A/N: Here's the seventh chapter, sorry it took long. I had a bit of trouble in deciding of what will happen next.

So as the title of the chapter says, we will be having some chapters dedicated to what happened in the span of seven years before the return of Ritsu to Japan.

I don't own K-ON! and any of its characters

CHAPTER 7: The Missing Seven Years Part 1

Seven years ago

It has been three months since Ritsu decided to vanish, and all the HTT band can do is live with it. It was sure more silent than before, not that the drummer was the noisiest (or is she?) it was just that there was an obvious change in the aura and energy within the group. Not only that, Mio had also decided to distance herself from the group until, eventually, a wall between them has formed.

For the band who's caught in the middle of the fight, all they can do was to be understanding of the needs of their bassist and drummer and despite the gap that had formed; they would never close their doors on them.

"Ne Mugi-senpai, have you talked to Mio-senpai and Ritsu-senpai?" Asked by the youngest of the group

"Hmm… Hai Azusa-chan, it's just that, whenever I ask them how they are, they would just say that they're ok and act as if nothing happened…" The blonde said with deep concern in her face "Let's just wait for them to open up to us…"

"Sōdesu ka... "

After six months (year 1)

Summer break had begun and the group still remained incomplete. The bassist had, basically, shut them out. Not a single word between them was uttered; they just heard news about her from the school itself when they announce her academic accomplishments and award, and how a lot of lowerclassmen from the college of arts admire her so much. She also transferred to a different dormitory without even notifying them. Being shut away, the group really felt hurt to the point where they all stopped playing altogether, except for their kouhai because she was in the music conservatory; so it was mandatory.

Summer had come and their situation hasn't really changed (for the better).

"Azusa-chan, can you tell me what happened there? My big sister doesn't want to talk about it…" Ui texted. Being in a pre-med program, which was offered in different school, she wasn't able to talk much to them, even her sister. "I don't want to ask ne-chan because it makes her sad :( "

"Yes, it does. It makes us all sad, it's just that Yui-senpai is not good at hiding her own feelings."

"Yeah... that's true"

"Anyway, I'm sure that you know, after Mio-senpai broke up with Ritsu-senpai, she also broke up with us. It's just that, we didn't expect for her to do that. It really... just stung."

"So they both left you guys?"

"No… not really. Ritsu-senpai sometimes checks on us but that's all."

"Oh? Mio-senpai doesn't ask about her?"

"She did once, just a few days after they broke up but Ritsu-senpai asked us not to talk about her. I guess Mio-senpai realized that. She just accepted it without even asking."

"Eh… Maybe that's why she just went away, because you guys are being secretive"

"Maybe you're right… we just wanted to honor Ritsu-senpai's request."

"What about Mio-senpai's request?"

"…we… we've realized that, but by the time we did, she too had already left :("

Year 3

On the night of the final day of their college lives (except azusa's), the pianist and the lead guitarist received a message from their long lost drummer

"Omedetō min'na. I hope you're all doing great. Good luck in life! :3 –Ritsu"

This made the two ecstatic to finally get a message from their drummer

Yui's text

"Hehhhhh! Ricchan,'taichou! It's been a long time! How are you? When can we see you? We miss you so much! 3 3"

Mugi's text

"Arigatou Ricchan. You're always missed…"

Ritsu freely exchanged conversations with the two newly grads. She asked how they are and shared a bit of what's going on with her life; she's been working multiple jobs from wherever she was. She didn't disclose her whereabouts to her band mates except for the blonde heiress.

"Anou… Ricchan…" Sent Mugi without finishing her first message then sent another one "Would you be keeping this number?"

"Ah… no. But I'll text you when I get a new one. For now, I'll be using this."

"Is everything really ok with you?" The blonde heiress can't help but feel that there's something wrong with the drummer. Not only is the often change of the number used is strange but also the presence of obscurity and incompleteness in what the drummer says.

"Hehe… you got me there. But it's ok, no need to get worried for something irrelevant. I have to go. Ciao!"

"No! Don't go missing again Ricchan! Please tell me, at least, where you are." This time, the blonde was completely uneasy now. She had a bad feeling about this

"France. Gotta go"

"Where in France?"

The blonde waited for a reply the whole night. She even called the number a few times but strangely enough, it was already unattended or out of the coverage area.

A/N: Too short? My bad. This is just to set up the time hopping that will happen in the next few chapters. Hopefully I can make it longer next time.

Some eplanations: Year 1 is the same year Ritsu left. Year 3 is the graduation year because she left during the sophomore years of the rest of the band

PS. Thank you so much for reading, commenting, and everything else. :)