Chapter 4
The girls were at their university's opening ceremony.
Yui had fallen asleep on a stranger's shoulder and Mio panicked as she thought this person looked kind of a scary with her black spiky short hair.
Chicchan had entered the school as well after heavy persuasion from herself and Kenzo.
"Yui, come on wake up. It's the opening ceremony. You're not supposed to be sleeping now!" Mio hissed, desperately trying to wake her friend up.
"Uh… is it morning already, Ui?" The airhead rubbed her eyes. She then realized what she had done and felt really sorry about it, but couldn't say a word to properly apologize. She just laughed sheepishly, focusing on the ceremony so the girls could listen to what the Dean had to say.
As soon as they got out of the building to the hall where the ceremony was held, they were surrounded by all the members of the clubs in their new school. Yui had gathered all their leaflets, even though they had decided to join the Light Music Club.
"Private! What's this? You're betraying operation 'Join the light music club'? ! This is unacceptable!" Chicchan suddenly said, faking a startled and displeased face.
"Eh, it's not that, Commander! I was attacked by native tribes." Yui quickly said, trying to find an excuse for the leaflets in her hand.
"Captain, what do you think? Have we lost our private?"
"No! There is still hope. Quickly, to the light music club!"
Mio could only shake her head at the antics of her friends. They were attending College, but they were still acting like elementary kids.
They said goodbye to Nodoka, who wanted to check out the literature club and the student council office. They promised to meet up again at dinner.
The walk over to the Light music club building was mostly uneventful, except for the fact that Ritsu thought she saw a twig that looked just like a dog's head and that Yui just had to have it.
As they walked through the doors leading to the light music club, they saw a familiar girl.
"So… We meet again." This girl said, her face displaying an annoyed glare while she crossed her arms. Her blazer had a drool stain.
Yui could only giggle as the girl looked very cute while angry.
"We're really sorry about that, aren't we, Yui?" Mio pushed Yui to bow down and apologize to the girl.
"Gomenasai!" Yui screamed out.
"Would you guys happen to be new members?" Another girl asked them.
"Yeah, we ar-" and before Mugi could continue to reply the other girl replied to her and her friends.
"So are we! This is so awesome! I'm Yoshida Ayame, this is Hayashi Sachi and she is Wada Akira!" the short girl introduced her friends to the girls.
"I'm Kotobuki Tusumugi and these are my friends Hirasawa Yui, Tainaka Ritsu, Akiyama Mio and Yamamoto Chikane. Nice to meet you all!"
"Nice to meet you, too!" Ayame and Sachi replied.
[Sakuragaoka High School]
"Azusa! Yo! Over here!" Jun waved her arms to signal Azusa where they were. When Azusa arrived she bore a wide grin. "Seems like we're in the same class for our last year."
"Hey Jun, Ui. That's great." Azusa walked up to her friends and gave them a small smile.
"Hey… we're going to join the club so don't worry… you won't feel so lonely there."
Hearing this made Azusa smile. This meant that they just needed to find at least one more member so the club wouldn't get disbanded.
"Hey girls, time to get to class or you'll be late." Sawako walked pass them to teachers lounge.
"Yes!" they all replied.
"Think she'll be our home room teacher this year, like the others?"
"Doubt it…"
"That's mean, Azusa-chan, Jun-chan."
"Ui… Have you ever been in one room with Sawako-sensei? She's a special kind of eccentric, I tells ya…"
Before Ui could reply, the first bell sounded, signaling they were going to be late for home room.
They hurried up to the third floor and after awkward overrated introductions in class, they had to go to the opening ceremony. The principle was talking about youth and futures again; a speech Azusa knew all too well by now.
When it was their lunch period, they went to the club room to find a strange person there.
"Ah excuse me, are you here to join?" Ui asked.
"Aaaahh, I've been discovered!" The girl ran off really fast while Ui, Jun and Azusa looked at her running down the stairs.
"Well that was strange…Hey, didn't she remind you guys of someone?" Jun asked.
"Yeah, she almost looks like Mugi-senpai, but somehow… different?" Azusa said.
"I wonder what she was doing here…" Sawako was standing behind them.
"AAAHHH! Sensei, please don't scare us like that!" The trio said, clearly not used to Sawako's mysterious appearances… yet.
After settling down, the girls talked about their club and how they would manage now that the other members had graduated. Sawako told the girls they should hurry up and find a 4th member or their club would be suspended so they decided to start looking new members right away.
[University]
[a few weeks later]
"Mmm…morning, Mio." Ritsu smiled at her girlfriend, cuddling up next to her.
"Ritsu..." Mio was clearly wide awake. And it seemed she had been awake for some time now.
"Yeah Mio, what's on your mind?"
"Remember the guy who we bumped into when we got back from that Inn?"
"Ah him, yeah. Of course I remember. I still think it looked like him."
"I'm not still sure if it was him, but if it was I'm sure he didn't recognize us. After all, it's been so many years since we saw him."
"…Mmm…" Ritsu was quiet for a few minutes. Then she stood up and walked over to a pile of boxes. "Look… my parents brought us the rest of our stuff."
"Cool."
"No, look. Still remember this?" Ritsu took out something that looked like a note-book and on it was a text, barely visible. "Memories" is what was written on it.
"Ahhh, I remember this. We used to take pictures, draw paintings and write and put them here." Mio smiled as nostalgia hit her. She opened it up and started looking through the pages. "I'm surprised you still have this, Ritsu." Mio stopped on a certain page that had a picture glued on it. "Oh, look, it's him!"
"Who's him? Love triangle perhaps?" Chicchan stood in the doorway with Nodoka and Mugi, showing a huge grin.
"Shut it, Chii." Ritsu tried to hold Chicchan in a head lock but since the rebel was tall and the drummer too short to practice it on her she stopped and fisted her arm instead.
"Kawaaaiii!" Yui squealed as she saw a picture of Mio and Ritsu with a little boy.
"He's our childhood friend. We think we bumped into him when we came from the Inn."
"We haven't seen him in years. I wonder what he's doing here now."
Just then, Mio's phone started to vibrate.
Without looking at her caller ID, she picked up the phone. "Mio Akiyama speaking. Who am I talking to, please?"
"You're coming home right this instant, Mio-san!" An angry male voice came from the other end.
"I can't; school is about to start. Besides didn't you kick me out and disown me? So why should I come back? !" Mio's voice went from calm to unnerving and then to plain right angry, screaming out the last part.
"Because we are your parents! Mio, stop this foolishness right now and come home!"
"No! If you can't accept me for who I am, how can I go back? I can't live with people who can't accept me and pretend I'm somebody I'm not!"
"Listen now, you're coming home or we're co-" Mio hung up and immediately burst out in tears.
Ritsu felt really bad about this. Seeing Mio cry like this when it wasn't her fault, made her feel really bad.
"Mio, don't worry. I'm sure they'll accept us eventually." Ritsu tried to calm her girlfriend while holding her near.
"Yeah Mio-chan, we're here for you. For both of you." Yui said hugging Mio and Ritsu.
"Th-thanks you guys. I don't know what I would do with out you all, especially you, Ritsu. It's just that that it hurts a lot. You know, that my parents can't accept me for who I am and who I want to be with."
"It'll be okay… I promise." Ritsu gave her a sincere smile. One that never failed to make anyone who was sad smile, too.
On one of the opposite buildings, there were two figures on the roof. Standing; watching.
"So it really is them. I never thought I would bump into them again, and now I need to protect them, too… This job just got interesting." The tall figure took a seat on the corner of the roof and petted the other figure.
"You go look after the 4 others back in the district while I stay here. If anything happens, report it to me personally."
There was a loud lion like roar and then the other figure jumped off to the nearest tree and from there on out he started his journey.
"I guess I should go see the person in charge of this place." The figure walked into the building.
"Right. Well, go sit down wherever you like."
"Got it."
"You want me to introdu-"
"No, I'll be fine. Just start the class."
"Alright. Go take a seat and don't disturb my lectures." The professor told him as she eyed him then turned around and walked towards the blackboard.
He took a seat next to a certain raven haired girl. The girl herself was a little scared since he looked very intimidating and scary. She tried to avoid him the whole time during the lecture and when it was over she instinctively stood up and headed for the door. But when she heard the others in class ask him questions, she slowed down.
"Where are you from?" "What's your name?" "How'd you end up here?"
"My name is Jura. I've traveled a lot so I really don't have a place where I come from. How I ended up here is none of your business."
That name. It sounds so familiar. No… it couldn't be him. Mio thought to herself as she looked at him.
"Akiyama-san, wait up!" As Mio turned around she saw Sachi running up to her from their class.
"Oh hi. How are you… Hayashi-san is it, right? We're in the same department it seems."
"Yeah we are. Are you okay though? You seem a little shocked when that guy sat next to you. He didn't do anything to you did he?"
"Ooh don't worry, I'm fine. No, he just reminded me of someone I knew…" Mio said, trying to forget the scary student.
"Ah I see. Well anyway, I wanted to ask you if you and your friends would like to come and have lunch with us later today?"
"sure I'd love to! I'll ask the others if they can as well. How about we go to that new place that just opened near the university?"
"Great! That's the place Ayame had in mind, we'll see you there then?" The two girls parted to meet up with their own friends to talk about lunch plans and then headed back to class.
[After Lunch Time]
"I heard he has some really dangerous friends."
"He owns the other guy money but refuses to pay up."
There was commotion coming from the lockers as the girls passed by. As they went closer to have a look they saw two guys fighting, the schools "though guy gangs" leader and the new student from Mio's and Sachi's class.
"You tiny bastard, listen to me carefully and listen to me well, From now on you do what I tell you to or I'll beat you up! Is that clear?" His voice was cracked as he tried to sound tough.
The girls stared as he threatened the new student, constantly pounding his body against the lockers whenever he refused.
"Chicchan, can't you stop him?" Mugi asked, clearly worried about what would happen if someone wouldn't get in between them and stop the fight.
"I don't know if I really should…" Chicchan said. One look from Nodoka changed her mind quicker than lightning though.
"Okay, okay fine…"
Walking over to the two, she put a hand on the guy's shoulder. He was apparently in her class. "Hey come on guys, break it up-" She began talking. She was pushed by the new student onto the floor. The motion was so familiar, it felt like Déjà vu.
Then she remembered. The fight was the same one she had with Himeko about a year ago.
[Flashback]
"What the fuck, Himeko? I told you to stay away from me and Nodoka. Then you go and tell her Mom about us before she even got a chance to…" Chicchan pushed Himeko into the cement wall, making her bounce off it a little and then Chicchan proceeded to push her harder into the wall.
"I-I-I d-don't know what you're t-tal-" Himeko didn't seem scared, but she did seem a little nervous.
"Don't give me that bullshit! I know it was you. Who else would sink so low as to put death notes in her locker? Steal today's homework from her notebook and put tacks in my shoes?" By now there was a crowd around them, murmuring and whispering curiously.
"That's the new girl with Himeko-sama."
"Are they an item?"
"I heard they don't get along very well"
"Doesn't she have a fanclub as well?"
Chicchan had Himeko pressed up against a wall and was hovering her left hand pretty close to her neck while her right hand formed a fist.
Now Chicchan was hissing through her teeth "If you dare do something to Nodoka… I swear, Tachibana-san… I will strangle you with your own hair and make it look like a fucking accident…"
Chicchan rapidly shot her fisted hand forward, almost hitting Himeko and then hitting the cement wall instead. "I'm… not afraid of blood you know…Tachibana-san…."
At that Chicchan's hand began to bleed. The crimson color of her blood slowly sapling down to her wrist.
[End of Flashback]
"Stay the hell out of my way, kid" The new student said.
"Oh yeah? And what you gonna do about it? Hah I don't think you have much of a choice than to listen to me and do as I say."
Without saying a word, he looked at the tough guy and suddenly pushed his fist forward. Barely missing his head, he hit the metal lockers, a more than visible dent on it.
"Well, that's beyond repair…"
"Chii, just go help him!"
"Nodo, he doesn't need any help! He just destroyed a locker door, for crying out loud."
[Sakuragaoka]
Ui looked back for the umpteenth time today. Somehow, she had this scary feeling.
Like.. Like…
"Azusa-chan, Jun-chan… I feel like… someone's been following me around these past few weeks." Ui said carefully. Who knows, her 'stalker' could be listening to their conversation.
"You, too?" The two girls said, surprised.
"Maybe you girls have a fan club as well."
"SAWAKO-SENSEI!" Azusa freaked as Sawako snuck up on them again
"Could be. I mean, Azusa's totally popular with the crowd." Jun grinned as she looked at her short friend. Jun and Azusa both knew she was referring to that god-awful performance she pulled off during the student orientation in the auditorium.
"To be honest, I've had that feeling as well." Sawako confessed.
"You think Chika-senpai's behind this?"
"I don't think so. She would have told me."
"Maybe we should alert the others. Maybe they have the same problem as well."
"Good thinking, Azusa-chan. I'll call Onee-chan right now."
"Hold on, Ui. She has classes doesn't she? Don't worry, I'll text her. Sawako-sensei, could you text Chika-senpai as well to ask? Just in case."
They did just that, and after a very long five minutes, Sawako received a text from her cousin.
[Nope, sorry Sawa-neehan. Nothing out of the ordinary. Though someone did fight. Other than that nothing. ~Chii]
Yui replied quicker than any of them imagined
[Azunyan, I didn't notice anything and Mio-chan and Ricchan said they haven't noticed either. Sorry~ Yui
P.S I love you!]
"Mugi also said she hasn't noticed anything at all, nor does she know anything about it. Sorry, guys."
"Maybe we should head home early…"
"Good idea, prez. But uhmm… One question. Could you and Ui help me study for the test next week?"
[University]
"He's in my class…" Mio said as her fears had vanished and now felt pity for this new student being pushed so hard on his first day. When they opened the class room door, they saw him standing over the sink pouring something on his hand from a bottle.
"What is he… Is… Is that blood?" Mio stared as she saw a trickle of crimson flowing down his hand. She immediately retreated behind Ritsu's back, her eyes closed as she pressed her face on her shoulders constantly repeating she didn't see anything, like it was a formula that could cure her of anything close to horrible she had seen.
"I know him from somewhere…"
"Chii?" everyone looked at her and then at him.
"Well, yeah, we bumped into him when we came back from that Inn…"
"You guys bumped into him? I wasn't there, remember? I went over to Nodoka's."
"She's right… Where do you know him from then, Chii?"
"I…" The rebel literally scratched her head as she tried to scan through her usually very clear memory, but could find nothing. "… don't know."
"Well that was interesting… Should we help him?" Ritsu looked over, her eyes displayed concern.
"Nah… Doesn't seem like he wants help… I think…"
"That's mean Chicchan. He probably just looks like that because he doesn't want the other bullies to see his softer side."
Everyone stared at Yui while she spat out her philosophical theory on human expression and feelings.
"Where'd you get that idea, Yui?"
"I've been paying attention in my psychology class!" Yui beamed.
"Figures…" Ritsu deadpanned.
Without the others and herself realizing, Nodoka had walked over to him. He looked tough, but he had a sense of vulnerability that she just couldn't help but notice.
"Hey… can… Can we help you?" Nodoka asked carefully.
He jugged the rest of the bottle's content down to the last drop, then focused his eyes on Nodoka. She had a visible worry in her eyes. Soon enough, the others came closer and by now they were all standing around him.
"No. I'm fine." His cold voice was enough to send shivers down their spines. He walked over to the nearest empty seat and began to wrap bandages he conveniently stored away in his pocket. His attempts failed though, seeing as his dominant hand was bruised.
"Here, let me…" Nodoka sat next to him and took over the bandage rolls.
"My mother is a doctor. She taught me how to take care of wounds like these…" Nodoka spoke in her usual calm voice to make him relax. He would never admit it, but it worked. After a very short five minutes his hand was neatly wrapped.
"Kiitos."
Kiitos? Is it… Could be… Ritsu mused to herself as she slowly shook Mio off her shoulder and slowly walked over to him. She reached her hand out to grab his hoodie.
It can't be him… Can it? Her hand reached his hood and with one pull she uncovered his face. She staggered back slightly as his familiar face hit her memories like a bullet train.
"M-Mi-Mio… Look…"
"N-N-NO!" Mio shouted from behind her. She grabbed Ritsu's hand and assumed the same position, her face buried on her shoulder.
"No, not the wound silly, his face!" Ritsu turned around slightly to make Mio open her eyes.
What Mio saw next, hit her just as hard as it did Ritsu.
"J-JURA! ? Is it really you? !" Mio screamed out, making everyone in class, including her friends jump up slightly from her loud voice.
"Y-yes it's me. Hello Mio. Ritsu." The guy now known as Jura stood up, wearing a small smile.
"Jura! What. How. When. Who. I mean…" Ritsu was speechless. She hadn't seen him for more then ten years, and now he was standing right in front of them.
"Calm down… take your time." Jura smiled as he let Ritsu catch her breath.
"How? How are you? Where have you been?" So many questions flooded her mind.
"I'm fine. As you can see, I'm a victim of bullies here in the university." He raised his bandaged hand to prove his words. "Ah, and thank you, miss…?"
"Err, Manabe Nodoka."
"Yes, again, thank you."
"Jura… Were you the one we bumped into last month?" Mio asked him, her face a serious scowl.
"Yeah, it was…"
"Well then why didn't you say something! We suspected it was you, but…"
"Sorry… My mind must have been somewhere else…"
He then looked at the rest of the girls. From Yui to Chicchan. Ritsu caught on quickly.
"R-right! These are our friends. This is Hirasawa Yui."
"So you're the boy from Mio-chan's and Ricchan's pictures…" Yui stared at him with the same intensity she had when she discovered Sawako's double life.
"Y-yes. I guess so. Hello, Hirasawa-san."
"This is Kotobuki Tsumugi."
"Hello, Jura-san. Nice to meet you." Mugi smiled, her natural smile radiating.
"Nice to meet you, Kotobuki-san."
"And you know Nodoka. She patched your hand up. Really good, too."
"You should really see a doctor, or the campus nurse. It might be infected." Nodoka voiced her concerned, but was quickly silenced by his indifferent look.
"I'll be fine, Manabe-san."
"This is Yamamoto Chikane. She's-"
"Nodoka's girlfriend. Nice to meet you." Chicchan, who stood behind Nodoka, wrapped her left hand around Nodoka's stomach, making the latter blush and waved her right hand casually. She didn't trust him, but not for reasons the others would think. He's really familiar. Where the hell do I know him from? ! Chicchan's musings were short lived as he began talking to her.
"So you're the daughter of the infamous Haruma gang? You're not at all what I thought you'd be." He said casually.
"And you're not as scary as you make yourself believe." Chicchan bit back. The two stared at each other, both offended at the other's statements. For Chicchan it was actually more of a relief. She didn't want anyone to know she's the daughter of a notorious gang leader. But the way he said it pissed her off.
"H-how do you know about that?" they all asked, surprised he knew that vital information about their guitarist.
"I watch the news and I have some friends in special places."
That's bullshit. I was never in the news… He's lying.
[Author's note:
Musician74: So just to make things clear, the girls go to coed school, hence Jura's allowed to attend classes. They stay in two person rooms and are attending the following major's classes:
- Yui: Education department (canon verse)
- Ritsu and Chicchan: Music department
- Mio and Jura: Literature department
- Tsumugi and Nodoka: Business department
Since I major in Business Management, I just thought that would be fitting for both Mugi (since her Dad has a whole bunch of companies and stuff) and Nodoka (since she just seems fit for the job) and since Mio has a… certain way with… certain sweet words… AND she almost joined the literature club in highschool, I thought it would be fitting to let her study that.
Musician74 out.]
Psihopatul: Well took long to get these here, mostly because we both had some troubles, but their over now mostly, I am still sick, but wanted to update this story now so it wont be so much until next time.
I'm out too, see ya.