It was Saturday morning and a bored Ritsu was lethargically lying on the couch watching some television to pass the time. She was too lazy to prepare breakfast, since her muscles weren't fully awake and active just yet. She glanced at the clock that hung up the living room's wall. She sighed after seeing it was only 10:00 a.m. It was going to be a long day of doing absolutely nothing. Though, it wasn't like she was all that thrilled about going back to school either.
Moments later, Ritsu's younger brother came down the flight of stairs and stood at the bottom. He was dressed in casual street wear. Ritsu turned to him and inspected his clothing.
"Where are you going?" she asked after a while.
"We only have two more days before school," he began, "so my friends and I are going to meet up at the arcade. Will you tell mom and dad for me?"
"Yeah, sure," Ritsu said, dismissing him and returning her attention to the TV. "Have fun!"
He nodded and promptly left.
Ah, youth…, Ritsu thought reminiscently. Wait a minute! What the heck am I sitting here for? I'm young, too!
She jumped off the couch and ran upstairs to get her cell phone. Once she arrived at her room, she flung her clothes and other miscellaneous things (such as last week's pudding) out of the way in order to find her small communication device. After locating it, she dialed a certain number.
"Hello?" A muffled, weary voice came from the other side of phone.
"Ah, Mio, is that you?" Ritsu asked.
"Let me see," she said, taking a pause. "This is my cell phone, so I'm guessing this is me."
"Ha ha, sorry, dumb question," Ritsu laughed.
"So… what is it?" Mio questioned, diving straight to the point. She was brushing her teeth at the moment and wanted to return to the bathroom as soon as possible.
"Oh, yeah, I just wanted to ask you out," Ritsu bluntly said.
Mio choked on her toothbrush and stuttered out a "W-what?"
"You know, I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out with me and stuff," Ritsu cryptically continued.
"W-why would I want to do that?" Mio asked over the phone, blushing a bit.
"Well, Golden Week is almost over and I wanted us to hang out later today," Ritsu clarified, and then quickly added, "if you were free."
"Oh," Mio breathed a sigh of relief. "Geez, learn how to word things correctly."
"Eh?" Ritsu was absolutely clueless as to what implications her previous sentences had incited.
"All right, I'll go out with you," Mio enigmatically responded. "What time do you want to meet up?"
Ritsu checked her phone real quick and then placed it back beside her ear. "Well, the TV said that there would be a festival near the shrine today. So how about we meet at the entrance in the next half hour?"
"T-that's too soon!" Mio rebutted.
Ritsu sighed and said, "Fine… we'llmeetinthenextthirty-oneminutes, see you there!" then she hung up.
… It doesn't make a difference, Mio thought dismally.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~
Ritsu, waiting for Mio at the shrine entrance, was unable to keep still and hummed a lively tune to herself as she thought in sequence about all the things she and Mio would do together at the festival. She impatiently checked her watch and every now and then attempted to distinguish Mio from the passing crowds, to the point where she would occasionally get the wrong person. Finally, she appeared.
"Mio, over here!" Ritsu called out enthusiastically, jumping up and down to make herself more noticeable in the sea of people.
"You don't have to shout it out," Mio shyly muttered after she'd reached Ritsu. "I knew where you were."
Ritsu pulled out a folded paper from her pocket. "Here are all the events that'll take place today and tomorrow at the festival. We don't need to come tomorrow, though. It's basically the same thing, just in case people missed it the day before."
"Anywhere in particular that you'd like to go?" Mio queried.
"Yup," Ritsu said, nodding. She stepped closer to Mio and showed her the event and store schedule. "I want to go to this store and buy this special thumb pick for Azusa. It'll sort of be like a welcome-back-the-club-was-shut-down-don't-get-mad-at-me-here's-a-gift kind of thing."
"What? None for Yui?" Mio asked.
"Yui wouldn't get mad, so I don't need a present for her, right?" Ritsu said with a light-hearted tone.
"… I see, if that's all you want to do, then what the heck am I here for?" Mio questioned dryly, a glare ready to be launched.
"Well, I'm sort of short on money so I was hoping you'd lend me some," Ritsu divulged, scratching the back of her head. "I'll pay you back, though, promise!"
A vein popped out in Mio's temple. "I'm not your guinea pig, damn it!"
"We'll go wherever you want after we buy it," Ritsu assured. "I give you my word!"
"I'm already here, so I might as well go," Mio sighed.
Ritsu threw herself at Mio, hugged her (to the point of squeezing), and cheered, "Yay! Mio-chan, you're the best!"
"R-Ritsu, not in public!" Mio hissed with embarrassment.
Ritsu then whispered a husky "So it's alright if we're alone?" and promptly released her friend from her teasingly affectionate embrace.
"Mio, don't just stand there!" Ritsu called out, having already delved herself into the crowds of passing people. "Let's get a move on!"
Mio snapped herself out of her momentary daze and said, "C-coming!"
~\o/~\o/~\o/~
"I can't believe we're lost…," Mio incredulously thrummed.
Beside her, Ritsu was turning, detracting, and retracting the map and various ways in order to read it and figure out where they were. After a while, Ritsu grew tired and gave up, handing the map to Mio.
"Well, we might as well make the best of it, right?" Ritsu suggested.
"…I guess, since we still have half a day to find our way back," Mio figured, folding the map and stuffing it in her skirt pocket. "Where do you want to go?"
Ritsu took a look around the place to find anything of interest. The roads around the area were closed in order to avoid accidents, so there were a lot of people striding down the sidewalks, and many crossing from one street to the other. The place would be an unpleasantly cramped hell for claustrophobic individuals. Placing aside the need of enlarging the limited space offered to the people, the festival had some good sides, too. The stores and event areas were adorned with ornaments and lights that would be put to use once the sun was no longer available. Most kids ran around in colorful yukatas as the adults watched over them with content expressions.
"Hey, Ritsu, isn't that store over there the one you were looking for?" Mio pointed out, gaining Ritsu's attention.
Ritsu squinted and managed to see the sign of the store she'd been looking for. It was surprisingly prominent, so she wondered how she'd missed it.
"You're right! There it is!" Ritsu exclaimed, and then grabbed Mio's hand before pulling her down the street towards the store. "C'mon, let's go!"
~\o/~\o/~\o/~
Ritsu was holding a light brown paper back, and in it resided the ever-yearned thumb pick. Mio was waking beside her, though the two of them weren't heading anywhere in particular. Maybe hoping to come across the shrine entrance and relocate themselves before heading home.
"You know," Ritsu began with an ominous air about her, "this thumb pick comes with a story…"
"Wow…did we have to pay for that, too?" Mio grudgingly said. She was still mad about having to spend her money on a thumb pick to save Ritsu's cowardly butt.
"Aww, now, don't be sarcastic with me!" Ritsu cooed, amiably patting her back. "Well, as I was saying"—she switched back to the mysteriously dark tone she sustained before—"A story comes with this thumb pick. It was 25 years ago. This thumb pick belonged to the greatest rock star of all times... in Antarctica!"
"Why would a rock star live in Antarctica?" Mio skeptically questioned.
"I don't know! Maybe you'll find out if you listen to the rest!" Ritsu chastised. She cleared her throat and continued. "Well, during a dark, stormy night—"
"Shouldn't it be a snowy night?"
Ritsu paid her no heed. "—the rock star was playing one of his hit singles when suddenly—swoosh—he slipped and cracked his head open!"
Mio recoiled and turned to Ritsu, shivering. "I-i-is this one of those scary stories!?"
"Blood started gushing out like crazy!" Ritsu continued menacingly.
"Ugh! Ritsu, stop it!" Mio pleaded, bringing her hands up to cover her ears.
"When one week passed, they found his body in the igloo he lived in, along with the legendary thumb pick!" Ritsu was smirking now.
"I'm not listening!I'm not hearing this! I'm not listening to this at all!"
"They tried to get it off, but it wouldn't budge. So… they had to cut off his thumb to retrieve it!"
"IYAAH!!" Mio cried, and fell on her knees, trembling.
"Andnowit'sinourhands. The end," Ritsu concluded, satisfied.
Mio's muffled sniffles could be heard from the fetal position she'd now resorted to take in order to drive away the hideous mental images she'd visualized over Ritsu's dreadful story. Ritsu felt a pang of guilt strike her chest. She became aware of the people staring at them and gently walked Mio to the side of the street in hopes of not obstructing anyone's path. Once there, she squatted down beside her friend.
"Hey, um… y-you don't have to cry," Ritsu said, deviating her gaze from Mio's shaky figure. "It's not a true story, you know… I just made it up."
"Rea…really?" Mio asked in between sobs, finally adjusting Ritsu into her line of sight.
Uwaah… Ritsu thought as she marveled over Mio's tear-stained features. Moe moe kyun~
"R-Ritsu…?"
The girl in question was dragged back into reality. "Eh? Uh, yeah! Not true at all! Because what really happened was—"
"No, don't go on, seriously," Mio dully warned.
A considerable amount of people began to gather about a particular area of the festival's vicinity. Mio and Ritsu glanced at the crowd, stared at one another, nodded, and then marched off into the crowd's direction to join them out of curiosity.
"What do you think is going on over here?" Mio asked.
"Let's hurry to the front, and then we'll probably get some answers," Ritsu proposed, squirming through some large, sweaty people.
"Come, come, folks!" a short man in a suit who held a microphone advertised. "The Golden Week's eating contest is about to begin. The winner will get two front-row tickets to watch the most-anticipated concert of the ever-popular band Treasured Dreams tonight at the festival's square plaza! Will you be the one to embark on such an experience? Well, you won't find out until you come on up!"
Mio gasped in awing contemplation of the two tickets the man held in the air. Ritsu didn't fail to notice her friend's quiet exclamation of delight.
"You know them, Mio?" Ritsu questioned.
"How come you don't!?" Mio queried in astonishment. "They're the best band that has ever played in Japan!"
"Well, I've never heard of them," Ritsu flatly expressed.
"Yeah? Well, you've never heard of World War II, either," Mio said.
"There was another one!?" Ritsu shouted, flabbergasted.
"See what I mean? It's no wonder you don't know about Treasured Dreams…," Mio sighed in aggravation.
"Well…aren't you going to participate in the eating contest?" Ritsu asked, and then subsequently smirked. "I bet you'll win easily~"
"Sh-shut up!" Mio sputtered out, a dangerous red creeping to her cheeks. "I'm not competing. I don't want all these people to see me stuffing myself. Do you know how embarrassing that would be!?"
"Hmm," Ritsu hummed, amused. She could tell that Mio was dying to go to her favorite band's concert, but was just too shy to participate in the contest. She figured she might as well do something nice for her childhood friend, since she paid for the thumb pick she couldn't cover.
"Right here, I'm up for it!" Ritsu loudly called out, attracting the attention of the announcer and the rest of the crowd.
"Well, then, come on up, young lady!" the announcer guy said enthusiastically.
"R-Ritsu… are you sure?" Mio catechized, her eyes showing genuine concern.
"No worries, no worries, I'll win those tickets for you easy," Ritsu said with brimming confidence, waving the ebony-haired girl's comment off. "Just watch me!"
As soon as the announcer collected another couple of willing contestants, the competition was ready to get under way. The competitors would have to eat their way through a full-course meal. There would be six courses offered—fruits, appetizers, soups, salads, main meals, and desserts. Almost every contestant gagged at the thought of having to consume all that; all except for Ritsu, who didn't have breakfast because she was too lazy to prepare it.
"Contestants, ready?"—everyone nodded with determination—"Then go!"
Every competitor had gotten a different fruit. Ritsu was given the easiest to consume—a mere cherry. She was disappointed, though.
The second course—the appetizer—consisted of caviar, miniature egg rolls, and stuffed clams. This time, everybody was given the same thing.
For the third course, everyone got distinguished types of soups. Again, Ritsu was given the one in the small bowl. By now, every contestant was grudgingly drinking their soup and muttering maledictions to Ritsu's great fortune; meanwhile Ritsu, in contrast to her opponents, cursed her tiny container because it wasn't enough to fill her up.
Three people had already given up by the time they accessed the fourth course, and jumped off the stage holding a bucket to their faces. Only five contestants remained and each devoured their meals vigorously, all set on winning the tickets.
When the fifth course arrived, two ran off the stage towards the restroom and another one passed out, face buried in his food. Now only Ritsu and another guy were left.
"G-go, Ritsu!" Mio cheered shyly, trying not to attract much attention by keeping her voice low but loud enough for Ritsu to hear.
The brunette was now almost at her limit while her rival finalist appeared to be doing just fine. As soon as the sixth course was placed on the table before her, she began to wince. She forced herself to pick up her fork and eat the chocolate cake she was given. She at least had to empty the plate before the other contestant. She filled her mouth up as fast as she could, not swallowing anything but attempting to clean her dish of food. The amount of cake was too excessive for her mouth to properly room, though, so soon she was obliged to swallow. In her mind, she was still eating, but for some reason she could no longer hear the cheers of the crowd.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~
…Ritsu?
She could hear Mio's voice nearing her.
Are you awake…? Ritsu?
It was so beautifully surreal, resounding in her head so mystically.
"Ugh… what happened?" Ritsu groaned, slowly opening her eyes as she regained consciousness.
"Oh, good," Mio sighed in relief. She was sitting on a wooden chair beside her friend, who was lying on a bed dressed in white sheets. She was holding her hand.
The room was still somewhat blurry to Ritsu, though.
"Mio, is that really you?" Ritsu asked in a croaky voice, still in that cloudy place between wake and sleep. "Where am I?"
Mio chuckled. "Of course it's me. You're just a little out of it because you passed out during the eating contest. We're currently in the announcer's trailer. He allowed us to rest here until you woke up."
Ritsu brought her left arm over her heavy eyes and groaned again. "I'm sorry… I couldn't win."
Mio smiled, eyes filled with warm fondness. "But you did win."
"… Come again?" Ritsu lowered her arm and stared at Mio directly with hopeful yet disbelieving eyes.
"You see," Mio began, "after you passed out, they were about to crown that other guy the winner. But then someone in the audience saw some lettuce sticking out of his shirt and brought it to attention. Apparently, he had been cheating the whole time. You know how fat he was? Well, it was because he was stuffing all the food in his shirt. So, after checking you out for hidden food, they crowned you the winner." Mio let go of Ritsu's hand and reached for her pocket, pulling out two rectangular pieces of paper. "We even got the tickets, see?"
"… No way!" Ritsu jumped out of the bed and pulled the tickets from Mio. She gazed at them adoringly. "Wait, what time is it!?"
Mio checked her watch. "Seven thirty p.m."
Ritsu skimmed through the ticket information. "The concert starts at eight! We still have time. Come on!"
She grabbed Mio's wrist and pulled her out of the trailer. As they rushed out, they caught a glimpse of the announcer and stopped to thank him for his hospitality. After that, the announcer sent them off on their way.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~
"Uwah… I can't believe it," Mio exclaimed in awe, eyes glistening and hands clasped as she adoringly viewed the stage. "We're actually here. About to watch Treasured Dreams live. In the front row, even!"
Ritsu and Mio had gotten to the square plaza just before the doors were closed on them. The officers that guarded the entrance allowed them to pass and even escorted them through the VIP room and into the front row in order to avoid them getting lost in the masses.
"Oh, look, look, it's starting!" Mio excitedly whispered to Ritsu, since now the lights had dimmed and everyone in the audience had gone mute.
A group of four, two girls and two guys, suddenly appeared on stage after a puff of smoke exploded with the now flashing lights that signaled their arrival. Every female in the audience screamed as a crazed fangirl would—even Mio. The rocking mood in the square plaza incited Ritsu to yell her lungs out as well, even if she had no idea who she was cheering for.
Tell me, at nighttime, do you think of me?
And tell me, at daylight, does my face appear?
Dreams are such queer, mysterious things
I believe that you know what I mean
The vocalist and guitarist was one guy, while the other was the drummer. The other two girls were in charge of the bass and the keyboard. Every once in a while, the female bassist would switch with the guitarist and become the vocalist.
Why, I always have nightmares
Of numerous subjects
But then you come along…
And I no longer fear being alone…
The guitarist ran up to the front of the stage, taking the bassist along with him, and the both of them began strumming on their instruments before singing in unison—
Show me this world of dreams!
It's something I've never seen!
Stay beside me and I'll be fine…
I can promise you that!
Many people in the back began to shout woot's and I love you's to the band members, even the ones that had brought their significant others along. Ritsu grew tired of yelling after a while and stopped to steal a glance at Mio, who was apparently enjoying herself. She had never seen Mio so happy, and she was glad that she had been the one to put that beautiful smile on her face. Mio was even quietly singing along, for she knew all the lyrics. Ritsu returned her gaze to the stage, and focused on the drummer. He put her drumming skills to shame.
The male vocalist took a hold of the microphone once again and began to sing.
I want to experience the unknown!
So lucid dreaming is not a choice!
I want to get away!
So I don't want to be awake!
It was time for the keyboardist's solo and she hit the keys of her instrument so fast and dexterously that Ritsu began to get dizzy, wondering how Tsumugi handled the thing in such a way that it seemed simple enough to spectators. Right then, the unthinkable occurred. The male vocalist dashed through the runway, amiably slapping some fangirls' hands on the way, and came to a halt when he reached Mio's hand. He firmly held onto her hand.
"Come on up," he said to her, flashing a smile that was to die for.
"… Wh-wh-what!?" Mio's head was spinning; she couldn't believe the lead singer of the band was actually inviting her to join them. "I… I… Ritsu!?" She turned her to her childhood friend, seeking aid and advice.
Ritsu was overcome with the urge of screaming "No!" She knew, though, that Mio would never again attain a chance to stand so closely by her role model's side on stage.
"Ritsu—?"
"Go!" Ritsu said, pushing her friend closer to the hunky guitarist's strong grip.
"But—"
"Just go, Mio!" Ritsu encouraged, trying her best to sound convincing and hide her true feelings over the situation. She smiled weakly. "I'll be waiting for you."
The guitarist pulled her up and with her returned to the main stage to join the rest of the band. Mio glanced back at Ritsu only once, before turning to the guitarist and smiling in a reserved manner.
"We're going to sing now, cutie," he informed, gently handing her a microphone.
"W-w-what!?" Mio shouted. "I-I-I can't. I honestly can't!"
The keyboardist's solo was nearing its end, and everyone could see Mio and the guitarist on a giant, flat screen hung up above the stage for the audience members that stood farther in the back and had a hard time viewing the concert.
"Are you ready?" he asked, pulling her close to him by the waist.
"N-no, please, I—"
"Now!"
Show me the stars that roam the galaxy!
Mio automatically yet involuntarily began to sing into the microphone. She was a nervous wreck, but tried her best to put on a decent performance for the people that had come to see their beloved band. She wouldn't want to be the one to ruin such a thrilling event. She decided that she would pretend she was singing along Yui (who was also a guitarist) in order to calm herself down.
Let's meet in a dream and take off from there!
Illusions of the mind don't require a plot!
Let's make up our story as we go!
Isn't that what we do in everyday life?
Ritsu was overwhelmed by the sight of Mio and the male vocalist singing perfectly in sync. Every now and then throughout the song they had to complete each other's sentences, and they even pulled that off without a flaw. Mio looked so elegant with a man by her side. Ritsu began to picture herself beside Mio, and for some reason, it didn't look quite right.
Plans and fortunes can be ruined
But our dreams will always last!
So let's embark on a journey
Only you and I!
A hollow emptiness began to expand in Ritsu's chest, and everything that took place on stage seemed to play out in slow motion. The sea of faces was becoming slightly blurred in her line of sight, and she began to feel lightheaded as the audience inched closer to the runway to catch a glimpse of the guitarist and Mio, rudely pushing her out of the way. Soon, she found herself to be at the festival's square plaza, heaving left the concert and Mio.
~\o/~\o/~\o/~
The two girls had some trouble finding the shrine in which they met up earlier that day, but now only Ritsu stood at the shrine entrance, her back against one of its wooden legs. It turned out that the shrine wasn't far from where they'd originally gotten lost, though it didn't matter now. Ritsu was eating away some cotton candy she had bought at one of the festival's stands as she hurried out of the concert. She held the bag which contained the thumb pick in her other hand. Nightfall had already replaced daylight and she was planning to head home soon. She turned her gaze to the right and an obscure silhouette slowly approached her, soon revealing itself to be a pissed Mio.
Ritsu was hit by realization. "C-cwud! Sowwy, Mio, I fwogoh!" She still had some cotton candy stuffed in her mouth.
"Let me teach you how to properly apologize to someone after I make you swallow that with my fist!" Mio growled, dangerously stepping closer to Ritsu.
Ritsu forcefully gulped the sweet down. "M-Mio, I swear it wasn't on purpose, I just—"
"I was looking for you…," Mio said, her tone of voice having grown low in volume. "After the concert ended, I went to look for you, but you weren't where you said you'd be."
"Well, you see, what happened was…"
"And you promised, you liar!" Mio snapped, tears beginning to blur her vision. "I thought you left me and went home… stupid Ritsu…"
Ritsu wore a sympathetic smile. "My bad, Mio-chan. I don't know what came over me then that I left. It won't happen again." She patted her sensitive friend's head. "So, how about we head home now?"—she unfurled her hand and reached out for Mio—"I'm sure your parents wouldn't want me to keep you out all night. They always thought I was a bad influence anyway, ha ha!"
Mio smiled and nodded, taking Ritsu's hand and intertwining her fingers with her friend's. "Yeah, let's go!"
The two left the festival and headed home, only a fifteen-minute walk away.
"Say, Ritsu," Mio began as they sauntered down the street. "Why did you leave?"
Ritsu flinched, but quickly recovered. "Well, uh, I just thought that you might have wanted to spend some time with that guitar guy, you know?"
"That's it?"
"Yeah. That's mostly it."
"Well, he did invite me to the concert's after-party," Mio informed playfully.
"Eh!? Why didn't you go!?"
Mio turned away abashedly."Because… I came to this festival to spend time with you…"
Ritsu pressed onto Mio's hand a little tighter in reaction. She immediately stopped after realizing what she was doing and hoped Mio hadn't noticed. "Ha ha, I'm sort of glad you didn't go. If you did, I would have probably had to drag you back to your house and your parents would blame me for getting you drunk!"
"Y-y-you know I don't drink, idiot! Take that back!"
And Mio mercilessly punched the living daylights out of Ritsu.
- o - o - This chapter was sort of long. I hope it wasn't a pain to read. I'll keep chapters short if you guys don't like it. Please tell me what you think by reviewing. You'll make a fellow human being happy :D - o - o -
