her night clothes, went to her table and took out her blue notebook. There are many thoughts in her mind now, too many words left unsaid. As she took up her pen, she began writing. She writes about rain, she writes about bus stops, she writes about all her words she didn't say, she writes about distances and in the end she wrote about how even after she took her bath and changed, she still felt the warmth of his fingers on her hand as he led her through the rain.
The next day, it was a few minutes after ten when suddenly Ritsu's phone rang. She answered the call calmly but after hearing the other side, she started screaming. As the call ended, she called the rest of the band. It took them about fifteen minutes to finally reach Mio's house.
As she open the door to Mio's room, she saw the raven haired girl under her blanket, her face red and a wet towel against her forehead.
"Hi," she greeted them with her sore throat.
The rest of the twenty minutes were filled with Ritsu's screaming voice.
Ritsu was complaining, whining about how she could catch a cold and how it should've been her instead and how Mio could have been so careless. Mugi just smiled as she took the wet towel carefully and gently wipe Mio's hot face.
"Honestly, Mio how could you catch a cold?" Ritsu was practically screaming but that could not hide the worry in her tone.
It was then when Yui suddenly raised her hand.
"I shall make Mio-chan a remedial chicken soup," she said with a serious face as she stood up and exit the room. The four of them were silent for a while until Azusa head towards the door.
"I'll help Yui-senpai," she said, her tone, nervous. Ritsu thought that's good. They did not want whatever non-chicken soup to enter Mio's system.
As the girl closed the door, Ritsu let out a heavy sigh. "Seriously, what in the name of everything sane drives you to just play in the rain?"
Mio pulled the cover above her cheeks, embarrassed. "I-uh. I'm sorry."
With that, Ritsu just sighed. Mugi placed the wet towel on her face and smiled, "Mio-chan, you should take a nap."
Mio return the gesture. As Ritsu went into another bout of her whining, Mugi gently wipe her head, a warm feeling swell in her chest.
"I could go on about how much of an idiot you are but now," Ritsu sat on the floor beside her bed, "Sleep."
Mio just nodded. Mugi then took the towel and the water basin and head outside. As Ritsu watched the door closed, she heard Mio silent breathing. It didn't take her that long to finally fall asleep. Ritsu let out a sigh. She considered taking a nap too until she heard a phone's tone. It wasn't hers.
As she picks Mio phone up from her side table, read through the receiving message, it took her quite a while to realize what has happened and then a small laugh broke out. Mugi came in a few minutes later and saw Ric-chan laughing.
"What is it, Ric-chan?" Her tone may be gentle but could not quite hide the curiosity from it.
Ritsu just shook her head. "Our Mio-chan has grown up." She said.
Mugi was confused.
The message was simple but to Ritsu, it explained a whole lot other thing. To Ritsu, that simple message of, 'Akiyama, I hope you burn in hell!' by one Ichinose Kou explained everything she ever questioned about her friend recently.
Author's Note: Actually, this story was never meant to be a continual but, from recent updates, I guess why not. Sorry for those who waited for it and sorry again if it does not reach your expectation. Thank you for reading it and take care.