A/N: Okay, I'm back! Just as what I've promised, this whole chapter's almost full of Mitsu! Even if it's pretty short, I'll post another new chappie a few hours after this. So, just relax and enjoy the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own K-On! or its characters, etc, etc.
More than Just Friends
Chapter 4: Confessions
Chapter Summary: Ritsu went to Mio's house to ask why she walked off yesterday, but Mio can't answer, and then...
At the Akiyama household...
As soon as both Mio and Ritsu went upstairs, Mio hesitated as she opened her bedroom's door, Ritsu quickly rushed in. Mio got shocked as she noticed that Ritsu's inside already.
"You've got lots of things to explain to me, Mio." Ritsu said as she sat on Mio's bed, arms crossed.
"..." Mio stood silent. Ritsu patted the empty space next to her.
Mio couldn't bring herself to sit next to Ritsu, then Ritsu said, "C'mere Mio. It's not like I'm gonna bite you or something!" After staying serious for a while, she finally flashed Mio her signature grin.
Mio, after seeing that grin of hers, blushed slightly as she regained her courage to approach and sit next to Ritsu.
They've spent minutes being silent, until Ritsu broke it away. She finally decided to cut to the chase.
"So, why'd you walked off yesterday?" Ritsu eyed Mio as the latter only averted her gaze from Ritsu. 'Guess she's really holding onto some problem, eh? I wonder how I can spit it out of her.' Ritsu pondered.
After thinking about it for a while, Ritsu finally thought of an idea.
'I guess you really want to have it in a hard way, hehe...' Ritsu scooted closer to Mio and whispered in a ghostly voice, "Hey Mio, if you're not gonna tell me, there'll be lots of barnacles under your bed tonight."
Hearing that whole sentence, Mio shuddered in fear, covering her ears while whispering words, 'I didn't hear it... I didn't hear it.' over and over again.
'Hmm.. I guess it only made it worse. Forcing her smoothly should work.' Ritsu patted and said to Mio, "Sorry 'bout that, Mio. C'mon, you can tell me everything since I'm you're best friend right?" Mio continued cowering in fear.
Ritsu continued, "And if you don't tell me, I guess it's best to leave you for a while." Ritsu stood up, reaching for the door until Mio grabbed her by her wrist.
"I-I can tell you, as long as you s-stay here w-with me.." Mio blushed as she wiped the tears from forming.
'Heh. I guess faking myself to leave her worked.' Ritsu grinned mentally.
Ritsu spun her head to look at Mio, 'Woah.. she's crying already? Such a scaredy-cat.'
Seeing the state her best friend's in, she decided to give Mio a friendly hug.
Mio couldn't processed what just happened, she just froze on her spot. Ritsu on the other hand, felt that her raven-haired friend didn't retaliate to her hug, so she pulled back slowly.
But it failed as Mio hugged her as if there's no tomorrow. Ritsu felt her heart beat faster due to her friend's sudden action.
'W-wait.. is she shivering? Oh wait! It's kinda cold outside, so I'm pretty sure that's it.' Ritsu thought then she hugged her back with her eyes closed, feeling the urge to let her best friend feel comfortable in her warm embrace.
Mio widened her eyes as she shifted her face to look at Ritsu. 'Why do I feel different when I see Ritsu without her headband?' Mio's heart pounded faster as she continued to look at Ritsu.
Mio felt that her body is starting to feel hot, probably because of Ritsu's looks right now.
Ritsu noticed that her companion is starting to feel warm, decided to not let go of the hug just yet.
'Ah... it feels so nice this way. I'm starting to get sleepy, though. Heh.' Ritsu remarked inside her mind as her eyes are starting to feel heavier.
'No! WAIT! Ritsu, you idiot! Wake up! You're here to ask Mio what happened yesterday, right?' Ritsu's yelled inside her mind, trying her best to be awake in a situation like this.
Mio felt comfortable, then said, 'It feels so warm.. b-but we're hugging long enough!' Mio blushed beet red as she tried to get off of Ritsu's embrace, but it failed.
Ritsu finally gave in to her desire to sleep because she woke up early today.
A few minutes passed until Mio shrugged Ritsu to get off of her, but Ritsu didn't respond.
Mio heard soft snores, that was when she realized.. 'S-she's asleep?! Why sleep at a t-time like this?!' Mio went agape as she froze on her spot.
Mio then carried her idiot of a friend to her bed and laid her there. Mio sighed as she recalled what happened earlier, which made her blush harder than before.
The raven-haired girl sat on the edge of her bed while she examined the sleeping girl and pulled her blanket above Ritsu's body. 'She looks so cute while sleeping.. wait? Why'd I said that?!' Mio blushed for the countless time as she turned her head to at other side of the room.
"Well, I guess I should just wait for her to wake up. Mama's making toast downstairs, so I better go down first and eat breakfast." Mio talked to herself as she opened the door, stealing a glance at her childhood friend before leaving the room.
Kitchen...
"Mama, is it okay if Ritsu stays here for awhile?" Mio asked as she nibbled on her toast.
"Maa, maa.. Ricchan's here? I didn't know that." Midori giggled as she sat across where Mio is. She took a sip of her coffee and said, "Of course she can, Mio-chan! Ricchan's your best friend for three years now, right?"
Midori recalled that part when Ritsu and Mio slept together for the night when they were kids.
'They still got a long way to go through..' Midori took a glance at Mio, who's taking a drink from her orange juice.
"So, where's Ricchan right now?" Midori decided to question her daughter.
"S-she's sleeping in my bed.." Mio said, being embarrassed after what happened earlier.
"Oh my! Why sleep right now if it's already morning?" Midori raised her eyebrows, getting more curious as she watched her daughter fidget in her own seat.
"S-she said that she woke up early to visit.." Mio blushed, her voice lowering down as she said the next part, "..me."
"Oh.. Mio-chan, did something happened yesterday? I noticed that when you're home yesterday, you didn't even greet me." Midori felt sad as she recalled that part again.
Mio decided to be honest, or more trouble for her.
"It's t-that yesterday, when Ritsu and I-I are eating lunch.. a classmate of ours s-suddenly joined to eat with us, because her friends have something to d-do.." Mio's blush never left her face, reddening more as she continued, "t-then.. she and Ritsu are getting more c-c-close together.. a-a-and.."
Mio doesn't want to recall the moment, because she didn't want to feel alone again.
Midori quickly understood what happened next, feeling how her daughter feels right now, she spoke up, "Mio-chan.. you don't have to tell me if it hurts to much."
She saw tears falling out from Mio's face, then she decided to point it out.
"Mio-chan.. just tell her how it hurts for you, so get up and tell her the truth." Midori smiled sadly, she stood up and wiped the tears from Mio's face with her hands.
"Besides... you two are pretty close, and I don't want you to lose your precious friendship with her and cause misunderstanding." Midori said as she smiled in the end.
After 1 hour...
"Hngh.. huh?" The brunette finally opened her eyes and quickly sat up on the bed. She groggily wiped her eyes as she scanned the room.
After staring at the whole room, she noticed that she's in her friend's house, not hers.
'How'd I ended up here?' Ritsu questioned herself as she tried to recall what happened earlier, 'Ah! I fell asleep while hugging Mio! Dammit! That's an awkward way of falling asleep..' Ritsu flushed as she scratched her head in annoyance.
Then, after that...
The door suddenly opened, Mio slowly took a peek inside to check if Ritsu's already awake.
"Oh! Mornin', Mio!" Ritsu quickly exclaimed as she retrieved her hands from scratching herself. 'It kinda feels weird to actually say that since I'm in her room, not mine..' Ritsu awkwardly chuckled.
"G-Good morning.." Mio hesitantly replied back. 'Actually, I should be the one to greet you, not you greeting me. Geez..' Mio sweatdropped.
Ritsu stood up off the bed and approached Mio, remembering that she's here to ask her about yesterday's events. Ritsu took Mio's hand and led her to the edge of Mio's bed. Before doing so, Mio closed the door.
Both of them sat down next to each other, without hesitating, Ritsu finally asks Mio about it, "So, can you tell me now?"
Mio knew what she meant by that and decides to answer back, "O-okay.. as long as you won't laugh." Mio stuttered as she blushed at her statement.
Ritsu, not getting why she said that, asks her again, "Why would I laugh if I'm here to ask you about it seriously?" Ritsu frowned.
'She's right. She wouldn't be here just to joke about it if she went here early because of it.' She breathed in and out heavily before telling her.
"Y-yesterday, when we're eating lunch with Akane, i-it's.." Mio's eyes started to well up tears, ready to fall down any second.
"W-wait! Don't cry.." Ritsu patted Mio's back, Mio felt a bit comfortable and continued what she has to say.
"..It's just t-that, I felt alone when you and Akane are starting to get close together.." Mio couldn't hold her tears as she started to cry like a baby.
"There, there.. even if Akane and I grow closer, I will never leave you, Mio, ever. That's a promise!" Ritsu spoke softly as she hugged her raven-haired companion rather tightly.
Mio stopped crying as she widened her eyes. After hearing those words, she blushed until it reached her ear. 'I will never leave you, Mio, ever. That's a promise!' Those words echoed inside Mio's mind as she felt that fluffy feeling inside her heart.
"Did I just said that? It sounded corny like hell!" Ritsu exclaimed as she continued to pat her best friend's back.
After finally recovering from her sobbing, Mio looked up to see her sandy-haired friend grinning at her widely.
Mio finds that grin a bit charming on her best friend's face.
"That's so not how you talk, Ritsu!" Mio bursted into laughter after her friend's short confession earlier.
"W-wha-! I'm just tryin' to cheer ya up, y'know?" Ritsu pouted and crossed her arms, looking away in the process.
"Yeah. Thank you, it did work." Mio giggled and smiled.
"Finally! That's the first time I saw ya smile today!" Ritsu gave Mio her thumbs up followed with a grin. 'Everything's back to where it's supposed to be! Mission accomplished, Commander Ritsu!' Ritsu thought proudly and nodded to herself.
"I dunno why, but seeing that smile of yours makes me happy inside.." Ritsu blurted out her second confession for the day. 'Oh noes! Why'd I said that! I'm slowly turning to one of those prince charmings!' Ritsu mentally face-palmed herself and sighed.
Mio said nothing as she blushed yet again of her best friend's sudden confession.
They spent the next few minutes sitting next to each other in silence, and then...
Ritsu placed both her hands to her side, Mio unexpectedly did the same. Mio's hand toppled over Ritsu's own. That was when both of them looked at each other.
Amber eyes met grey ones.
Ritsu focused her gaze from Mio's eyes, then her cheeks. 'She's too cute when she's blushing.' She then continued to examine her whole face. 'Mio, did I ever tell you that you're beautiful?' This time, Ritsu confessed inside her mind to avoid any awkward things happen between them anymore.
Mio stared at Ritsu's eyes, to her nose, then to her whole face. 'S-she's blushing? N-no way!' Mio thought as she stuttered mentally.
'Okay... we're staring at each other way too long. Awkward.' Ritsu looked away as she tried to maintain her energetic-as-usual composure.
Ritsu decides to break the staring contest and stood up, placing her hands on her hips and exclaimed, "Ne, Mio. What if we ask Akane on Monday to hang out with us so you can know her better? How's that?" Ritsu grinned at her own suggestion.
Mio placed her hands on her chin, 'Hmm.. I guess it's okay, since I'm pretty sure that Akane joined with us yesterday to ask us to be friends with each other..'
"And besides, this is the first time you're gonna have another friend other than me so you've got to get used to it. And what if I'm gone for a while? I don't want ya to start cryin'." Ritsu's grin reached her ear.
"O-okay then." 'I guess I'm not used to having another friend other else than Ritsu, but this is the chance to change it.' Mio smiled at her own thought.
Monday, at school...
"Ah! Mio-chan, Ritsu! How're ya today?" Akane greeted the two as Mio settled her bag next to her desk and sat down.
"I'm fine, Akane. Thanks for asking." 'I guess she's indirectly asking what happened last Friday.' Mio smiled at Akane. Ritsu grinned and gave Akane a friendly chokehold.
"Haha.. Ritsu! Stop it!" Akane laughed and patted Ritsu's hand to get off her. 'Yes! My plan's working, even though I'm just playing it off.'
"Our match is not done yet, Hayabusha-san!" Ritsu mimicked a sumo wrestler's voice and exaggerated her face.
"Then let us start it now, Tainaka-san!" Both of them clasped their hands together, throwing each other down.
"Hah! You can't beat me at this rate! I'm winning!" Ritsu smirked as she started to gain the upper hand to throw Akane down.
The whole class just stared and sweatdropped in the process.
'I guess everything's back to normal.. I shouldn't fret over something like this because that's how they really are.' Mio stood up and gave Ritsu a bump on the head.
"Itaii!" Ritsu let go of Akane's hands and placed it on her poor head.
"You idiot! You said that we're going to ask Akane to hang out with us later." A nerve popped on Mio's head as she continued to clench her fist.
"Oh yeah! I completely forgot about it, ehehehe-" Ritsu grinned nervously as she scratched her head and then..
..Thump!
This time, Mio hit Ritsu harder to make her remember it completely.
"Geez.. you never change, do you?" Mio sighed and sat on her seat. Akane just watched the whole thing silently.
'Oh wow.. they're pretty interesting and they wanna ask me to join 'em? Yay!' Akane cheered from inside her head as she couldn't contain her happiness.
"You wanna ask me guys to join you? I'm totally in!" Akane grinned widely as she formed both of her hands into a peace sign.
"You're in! Told ya, Mio! The more, the merrier, and the more I can eat more food!" Ritsu laughed and grinned as she placed her arm on Akane's shoulder.
'Ritsu's right. But I'm pretty sure she asked her to join us just to eat Akane's food, other than making friends with the others.' Mio felt happy and annoyed at the same time.
Just as Mio is about to reply, their English teacher came in.
"Well, just join us later, peace!" Ritsu throwed both of them her peace sign as she went back to take a seat.
"I can't wait! Later, Mio-chan!" Akane went back to her seat as well.
'The more, the merrier it is.' Mio smiled as she watched their teacher place her books on the teacher's table.
A/N: I felt happy after postin' this one, it's pretty short (IMO) because I'm working on the next chap, which'll be released a few hours later. :D
Review Responses: (finally, more reviews!)
Keeper Aki: Yeah, she is, but I didn't wrote it directly though. xD
Yukina-Tenma: I'm pretty sure she thinks it's weird 'cause she looks like a handsome boy (in her opinion). About the headbands, it gets dirty 'cause I searched about it. lol and you're not the only one reviewing anymore. :D
qart: Thanks and I will!
Anyways, please review/fave/follow this chapter, it helps me out a lot. Thanks for reading and see ya in the next chap!
Peace! Arf!
