"In a club which was meant to be abolished, four girls with a dream set out to rescue it! Now, with a new member and history repeating itself once again after just a few years…
Hirasawa Yui!
"I wonder if hair needs water to grow…
"Nakano Azusa!
"Actually, I got all of my guitar skills from Guitar Hero.
"Tainaka Ritsu!
"After I graduate, I'll take over the world with llamas!
"Kotobuki Tsumugi!
"If something were ever to happen to me, everyone, you are all cordially invited to my funeral in advance.
"And Akiyama Mio!
"I didn't hear anything… I didn't see anything… I didn't hear anything… I didn't see anything…
"Will once more journey to the unknown depths of Sakuragaoka High and the many instructors and educators that will stand in the way of saving their precious club!
"Get ready for the action!
"Ricchan, I just heard the world will end in 2012!
"No way!
"Way!
"The incomparable suspense!
"Mio, since this is the end, there's something I've always wanted to tell you!
"Gasp!
"The off-the-chart revelations!
"It was me who ate the last cupcake in kindergarten!
"Shock!
"And the passionate romance!
"I love you, t—wait, so that was you!?
"Dun dun DUM," Ritsu finalized with an onomatopoeia, stomping her right foot on the wooden floor with each dun. "Coming soon… So, what do you guys think of the trailer for our upcoming movie?"
Mio mercilessly flung a chalkboard eraser at Ritsu's forehead and the formerly animated girl fell backwards and off the chair she was just recently sitting upon.
"Who the heck's going to succumb to your stupid confession!?" Mio growled with a furious blush.
Ritsu, now with a red, rectangular mark on her forehead, rose from the hard floor and groaned, "Ouch… that was just fanservice, Mio." She picked up the eraser. "I'm sure everyone would die to see you professing your love to someone."
"So Ricchan wants to make a movie to advertise the light music club?" Yui recited to herself to allow the fresh news to sink into her mind. "To scout some temporary members… is that right?"
"But a trailer for a movie?" Tsumugi said with a little doubt. "That appears to be quite lengthy and time-consuming. And we would only have one day to work on it—today."
"Mugi-sempai has a point," Azusa opinioned. "Movies tend to take a really long time to fabricate—days, months, even years!"
"The point is: we can't accomplish it in a single day," Mio translated for Ritsu's seemingly feeble mind to comprehend.
"You guys are all so negative," Ritsu whined. "But, fine, even I know we can't take off with that idea. So, how else are we going to recruit people? I mean, no one came after we posted the flyers, and we've only got a day left of school before the break."
The five girls had once again gathered at the clubroom earlier than the usual, though now there were only a few minutes left before school began, since their conversation had lasted for a considerable amount of time. The gang rose from their places and began to pack things up to get ready to go to class. They hadn't gotten around to practicing that morning, either.
"We should get going," Mio said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "We've wasted enough time as it is."
Everyone nodded and followed as she turned the doorknob to leave the clubroom.
"Um, everyone, wait a minute!" Yui called out before one of the members could take a step out.
"What is it?" Ritsu inquired.
"Well, it's been a week since we've gotten the notice for club evaluation day but… has anyone told Sawa-chan-sensei about any of this?"
Ritsu confidently began,"Of course—uh…"
The girls stared at one another with apprehension.
"…Forgive and forget?"
Mio smacked Ritsu on the head again.
\o/~\o/~\o/~
"A…achoo!"
Yamanaka Sawako, the light music club's advisor and necessary key piece to the completion of a perfect club evaluation, wiped her nose with her sleeve, sniffling behind it.
"He he, someone's talking about me," she mused with a smirk. "I must be popular!"
She then returned to the task at hand, which was grading some students' essays.
1 week later…
Mio was anxiously brooming the clubroom's floor, flipping out over every dust bunny she encountered. Evaluation day had finally arrived and she couldn't allow any imperfections to be at display.
It had not been long since the other club members had left for their respective trips, probably about four days or less. They told Sawako about their predicament and the teacher subsequently broke down. Not because of the potentially catastrophic possibility of the light music club being shut down, but because she wasn't going anywhere for the school break and was stuck in the city like Mio and Ritsu; though Ritsu didn't get offended, since she could relate. After wrapping up the drama, Sawako agreed on attending the club evaluation. She had to, anyhow.
With the club only an hour away from the appointed inspection time, Mio restlessly awaited the arrival of the only available members in the club—Ritsu and, if applicable, Sawako.
"Good morning~" Sawako greeted as she accessed the room with a blithe and carefree mood.
"Good morning? Good morning!?" Mio repeated sharply. "Sawako-sensei, it's twelve o' clock in the afternoon! We all agreed to meet here at eleven since the evaluation would be at one!"
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," she muttered. "You sound just like my mother."
Why does it feel like the roles have reversed, somehow? Mio thought skeptically, and then sighed. "I'm sorry for going off on you like that, sensei…."
"No worries," Sawako assured, waving it off. "I'm sure it's just that time of the month."
No, like, your women's intuition is way off…
"You know, you're lucky I'm an understanding adult," Sawako began knowingly. "My parents never cut me a break, I tell ya!"
"Is that so…?" Mio said, responding in order to be polite.
"Yeah, it was always 'Sawako do this… Sawako do that… Sawako you stay here….' Tch, it was a real pain in the..." the teacher kept raving on about how restricted her life had been while Mio glanced at the clock every now and then.
"Yahoo!" Ritsu had carelessly slammed the door open, startling both Mio and Sawako.
"Uagh! Ritsu!" Mio shrieked in horror, running over to the door and pushing the girl in question out of the way to see if the door and the wall it had hit were okay. She sighed once she confirmed the two to be untouched. "Geez, don't be so reckless."
Ritsu pouted and looked the other way. "Mio still hasn't greeted me… especially now that you're wearing that maid outfit."
Mio's eyes instantly examined her figure and she inadvertently blushed after spotting the garment Ritsu was referring to.
"I-it's not a maid outfit, just an apron. I-I figured I'd use it since the clubroom needed a thorough cleaning," she explained as she clumsily untied her apron and stuffed it in a nearby closet. "Besides, you seriously need to take time into consideration. You're so late!"
"Yeah, yeah," Ritsu said, leaving the topic at that. "Anyhow, I just saw the lady that's going to be evaluating us. She's a very uptight and strict woman."
"Don't ignore the issue here," Mio chastised. "And is she that bad?"
"I'm not ignoring it," Ritsu said. "And yeah, she looks scary!"
"But you were ignoring it just then," Mio pointed out. "And can you rate her on a scale of one to ten?"
"Okay, fine, I was," Ritsu gave in. "And I'd give her a nine."
It's amazing how they can handle two topics at once, Sawako thought in disbelieving awe.
"Mou, what are we going to do!" Mio cried. "She'll be here any minute now and I only have the unreliable you."
"I am too reliable!" Ritsu countered. "L-like that time when I… uh… you know!"
"Don't argue with me," Mio said, raising one hand.
"You two remind me of the fights I used to have with my boyfriend," Sawako interrupted. "Which reminds me: my parents never even knew about him! They never allowed me to date or go anywhere!"
The two girls had long since stopped their argument and only stared at each other awkwardly.
"Oh, speaking of relationships," Sawako said. "When are you two planning to get married?"
O_O…
"W-w-who'd get married to her!?" Mio stuttered out with a hot, crimson face.
"Y-yeah," Ritsu immediately agreed, scratching the side of her face. "I mean, she's so not my type."
Mio's eye twitched ominously. "What? I'm not good enough for you?" she asked, hands on her hips.
"Well," Ritsu began, "you're kind of bossy."
"Bossy!?" repeated Mio with indignation. "You're such a bigmouth!"
"Crybaby!"
"Lazy!"
"Poo-poo head!"
"Fish brain!"
"GIRLS!" Sawako shouted, getting them to stop. "I was talking about what age you two were planning to get married, not if you wanted to get married to each other!"
Mio and Ritsu let the sentence sink and they both lowered their heads in shame and embarrassment.
"Now," Sawako rose from the couch she was sitting upon and grabbed the hands of the two girls, pulling them closer, "apologize to one another."
"I'm not a kid," Ritsu mumbled, shaking her hand loose. "But… sorry, Mio."
Mio cleared her throat. "I-I'm sorry, too."
"Now you guys need to quiet the heck down because you're making my hangover even worse," Sawako demanded as she headed towards the couch once again.
Mio began, "Sawako-sensei, you don't mean… you're drunk!?"
"So that's why she was rambling on about weird things," Ritsu figured.
"No!" Sawako immediately denied. "That was yesterday... now I just have a terrible headache."
"Why did you do something like that on the day before the evaluation?" Mio questioned helplessly.
"A gurl's gat too have fan, righ?" Sawako responded clumsily.
Ritsu ran over to the teacher's aid. "It's no good, her speech's becoming slurred."
"Q-quick, get her some water," Mio ordered with urgency.
Right then, three knocks emanated from the other side of the door.
\o/~\o/~\o/~
"Welcome to the light music club," Mio said pleasantly as she opened the door and allowed the evaluator to enter.
The woman walked a fair distance inside and stopped to stand at the center of the room, scrutinizing the place. She gave off a "business" kind of air with her gray, knee-long skirt and white blouse. She held a paper in her hand. Mio gulped and nervously glanced at Ritsu, who was standing by the closet, where they had locked their advisor in.
"Is everything to your liking, Miss?" Mio queried, being a good host.
The lady's gaze pierced Mio's own, making the girl tremble on the inside. "Yes, but"—she raised the hand which held the paper and skimmed through it—"it says right here that you have five members in this club, but I only see two."
"Well, they're in the restroom," Mio informed with a calm demeanor.
"They're all in the restroom?" the woman asked skeptically.
"Yes, they are."
"Even your advi—?"
"Even her," Mio replied with a winning smile and a flowery background.
"Well, then, I suppose we should wait—"
"Let's not," Mio suggested, guiding the evaluator around the room. "We wouldn't want you to waste your time so let's finish the inspection." She shot another smile up at her elder.
Suddenly, the closet's door began to elicit raspy, scratching noises. There was a hollow silence that followed, before it was broken again by a groan that came from the closet door. Ritsu reflexively kicked the door and dashed to the dining table.
"Would you like some tea?" Ritsu offered, flashing a "salesperson" smile.
"What was that noise?" the lady asked with suspicion.
"I didn't hear anything," Mio said as if clueless. "Did you, Ritsu?"
"Nope. Nothing at all."
The closet door shot open and out sprung Sawako, gasping and taking heavy breaths. The other three who were occupying the room jumped in alarm.
"W-who's that woman?" the evaluator demanded, startled.
Mio and Ritsu exchanged dark glances, nodded, and then returned to their happy-go-lucky attitudes.
"Sawa-chan, so you were in there!" Ritsu exclaimed in genuine astonishment as she walked over to her. "You joker you!"
"Miss Inspector," Mio began, "this is our advisor—Sawako Yamanaka."
"Well, that was quite the entrance, Miss Yamanaka," the lady said, extending her hand for her to shake in greeting.
The teacher who had just escaped the closet eyed the evaluator up and down.
"Ritsu," she said, "ya weren kid'in when ya say she wuz uptigh. She hass da perfact figor!" She turned to the evaluator. "Say, haw wud ju lik too cosplay?"
"Excuse me….?"
"Don't mind her," Mio said, quickly scurrying the evaluator a safe distance away from Sawako. "Let's continue with the evaluation."
Before they could carry on, steps growing louder in volume rapidly approached the room and then the doors to the clubroom were mercilessly slammed open and two girls accessed the room, breathing heavily.
"H-hello…. I… I'm Hirasawa Yui," one of them said in between huffs. "Sorry for being late!"
"How… how do you do? I'm… Nakano Azusa," the other one introduced herself. "I also apologize for being tardy!"
"Keh… I mean, gosh, you two spent a really long time in the restroom," Ritsu commented, even though she herself had no idea what was going on.
"Hmm, you two strike me as oddly familiar," the evaluator said, squinting her eyes at the two that had just come in.
No, more like, who are you? Mio thought, but kept it to herself.
"Well, it doesn't matter," the evaluator continued. "If we have you five, then we're only missing one person—Kotobuki Tsumugi. Where is she?"
Everyone sought each other for help, but no one had any ideas.
"Well, by the looks on your faces, she's obviously not in the restroom," the evaluator concluded.
"We apologize but"—Mio took one last glance at everyone in the room before returning her gaze to the lady in charge—"she couldn't make it today. She's really dedicated to the club, though, so… please… don't shut us down."
The evaluator sighed. "I'm sorry but rules are rules. You stated in your application that five people were in this club, so five people I had to see, excluding your advisor."
The fake Azusa gulped and asked, "So does that mean…?"
"Yes, this club will be disbanded until further notice," she informed, pulling out a red pen and writing something down on the girls' application.
Sawako finally snapped out of her hangover and asked, "Is there any way for us to reform the club?"
"Not as of now," the lady responded. "Give it some time."
Ritsu smiled brightly and said, "Well, then, thank you for taking the time to check us out, Miss Evaluator ma'am."
The fake Yui jumped and quickly made her way to the door, holding it for the lady who was getting ready to leave. She told them, "I suggest you all find a new club to devote your time to," before she left, though.
It was two o'clock, only a couple of minutes after the departing of the evaluator.
Ritsu was sitting by the dining table with her head lowered, staring down at her reflection in the offered cup of tea that the evaluator had turned down. Sawako grabbed her white jacket and sauntered over to the door, later half-glancing back at the four girls whom had tried their best in keeping the club up and running.
"I'm also the wind instrument club's advisor, so I've got to head there right now," she said, but no one responded. She sighed. "If you guys ever feel like joining, just come and talk to me... I'll be there" was what she said before leaving.
"We're sorry, Mio-senpai, Ritsu-senpai," said the fake Azusa.
"Ah, don't worry about it…um…eto…"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Suzuki Jun," she said, bowing. "I'm Azusa-chan's friend. She told me about your predicament, and I figured out I might try to help out."
"I-I belong to the student council and Mio-sama's fanclub," the other girl stuttered out. "My president, the same one for both clubs, told me to give you a hand."
Azusa and Nodoka sent them, huh? Mio thought, a little moved. "Thank you for coming to our aid."
"Well, for all that's worth, I thought your club was cool," the girl said.
"M-me, too!" Jun agreed.
Then, the two girls left. Now only Ritsu and Mio remained in the room, and though it was only two thirty in the afternoon, the skies were quickly darkening. Mio's eyes wandered around for a while before landing on Ritsu.
"Oi, we have to clean out all our stuff, this room's no longer ours," Mio said, but Ritsu remained unresponsive.
Mio sighed and approached her. "Hey, maybe this is for the better. Maybe… Mugi can join that choir club she initially wanted to join. Azusa could try out the jazz club and hang out with her friends. Yui can go back to doing nothing, which she used to enjoy so much. I could become part of the literature club or, heck, even my fanclub. And you… you could check out all kinds of clubs and settle for one."
"It won't be the same," Ritsu finally said, breaking her silence. "You won't be there. Or Azusa, or Yui, or Mugi, or even sawa-chan! We'll grow apart and I don't… want that."
"He he, you have a surprisingly soft side, Ritsu," Mio sneered.
"Yeah, I've been hanging around you a little too much," Ritsu snapped playfully, "and I'm not about to stop."
Ritsu rose from her chair, grabbed the teacup, threw its contents away, and set it in the sink. "We should pack things up. After all, this room's no longer ours… at least, not yet again it isn't."
Mio smiled sympathetically. "Right!"
"When we come back to school, let's check out other clubs," Ritsu suggested.
"Eh?" Mio adapted a befuddled expression. "I thought you wanted to revive this club."
"Oh, we will, Mio-chyan!" Ritsu cooed as she clung onto Mio, who began to blush. "Have patience. In the evaluator's words: 'give it some time.'"
A very short time, Ritsu thought knowingly.
And they began to clean out the clubroom of their things, thinking of how to break it to the other members later on.
-0- Thanks so much for reading! Please be sure to tell me what you think of the story so far, I'd really appreciate it!-0-