~Special thanks to nioki-nainai for proofreading this chapter~

~ありがとうございます~


***Important***

1.-"this is message that was typed but unsent"

2. 'thought'

3. "normal conversation (face to face)"

4. "phone conversation"

5. -places or time-

6. Flashbacks are all in italics.


Chapter 3: Secret Plan

As soon as Ritsu arrived home, she took the newspaper from the living room and rushed into her room. She rummaged her beg for a piece of paper and a pen and started to scribble down for her Surprise-Mio-with-an-Apartment-Birthday-Plan.

"Okay… first step is to... then second is… then…" She then read the Job Opportunity section from the newspaper and made a list of all the jobs she could apply for to work.

-"Oiii~ Mio. Just wait for this surprise! I bet you'll like it… Love ya~" Ritsu typed in her phone, placing it back in its original place.

The next day, Ritsu woke up earlier than usual. She was very eager to start and carry out the first step of her plan. After eating breakfast, she dashed out from her house and rushed to her first destination.

Ever since that day, Ritsu spent every day working part time jobs to earn money. She went out to work at 7am and came back home late around 2am. She was also working on Saturday and Sunday. Ritsu's parents were not at home because of her dad's job. Her mom had decided to follow him everywhere so that she could take care of him. Ritsu's mom decided to follow her husband because Ritsu and Satoshi were already grown up and thought that surely they were able to take care and make decisions by themselves. Thus, Ritsu was able to come back home at late hours without hearing her parents nagging at her.

-"Mio, I'm starting to agree with you that 24 hours a day are not enough… I need more hours too…"

Finally one day, she took a half day off in order to see which apartments were suitable for both Mio and her. She also called Mugi, Yui and Azusa to tag along because she thought that they might be able to give her some useful advice.

"Ritsu-senpai, how is your plan going?" This was the first question that Azusa asked when everyone had reached the train station.

"Great~ Everything is going according to what I've planned." Ritsu answered happily.

"But you look so pale and tired, Ricchan. Are you resting enough?" Yui asked, filled with concern.

"Yeah… of course. Hehehe…" In truth, Ritsu slept less than 5 hours a day. Unlike her previous self which usually spent all the time playing around, relaxing, drumming, watching movies, lazing around and chatting, Ritsu was now working non-stop everyday. Every time she reached her home at night, she would just lie on her bed and all she needed were 3 seconds to fell asleep. She even skipped some of her meals in order to save more money.

'Somehow that doesn't convince me…' Azusa thought.

"So, any suggestion on which apartment should I get?" Ritsu asked, trying to change the topic.

"The apartment should be nearer the university right? How about the XXX [1] apartment? I heard that the facilities are good." Yui suggested.

"But that place is not safe. Many crimes happened there. Even the newspapers are talking about that." Azusa disapproved Yui's suggestion.

"Hmm… A safe place… a safe place…" Yui mumbled while thinking. "That's right, UUU [2] apartment. It's safe. The police station is just beside the apartment!" Yui said excitingly.

"Yui, it's very far from uni and besides, wouldn't it be too noisy with a police station beside where you live?" Ritsu replied.

"Ricchan, what do you think of YYY [3]? It's a bit expensive but the place is nice and it's near to the university. There's also a supermarket." Mugi suggested.

"Good idea, let's try that place. Let's go!" Ritsu said while leading the way.

"So, Ritsu-senpai. What do you think about this apartment?" Azusa was curious.

"It's great! I love this place. But it's just a bit expensive." Ritsu answered.

"Well, you still have some time left right, Ricchan?"

"But break is almost over."

"Don't worry Yui. I can study at university in the morning and work at night~ It's not a big deal for me after all." Ritsu replied with her usual grin.

"Then again, if you need any help, feel free to call us Ricchan." Mugi said smiling back to Ritsu.

"Sure thing, thanksss a lot minna~~" After reading the time in her phone, "Gotta go now, my job starts in half an hour. See ya guys~ Thanks again for helping me..."

"You're always welcome Ricchan" Mugi replied.

"Take good care of your body Ritsu-senpai. Don't overwork."

"Bye Ricchan~"

"Bye all~"

"Here's your change. Thank you very much! Hope to see you again!" "Welcome, having here or take away?" Ritsu was now working in Max Burger. In 3 days, her holiday would be over. She had to work hard to earn more while she had the time.

"Tainaka-san, it's your turn to take a break."

"Oh… Thanks, Sakura. And I told you to call me Ritsu, didn't I?"

"Sorry, Tain-… Ritsu-san."

"Well done~ I'm going to rest now." With that, Ritsu went to the staff room. She sat down on a chair and leaned her head back to the wall. She took out her phone.

-"Wassup, Mio, I saw you walk past Max Burger with your friends… And you were talking to that same good-looking-guy again…"

Suddenly Ritsu felt dizzy. Her vision became all blurry and everything went black. 'Who switched off the lights? Why does my body feel so light now? My hea-' Ritsu collapsed and fell to the floor.

"tsu-sa… Rit..n… Ritsu… Ritsu-san, are you okay? Ritsu-san… Oh..She's awake." Sakura found Ritsu lying on the floor.

"Gahhh… My head hurts… Where am I? Ahh.. Hi there Sakura. And… Why are you all here? What happened?" Ritsu opened her eyes and found all the staff members on shift surrounding her.

"You fainted Ritsu-san." Answered one of her colleagues.

"You scared us! Everyone was worried about you..."

"Tainaka-san, your shift is over now. Go see the doctor immediately. Come back to work after you've rested for a few days. I will rearrange your working slot with the others." The manager commanded to Ritsu in a serious face.

"But, but… I'm fine now. I can work now and I don't need to see a doctor." Ritsu replied.

"Go, now! Sakura! Go with her. I bet she'll wander off somewhere instead of going to the hospital." The manager ordered.

"H- Haiii " Sakura answered.
After they changed into their own clothes, both of them left Max Burger through the back door. Ritsu tried to get away from Sakura so that she could escape and go to her next part time job. However, Sakura was a sharp girl. She was able to sense Ritsu's plan.

"Come on Sakura. I'm fine, OK? Look! I'm energetic as usual, see?" Ritsu jumped a few times on the spot, punching the air like a kick boxer. Sakura was still not convinced and started pushing her from the back to the nearest hospital. Ritsu sighed and obeyed. 'One checking won't hurt right? Or not?' Ritsu thought to herself. In truth, Ritsu recently was getting more uncomfortable with cold temperature, losing more concentration, having headaches most of the time and getting tired easily. But for the sake of her part time jobs, she decided to ignore them all.

'Oh~ God, please look after me!'

To be continued~


A/N:

[1] Reason for putting XXX: Lazy to think a proper name.

[2] Reason for putting UUU: Lazy to think a proper name too.

[3] Reason for putting YYY: Lazy to think a proper name thrice.


Replies~:

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