/*Author's notes
First thing, how come nobody told me that the last chapter uploaded as a ginormous block of text! (Changed it to normal now.) If anyone did try to read it, was it even legible? If something like that ever happens again, please just message me and I'll fix it, okay? I think I understand what happened- I use a copy and paste and that turns up without any new lines for some reason... Hm...
For those of you who don't recognise the name John Smith, he's from 'The Melancholy of Haruhi' (he's normally known as Kyon but we don't know his real name…) I thought 'rather than make a new character, I'll borrow one.' Hence, John Smith (this will be his real name in this fan fiction.) I'm not actually going to do a proper crossover with that anime- I'm trying to cut down on introducing OCs… And considering there is a lack of males in K-ON (being an all girls school) I need to look around for more male characters. Or just keep making OCs…
P.S. I've only seen the anime, not the manga.
This first section of this chapter has references to the Haruhi anime and has a sudden change in style of writing. It'll be back to normal soon, just trying it out. This style of writing is inspired by the fan fiction 'KyON!' by Alex McM (which is awesome btw.)
*/
Today is a beautiful day. The shining sun, and birds singing their song on this Wednesday afternoon. Spending the day relaxing in the natural light on the soft grass in the park would be the icing on the cake.
Not today.
For another year, I've been forced into this part time job. I thought Haruhi would let me relax a little this year. Quite the opposite.
"Why aren't you working?" she would shout at me with a finger pointing out the door as though ordering a bad dog out the house. "The SOS brigade has no slackers!"
I don't see you working.
"That's because I need to oversee my minions."
The SOS brigade doesn't exist in this university.
"Then I'll make one like I did in school."
Didn't you try to do that last year?
Oh, I should introduce myself. My name is John Smith, a second year maths student at the J. Men's University, just north of the women's university where Haruhi is studying. Why are we in such close proximity to each other? Koizumi said something about being chosen. Seriously, I had purposefully put down an all male university and it just had to be the only one that had a partner female version next door.
And she had brought the entire SOS brigade with her! How, how did she do that? At least I get to see Asahina; the beautiful, moe girl with shining, doe eyes. And Nagato is always… interesting to be around. Since they're both girls, I don't see them as often as before (because they're in a different university- doesn't stop Haruhi though). However, that leaves me stuck almost twenty-four seven with a certain smiling someone. Not saying Koizumi is a bad guy to be around, but one can only thrash him at so many board games without getting bored.
So back to my part time job.
Today I was moving instruments as usual and the set of drums I was setting up in the back room felt heavier than it did last year. I guess I ate too many Christmas cakes.
Meanwhile, the clerk behind the till had his face glued to a video game, generally ignoring the customers that came in.
If there were any on Wednesday afternoons at lunch time.
After some menial labour, I had to see the manager. Unlike the fat clerk, this man was fairly eccentric.
"Ah, little Kyon."
I already hate my pet name, why do you make me hate it even more?
"Because you're so adorable."
In front of me stood the second largest being I have ever met. Not large as in fat, that title belonged to the other person in the store. No, this person was taller than any other with an aura and attitude that could almost rival Haruhi's. Almost.
"Now, why have I told you to come up to my office, little Kyon?"
I don't know, you haven't told me yet.
"Today is the anniversary of when you began working here!"
Yipee.
"And so, to commemorate this day, I have a very special task for you."
And how is this any better?
"There are some interviewees arriving today. However, I can't make it until later so be a darling with the other one and welcome them for me."
What kind of present is that?
I still find it hard to believe that the manager hasn't learnt the other person's name yet. Neither have I, since he uses his Internet name all the time, and that is something I refuse to call him by.
The manager waved his left hand at me, telling me to shoo and I left to convince the other worker to help me out with the interviewees.
No problem. Oh, did I tell you I'm a little sarcastic at times?
"No." His eyes remained glued to the game and the only other sounds were his thumbs clicking the buttons on the console.
"The manager said so." A lame excuse, I know. I couldn't think of anything convincing to say, however.
"And since I've been here longer than you, no0b, my experience points indicate I'm a much higher level, lol. I can order you about and so you can handle the no0bs yourself." And with that, he was back into his gaming world.
A lot of parents say you would get square eyes from playing too many games or watching too much TV. This was a perfect example of that, highlighted by his perfectly square spectacles on his round head.
So I was back to handling instruments to wait for said interviewees, giving me lots of time to stew on my own thoughts. Why did I have a job in a music store? I have no musical talent and I barely listen to music. Aside from Haruhi and the money issues caused by her (paying for too many lunches even though she is catered), there was a promise of accounting that would have been great work experience. Well, it would have been if the blob behind the counter hadn't taken the accounting job. Even if I wanted to quit, a certain character would prevent me from doing so.
"Ah! It's the music store!" Sounds like a customer. I imagine that when they enter, handsome gentlemen will greet them wonderfully and will lead them to our beautiful array of instruments.
Instead, when the sliding doors opened, silence.
"Welcome," I announced. I had nothing better to do. Besides, the gamer mumbled some unintelligible nonsense that could have been 'good afternoon' or 'die orcs.'
Of course, if he glanced upwards, he would have been surprised and said something fairly different. I was fairly surprised my self.
Four young maidens, each in high-school uniform, stepped through that door that Wednesday afternoon, highlighted by the bright sunshine that complemented their youthful aura.
The one that stood out was the giddy one. Brown hair with chocolate eyes, she bounced up and down and ran around, enough to make me dizzy.
The blonde of the group had a faint curiosity in her surroundings but not at all interested. Rather, she had an air of nobility around her. Azure eyes that shone like sapphires merely dismissed what she saw in the store. What interested her the most seemed to be the latter two tussling.
One of which had similar brown hair to the other except she had a bright, yellow hair band that held her hair back instead of two yellow hair clips. It revealed her forehead that shone in the artificial light of the music store. The girl had a tomboyish attitude as she dragged the final girl away from the left handed instruments on display.
"Mio! We're here for the interview, not shopping!"
Taller than the others, she had long, raven hair that flowed in the gentle breeze from the air conditioning. I suddenly saw Asahina's pure eyes of adorableness, this girl's teary eyes gazed longingly at the instruments, eyes that screamed Moe at the top of my lungs.
They each had instruments slung over their backs, besides the hair banded one. Maybe they were in a band? I searched my brain for any recollection of them, wondering whether I should recognise them from somewhere. Nothing came to mind. I'm sure I would have recognised these sweet girls.
I paused longer than I should have. It was enough time for the clerk to look up. To him, it must have been like some characters out of a game had come to life right before his eyes. I followed his gaze and they landed on the Asahina look-a-like's chest area.
The pervert! He must have been well practised to pick out the one with the largest bosom.
Not that I knew that… I'm not a pervert!
I sensed I had precious few seconds to save the girls from him.
"Welcome!" I said again, much louder than I wanted to and it caught everybody's attention. The reactions of the girls were very amusing though. The usual 'stare at who broke the silence' was worn on most their faces but the moe girl's shocked face sent more shivers down my spine.
Stop being so cute!
Anyway, getting them away from the clerk. An interview. That's what the one in the hairband said.
"Right this way please." Because I definitely know what I'm doing… I didn't look at the gamer but I could feel his glare boring a hole in the small of my back.
So, they were here for the interview I assume, and I was supposed to welcome them. They seemed to settle, particularly when the one with the hair band took to the drums like they belonged to her.
I decided to head up to the manager's office, they were here for an interview after all and that is not what I'm in charge of. At least I hope not. Well, actually I'd give them whatever job they were going for- they were really cute.
"Ah, little Kyon, have they arrived yet?"
I briefly explained the situation. I just hope they are the interviewees and not some random four kids that I just kidnapped.
"Oh, you have a good mind, little Kyon, bringing them into the recording studio like that."
Because that was intentional.
"So, as I mentioned earlier, I can't make it right now. I'd like you to listen to some of their songs and tell me how they are."
He's asking the least musically talented person in the store to be a judge? Well, I might be more musically cultured that the clerk but that isn't saying much.
"Now go, I want to go down there and talk to them as soon as possible!" Again, he shooed me with his left hand and went back to his paper work.
I didn't trust my own sense of judgement when it came to music. To me, it was something I listened to on the radio to pass the time. I knew there were different kinds of music, like pop and rock but it didn't mean very much to me.
Of course, it wasn't the same when I was hearing it live.
"futo shita shigusa ni kyou mo haat zukizuki."
"sarige na egao wo fukayomi shisugite Overheat!"
I didn't say anything. I couldn't describe what I was feeling at the moment. The sudden, sugary sweetness of the band and songs could give someone a toothache. Wait, that implies they're bad. What I mean to say is that I'm surprised at how good they are. If their looks didn't hook me then their singing did. I didn't want to go into the room in case I disturbed them.
"aa kami-sama doushite
suki ni naru hodo Dream Night setsunai no
totteoki no kuma-chan dashita shi kon'ya wa daijoubu ka na?"
My eyes were focused on the raven-haired girl; the way she sang into the microphone had confidence as her long fingers softly played the notes of her bass. There was something different about her that I noticed. Suddenly, she grabbed the mike and placed it close to her lips and the beat picked up.
"dakedo sore ga ichiban muzukashii no yo
hanashi no kikkake to ka doushiyo"
Oh, random rapping in the song. Well, not quite rapping but the change in style and increased pace caught me and I found myself tapping my finger in time with the melody.
The ending of the song was drawing near when I noticed what was so intriguing about the bassist. She was left handed. Paired with the right handed guitarist, the opposite facing guitars complemented each other, as did their singing.
"Fuwa fuwa time" "Fuwa fuwa time"
"Fuwa fuwa time" "Fuwa fuwa time"
"Fuwa fuwa time" "Fuwa fuwa time"
As they finished off with a flurry of rapid drum beats and guitar riffs, I found myself applauding them. Then I realised I was outside and they couldn't hear me. I quickly corrected that though the door opening startled the raven haired girl.
"That was really good."
"Really?" the drummer grinned, her smile stretching across her face as large as a banana and her eyes glistened.
"Yeah." I think so anyway. Why am I supposed to be the judge of their songs? I don't know anything about music- what if it turned out my taste in music is horrible? There was an awkward silence and the girls looked at me as though expecting something. Oh yeah, they were.
"Um…" Good start. "The manager can't come down right now, he's a little busy."
"Eh? So what do we do now?" The one with the yellow clips started fidgeting as though restless.
"Sorry for using the studio by the way." The blonde caught my attention. "Once Ritsu got started we just went with the flow."
"Oh, it's okay…" An idea hit me. "Oh, we could record the songs so the manager can listen to them later. That way we could save time." And save my own judgement.
"Hey, can we keep the recordings afterwards?"
"I guess…" There's a computer hooked up that I know how to use and i remember seeing a few spre CDs lying about. "I'll have to speak to someone about it but it shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"Neh, what's your name?"
"John Smith."
After some conversation, I finally learnt their names, much better than referring to them by hair colour and hair accessories. We redid the first song, putting it onto the local computer. After hearing the song in full, and not through a door, I could listen to the lyrics properly. It was really cute love song; is this what girls think about? Turns out, Mio isn't very confident in front of people; You could tell since her singing faltered several times whenever she looked in my vague direction.
"So why are you in school uniforms?" I asked afterwards. They were definitely from their high school. "Are they band outfits?"
"Nope," announced Ritsu. "It was Mio's idea!"
Yui joined in. "Yeah, she's a bit of a klutz sometimes. She almost went to lectures like that this morning."
"I don't want to hear that from you!" But then Mio averted her eyes. "I was just nervous about the interview."
The songs were really random, most of which I had never heard of before. Scrap that, all of them. I'm sure I would remember 'Curry before rice', 'Ballpoint Pen' and 'Don't say lazy.'
In between the songs, I made light conversation. So they were first years in the J. Women's University in the Light Music Club. I finally found out what they were interviewing for- playing as a band to advertise this shop. That would explain the band in front of me. When I explained I was at the men's university, Yui got very excited, as did Mugi. It was as though I was suddenly an alien species they had discovered. I know the feeling, though I react quite differently.
"Yeah, I'm a second year maths student."
"Really? Mio does maths too," the drummer announced. The bassist turned away, shyly. There was a short silence after that. Reminds me of how Asahina and I first met. I tried to break the ice.
I scratched the back of my head. "Um… If you ever need any help with maths, I can always give it a go." Actually, that would show how much I've forgotten since last year.
"Oh, thank you," she finally said. Why is she so nervous around me?
And another awkward pause.
"Shall we move onto the next song?"
I began tidying the drums away, packaging them into their respectful boxes. It was a fun hour or so, talking and listening to music. I hope they didn't notice my lack of music knowledge; I'll have to find out where the songs they sang originally came from. I'll ask Nagato later, she'll know, hopefully.
Afterschool Tea Time- I said it was a cute name to be polite and it really suited them. I must have said cute way too many times today. I'm sure they have enough sugary fluff to give someone diabetes.
They were having the interview with the manager now. I imagine the girls are having quite an interesting conversation about nothing to do with music. It was what happened to me- thank goodness, since any question on the subject would leave me dumbfounded.
You may be wondering why it's taking me a long time to pack these drums away. That's because I'm avoiding the clerk. He's probably still mad for drawing those girls away from him. Besides, I didn't actually understand all of his 'nerd' talk. It's like a different language, a mutated version of Japanese.
I guess I'll have to look at him eventually. Being in the same year taking the same subject made sure of that. What were the chances…
With a sigh, there wasn't much else to do in the recording studio. Oh, the recorded songs. I burned the music into the disks, taking a copy for myself. Even if they didn't get the job, at least I could still listen to their music. If they were famous, this could make quite a bit of money if I sold it. I'll have to remember to give them one as they leave.
Ah, now there really isn't anything to do in here. I guess I'll have to face him.
As silently as I could, I opened the door.
Oh good, he's actually serving someone.
"Kyon!"
Ah, it's Yui. Wait, what did she call me?
"Little Kyon!"
I'm taller than you! And damn that manager! "How did it go?"
"It was great." The drummer of the band grinned at me, I was starting to recognise that trademark grin. "All thanks to Mio."
"Really?" It was hard to imagine such a nervous wreck being the star of the interview. Looking at her now, she was still in shock. Mugi was comforting her.
The blonde nodded. "The manager was particularly interested in her left-handed-ness. He also really liked our songs."
Yeah, he is left handed himself. "Wait, how did he get to hear the songs?"
"Oh, you left the speakers on so our music was blaring through the whole store."
I paused. "Ah… Sorry…" That also meant our conversations were on loud speaker to the whole store. Did I say anything embarrassing?
"The manager said he would have been down much earlier but he was too busy listening to the music and told us to call you Kyon."
Damn the manager ten fold.
"Thank you!" Yui danced away from the till, holding up a bag. "I got some strings." As Yui shouldered her guitar, the others grabbed their instruments.
"Oh, shall we go then?"
It's been an eventful afternoon; I'll admit I was a little sad to see them go. "Wait!" I accidentally blurted out.
Four faces looked at me with surprise and I could feel my face going red.
"Um… Here, I got the music on here."
"Oh, thanks!" The sliding doors opened and they left. "Bye little Kyon!"
I'm glad that's over. However, I was seriously hoping that someone would call me by my name. Not my nick-name!
"Kyon," said a voice and I was dragged back into reality.
"Yes?"
It was the gamer. "Why did you do that before you no0b!"
Ah, I forgot about him…
/*Author's notes
I am not cut out for writing in this style (it has been roughly 20 days since I've posted something). I thought this style would suit me well since it's similar to my author's notes. However, Kyon is more sarcastic than I am and comes across funnier than I do (I just rant about nothing- this is effectively my internal monologue).
If they get the job, I may switch to this style whenever they go to the store. However, that may be a bad idea.
Also, tell me if I've done a good or bad job of this. If I've done well, this may become a regular occurrence. Or, you can tell me to avoid this style of writing and stick with the main characters. (That means that Kyon will be a very quiet character if he's recurring.)
*/
"Hey when do you think we'll hear back from the store?" Mio slumped onto her bed, noticing how all the part time job magazines had not been cleared from her room.
"Hopefully soon!" Mugi started stacking the magazines together. "We've never performed outside of our school before."
"What about that opening gig we did last week?"
"But that was in front of other students like us. This time it will be in public."
"We'll become famous!" Yui sat next on the bed by Mio, not noticing her face paling at the thought.
"Maybe not that far Yui," Ritsu cut in. The young guitarist sighed. "But we'll be one step closer to the Budokan!"
"Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that." Yui clapped her hands together. "We have to practice really hard for when we perform!" She made a face of concentration, imitating guitar chords with her fingers.
Ritsu, "I bet we'll have a huge audience next week."
Yui, "The manager said that we'd have a platform just outside on the street."
Mugi, "It'll be like we're busking!"
Mio, "We haven't actually got the job yet you know." The bassist seemed to have recovered.
Ritsu laughed out loud. "Yeah but no one else went for the job. And Kana told everyone to not apply for the job."
"Yeah, I was surprised at that. We need to thank her later."
"What did you think of the assistant?" They all looked at Mugi.
"Huh?"
The blonde went a little red. "I mean, he was a nice guy, wasn't he?"
"I guess," Ritsu replied. "He has a weird nick name though."
Yui, "I think it's cute."
"It's kind of cool that he goes to the men's university." Ritsu looked at Mio. "What do you think?"
"Um… y-yeah, same." She played with her hair, not really thinking about it.
"You're not falling for him are you Mio?" Ritsu's face was suddenly close. Startled, she jumped backwards.
"Baka!" The bassist thwacked the drummer over the head.
"Ow…"
"Mugi, it's six o'clock"
"Oh, thanks Yui." The pianist stood up. "I'll see you guys later then."
"Where's she going?" Ritsu rubbed her head, wincing slightly.
"Oh, she's going to call home. Probably to tell her family about the part time job interview."
"Ah, we should do the same."
"One sec." Mio got off the bed towards the table and motioned the group closer. "I've been thinking about what we should do for Mugi."
"What do you mean?" Ritsu thought back to the conversation they had the other day. "Oh yeah, she has helped us a lot over the years."
"I would have never met Giitar!"
Ritsu sweat dropped. "So what do you suppose we do?"
"Hm…" They all concentrated.
"We could write a song like we did for Azusa," Mio pointed out.
"But where would we find the time and place to practice?" Ritsu replied. "It'll be really hard to hide it from Mugi."
Yui, "How about a present?"
Mio, "What should we get her?"
Ritsu, "Well she's rich so whatever we get her she can get anyway…"
Yui, "Mugi's not like that. I think she'll really like a present."
Ritsu, "Well we're poor. Remember that membership fee we have to pay? And that deadline is coming up soon."
Mio, "Then what should we get her?"
They all concentrated hard. In the end, the drummer sighed loudly and stuck her feet onto the table.
Ritsu, "Maybe we should just give her your lose weight guide."
Mio, "It won't be much of a surprise, will it then?" She knocked the feet off and they hit the pile of magazines, sending them sprawling across the floor again.
"Mio, look what you've done."
"It's rude to put your feet up."
Yui picked up one of the magazines. "We could work somewhere else at the same time. Then we can buy something for Mugi with what we save up."
Ritsu, "Eh? Do we even have time for that?"
Mio, "Well, what else can we do for Mugi?"
Yui, "This looks interesting!" She put a magazine onto the table. Pictures of maids littered the page.
Mio, "No, we are not doing this again…"
/*Author's notes
Right, sorry for the long wait. However, you are in for a bigger wait since I have exams that are fairly important (more important than this fan fiction? Madness…)
Anyway, if I do post something, it's because I'm not revising. My exams finish on the 28th of April 2014so that's a big wait.
In terms of the story line, it's much easier to create scenes in my other work since that just usually starts with a fight scene. This fan fiction is a slice of life with no real goal- it's life. Go get a good job, get happy and stuff. Then again, there is this one AMAZING scene that I really want to do (happens during winter break so I'm being patient. Too patient…)
Hopefully, with this wait, I'll actually get a plan. I have vague ideas that aren't written yet. I'm planning a lot of things with the idea of 'Relationships' (I'm going to do a lot of shipping- should be fun). Also, something to look forward to is the Parkour chapter with Ritsu and Mugi- Mugi with boys. Should be interesting…
And whether they'll get the job or not. But that's obvious… (Or is it?)
Anyway, please review and answer my question about the Kyon style of writing- it'll be a big help!
*/
