Walk-ON!

Chapter 11:

Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

Summer gave way to fall and its troubles, trials and tribulations. No one ever predicted that the worst would befall the heart and soul of the rhythm. No one ever thought that the beat of a drum would remain silent. Not even Ritsu Tainaka herself would have thought of such a fate coming to take her away at a time the band needed her most.

Not that she was minding one bit. It was all about preparing for a school festival, and the hopes that The Incident would not rear its head yet again.

Azusa Nakano never registered the doomsday scenario in her head. She was enjoying her time as a member of the Light Music Club, and the retreat refreshed her heart and soul in ways never thought. She nodded her head side to side, humming the strains of the Caramelldansen while a bunch of fellow freshman played football at the athletic field adjacent to the buildings and the auditorium. It should be noted that the varsity were regarded to be a Christmas Bowl contender, as they destroyed their opponent that day 61-0.

She continued to hum for the longest time as the others disseminated the weekly agenda. "Hey Azusa, you feel like you are ready to take no prisoners," Ritsu said to her as Tsumugi prepared the customary beverages and snacks.

"I think it's an honor to be a part of the school festival once again," she said with a beam on her face. "It only happens once a year, after all. And to do another concert with you folks, it just gets you heart racing."

"Azusa Nakano, so fresh and so innocent."

"You know, I actually wanted to see you guys perform last year, but I didn't get the chance because I was busy with finishing up junior high school."

"Oh?"

"I heard it from somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody that went to the live. He told me that his nose was bleeding after The Incident happened."

Mio was nonplussed as she spat her tea out towards Ritsu. "Don't bring that up again," she said curtly while wagging a finger to Azusa.

"Huh? What did I say?"

"The Incident. It must never be spoken of again because Mio doesn't have very fond memories of that," Ritsu said.

"Can you whisper me the details?"

"Are you ready?"

"No!" Mio cried out.

Ui laid an assuring shoulder and a hug. "It's all right. We love you babe."

"But, but."

Azusa heard enough. "Shoot." Ritsu told it all. "Ohhh. No wonder his nose bled."

"Ritsu! You fucking idiot, why the hell did you tell her?" Mio wailed.

She made a proclamation "I believe it's my God-given right to let this be known: what happens in the light music club stays in the light music club. Therefore, Mio, I had to get Azusa up to speed."

"I got footage of last year's festival, if you wanted it," Miss Sawako said. "This was courtesy of Mio's fans club."

"Cool, I'd like to take a look," Azusa said.

"Hey Azusa, can you not take a look at that?" Mio pleaded.

"Ui, Ricchan, you know what to do." She snapped her fingers.

They were coming to take her away, ha-ha! "Let me go!" Mio cried as they both consigned her to the other room.

"Here we go, take a look at this," she said to Azusa. She forwarded the concert to the tripping scene of fate.

"Oh no, don't watch it, Azusa! It's dangerous; you'll be cursed for life!" Mio warned sternly.

She peered to see Mio falling over, exposing her stripes. "What a nice tushie," Azusa thought. "I'm jealous. And those stripes are so delicious. I can't believe I have a few rice bowls that look like that."

She cleared her throat before saying through a blush and a nosebleed that had to be clogged up, "You know, Miss Sawako, this probably was a good PR move because everybody now knows who we are. Sorry crew, but now I saw them." The others turned around in disbelief. "At least they had fun down there."

Mio slunk in defeat. "Shit. I'm too late." Her tears soaked up the whole tissue box in the process as she knelt in her state of melancholy.

"But you know something?" Azusa added, "You guys tend to rock it out at live performances and nothing else."

"Getting a bit cheeky, aren't we?" Ritsu said. "You naughty kitty!"

"It's not being cheeky; it's being honest-ahhh! Ohhh, Ritsu-sempai, not too hard!" She was getting an arm choke from Ritsu but for some unknown reason was enjoying it. "Stop, you're making feel weird-ahhh! 3"

"You're actually enjoying this! I should push it, push it some more!" She tightened her grip.

"N-naughty! I don't know what you mean by-oooh! 3" Now Ritsu was nibbling her ear. "That's my sensitive spot...haaa...haaa..."

Ui was laughing. "What are you laughing about?" Ritsu said.

"Is something wrong?" Tsumugi asked

"Taking a look back at last year is always refreshing. I loved it," Ui said. "Now we have to up the ante for this year's concert."

"Oh yeah, your voice got a bit husky here." She had to laugh as well.

"I was waking up in the morning, and it got all screwed up. Not even the lozenges at home or the antibiotics could fix this one. It was a drag. But Mio's like bacon. She makes everything better."

Azusa smiled as Ritsu beamed at her. She seemed to have made the right move to be a part of it. This time, she would join them in concert.

"And as for Mio," Mugi said to the one still cowering in the corner, "she put in a very good performance with the vocals. So your analogy was right on the mark."

"Your first live gig with us," Ritsu said, "What do you think?"

"I'm ready," she said. "I feel like we could do this right now."

"You sure about that?"

"Positive." Sawako snuck a smug expression while Mio came to terms with the accentuated positives. "I'm ready to give it my best shot."

"That's the spirit."

The door opened, and Jun Suzuki walked in with the news from the council. "Afternoon, ladies. I apologies for intruding in the festivities."

"Jun, hi!" Ui said. "Is there a problem?"

"Not really a problem," she said, approaching Ritsu, "but rather this." Jun presented the application Ritsu submitted prior to the scheduled concert, or rather was supposed to fill. They all took a closer look.

"Use of Auditorium Request Form," Azusa read.

"Based on what the folks told me," Jun said to Ritsu, "you forgot to fill one out for the school festival."

Azusa was taken aback. "The hell!"

Ritsu was stunned. "I did?" Mea culpa. "Really. So I did."

"God dammit, how are you laissez-faire about this!"

"That's because I was pretty busy the past few days."

A lie. Mio knew it. She approached her ladyfriend with hell to pay. "This happened last year too."

"Uh huh...but that was the club registration form-OWWW!" Up came the headbump.

Bloody Ritsu Tainaka. Bloody, bloody Ritsu Tainaka. "Whatever then. Azusa, fill this crap up."

"Who, me?" she responded as the coffee and snacks waited to be consumed on the table. "I don't mind; however...let's see here..." Azusa slowly began to fill in the information. "Group...Light Music Club...and what's the name of our band?"

"How about you use our club name as default?" Ritsu suggested.

"Got it." She was someone who liked to invoke a second opinion to her own psyche. It couldn't be helped. "Actually, on second thought, what was the name of our band?"The others looked on in disbelief, giving random suggestions while Sawako sipped her Earl Grey. Chocolate Melody. Sweets Smile. They Might Be Pedobears. "You're fucking kidding me."

"So, ladies, we haven't thought of one, have we?" Tsumugi said with a defeated look on her face.

"This looks like a good time to decide," Ritsu said to Mio. "The debate begins."

"How about 'Ui Hirasawa and the Bunnygirls?'" Ui suggested.

"Pretentious. Who the hell do you think we are!"

"Project Pure Pure?" Mio asked.

"We're light, but not THAT light! Enough with the jokes, let's all think about this, shall we? Let's be serious about this." This was going nowhere.

"I was really being serious about this."

"The hell you were! For real!"

"Yes, for real!"

"Hey," Azusa reminded Ritsu, "people have different tastes. The goal here is to come up with a name that everyone will be happy about."

"I got an idea," Sawako said. "How about a name that me and Ui here will collaborate on? See, because Ui is our ace player, I'm going to have her think of something, and if I like it, I know you folks will. By the way Ui, your first suggestion was pretentious as well."

"How will you do that, Miss Sawako?"

"She'll talk with me after class."

"We should have known," Mugi, Mio, Ritsu and Azusa replied.

"So you want me to do it?" Ui said.

Sawako put a hand to her shoulder. "Yes. You will be the one."

"All right, then."

Sawako was outvoted by the other. "We'll think about it a little longer," the other three except Azusa replied.

"Deadlocked and sequestered," Azusa said. "Where's the free hotel?"

"No problem," Jun said. "When you are finished, send the paperwork to the Student Council Office, all right?"

Ritsu gave a Boy Scout salute. "You got it."

"We apologize for making you wait," Mio added.

"No problem," Jun replied.

"Hey," Ui said, "you'd better come up here and lounge back with us every now and then!"

"If my schedule allows it. I'll text you guys later. Bye."

"Just a reminder..." She smiled.

"So team, we're going to have to ponder this over tonight," Ritsu said to the band and Sawako. "Time for some practice!"

"Got it," Tsumugi said.

"Azusa," Mio asked, "The school festival is almost coming, so we have to be serious with our work."

"Yes, Mio-sempai."

Ui interjected. "That reminds me, Gitah seems to be sounding unusual lately."

"Can I take a look?"

"Let's take a look."

They all did while Sawako watched the tai chi club go through their exercises outside. "Whoa," Azusa remarked, "it looks like the strings are a bit out of shape. They've got rust on 'em. When was the last time you got these bad boys changed?"

Ui weighed in. "This probably would be the first time in its entire history that Gitah will need a string overhaul." The others looked on in disbelief.

"On top of that," Azusa said, her head in front of Ui's blushing face, "the neck is warped. Your octave tuning's all screwed up as well! This really does need an overhaul!"

"Would you believe that?" She looked at the steam coming out of her head. "Why is there steam coming out of my head? I'm on fire. Trammps send help."

"Relax, Azusa," Mio said, "you have to give it to her in layman terms."

A summary from Ui's kouhai. "Basically, what I'm telling you is that you have to treat your guitar the right. This is a high-quality guitar, you know."

Ui snapped out of her Building Steam episode. "I do treat it well. What are you talking about? The only issue is that Yui sleeps with it, dresses it up, and..."

"That has to stop! You're spoiling her too much!"

"Miss Sawako, give us your opinions. Any?"

Sawako weighed in. "You're gonna have to send that bad boy back to the shop."

"That's because you don't want to go through the trouble," Ritsu sneered. Sawako laughed it off.

"So it's settled," Azusa said. "We're taking this back to the shop."

"Settled it is," Ui concurred. "But I thought we didn't have to do that."

"The school festival is coming up. We don't have much time. You can't practice with this."

"That's right," Ritsu added, "you have your backup guitar Hiro right?"

"I haven't used him in ages, if ever," Ui said, "so it's going to feel weird."

"Well, you will have to practice with him until we get this fixed," Azusa replied.

"Just wondering, Ricchan, do you do any maintenance to your drum set?"

"Always," she said. "Come on, you think I don't take care of my darlings that are lying behind you? Fool. Who the hell do you think I am?"

"Wonderful speech."

"Thank you, even though I ripped it off Kamina."

"Thief!" Mio wailed.

"But the Ricchan I know would not do such a thing," Ui pouted.

"Are you making a fool out of me!" Ritsu retorted. "I do pay attention to my drum set, you jester!"

Ui felt the pinch in her sensitive spots, and a slight wetness came out. "Ahhhh! 3 Ricchan, you naughty woman!"

"So here we are, back at 10GIA," Ritsu said to the crew the next day.

"I'll wait here," Mio said as the others got ready to enter.

"Are you sure?" Azusa asked. "Why?"

Mio paled in defeat. A cold blue expression lines her forehead and cheeks. "I'm a lefty, so this would not apply to me. Seeing right-handed instruments will only make me feel the way I feel: blue."

"Really?"

"Mmm-hmmmm." Tears began to fall.

"Really."

Mugi gave a look of sympathy to her friend with the hime cut. "It's not your fault."

"Hey Mio, take a look," Ritsu said. "They're doing a Lefty Fair promotion for some left-handed basses. Take a look!"

Mio's eyes perked up. "Whoa!" Basses of every persuasion, shiny and new. "Is this heaven?" she said in a gleeful tone. This is what she lived for: to play the best left-handed bass out there. She had to give a holler to the shop owner. "Yo, Mr. Employee! Give me one of everything, no money down!"

"Yo, Mio, relax..."

"She's feeling like a million yen, Mio is," Ui said to Azusa.

"There aren't a lot of instruments for lefties," Azusa noted, "so this is really a treat for her. Let's head over to the guy, okay?"

"Got it, my darling."

"Oh you..." That was Ui Hirasawa, so playful and so committed.

"Excuse me, sir," Azusa asked.

A talk man with glasses came over to assist. "Welcome. How can I help you?"

"Can you fix our guitar for us?"

"Which one?"

"This." She opened the case

"Sure, let's take a look." He took a closer look, and was shocked. "Holy cow. This is a Gibson Les Paul Cherry Sunburst! High maintenance right here." He cleared his throat. "Is this a vintage guitar?

"Not really," Azusa said, "it's just dirty."

"To add what she was saying," Ui said, "I've been using this for a year."

"I see." He looked at it further. "So what we have here is an issue with the strings and the neck, right?"

"Yes."

"Very well then, please wait inside the shop until I'm done."

"Thank you," Azusa said. She turned to Ui. "Let's take a look at something until he's done." Ui's hands formed a makeshift telescope as she peered at the work being done to Gitah. "Is there something wrong?"

"This is one of those 'What Would My Younger Sister Do?' scenarios. As she would be overprotective of something like this," Ui explained, "she would look on with suspicion, and then," as the repairman clipped the strings, "Yui would say, 'oh no, he's stripping my guitar naked!'

"How much porn does your sister read?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "A lot."

"My God, she has no life. Anyway, why did you buy this guitar, Ui-sempai?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's heavy, the neck's huge, and it has its quirks. And you even bought a second guitar that is the same make a model but of a different color!"

"These two guitars were cute, so I decided to buy both of them after we did some traffic surveying."

"Cute, huh?"

"Yes, cute." Azusa could not believe her rationale. But it was what it was. "Hey, it's cute isn't it? Come on, admit it, it is."

In all, the repair took about two hours to complete.

Meanwhile, in another part of the store, Tsumugi was trying some maracas while Ritsu experimented with new percussion. "Sorry for making you wait!" Azusa said to the two of them with Ui following close behind. "The guitar is being worked on right now."

"Excellent," Ritsu said.

"What's Mio-sempai doing, by the way?"

"Oh, her?" Tsumugi pointed. "She's still over in the Lefty Fair section."

One of the shop employees arrived. "Lady Tsumugi!"

"Yes?"

"Welcome, milady."

"Hello, how are you, my dear?"

"In excellent spirits."

Another arrived, "Lady Tsumugi, greetings!"

"Hello," Mugi replied. "How are you?"

"Fine and dandy."

"As you should know," Ritsu said to Azusa, "the Kotobuki combine owns the shop, and since we are part of her connections, we get discounts on stuff here in the store!"

"Cool," Azusa said. "It pays to be rich, I suppose."

"Sure does!"

"You, Ricchan," Ui noted, "were surprised by how they addressed her, weren't you?"

"Cannot confirm nor deny that."

The repairman returned. "Sorry for making you wait. It's fixed."

Ui was beaming. Gitah got an upgrade.

"There you go," Ritsu said. "Good as new."

"Make sure you take good care of it from now on," Azusa reminded her sempai. She didn't anticipate Ui screaming out her guitar's name and embracing it the way she did. "She can't help but love saying that name."

"Thank you very much, sir!" Ui replied.'

"No problem," he said. This was an unusual sense of enthusiasm coming from one of his customers. "By the way, that will be 5,000 yen."

Ui snapped her fingers in Tsumugi's direction. "Tsumugi." She handed Ui 5,000 yen in full. "Paid in full," Ui said, about to hand it to the repairman until one of the other employees halted the payment.

"Milady!" he said. "Please accept this as our free service."

"Really? But I..."

"No worries; your father takes good care of us every day. Just take it!"

"If you insist."

"You're off the hook," Ritsu said.

"That's better," Ui said with a grin, cracking her knuckles and handing the cash back.

"How did you know that Mugi-sempai would do this?" Azusa asked.

"We're her connections. I thought you knew this."

"Whoops." She let out a hesitant chuckle.

"All right, our job's done here," Tsumugi said. "Let's roll!"

"Yes ma'am!" the others said, except for one thing: they were missing somebody among the others.

"Where's Mio-sempai?" Azusa asked.

"I'll grab her," Ritsu said, walking over to the Lefty Fair section. "Hey Mio, we gotta go."

The response was curt. "No."

"What are you, a grade schooler all over again? We gotta go. Everyone else is waiting for you near the front."

"No." Mio was that dedicated to her basses.

"Oh jeez." Ritsu grabbed Mio by the collar. "Look, we have to go, Mio-chan..."

"Hey! Ritsu!" She struggled to escape her friend's grasp.

"That's enough viewing, we're going home." They would go at it for a while.

"One of my friends who attended my old school refurbishes his strings and uses those," Azusa said to Mugi and Ui, "and they aren't a problem." She peered over and saw Mio drop to the floor.

"What are you doing, Mio?" Ritsu asked.

Mio rose to her feet. "Enough of your crap."

"Huh?" She wondered what this was all about.

"Stupid Ritsu..."

Those words began to pierce through Ritsu Tainaka's soul.

"This is great," Ui said. "Now I can continue to work on my skills with Gitah without having to use Hiro."

"You just can't stop using that name, huh?" Mio asked.

"Nope!"

"So now what should do next?" Tsumugi asked.

"An interesting question," Ritsu asked. "All right then fellas, let's go drink some tea."

"Again?" Azusa asked.

"I can't. I have plans with Jun, and I have to work on the name for our group," Ui said.

"Awww, that's no fun," Ritsu pouted.

"Jun is coming? Can I come, too?" Mio asked.

"That's right, you and Jun are in the same class," Ui remembered. "Sure, you may."

"Really! Cool!"

"I'll let her know." Flipping open her cell phone, she punched some keys in.

Ritsu looked on in disgust. It seems she crossed the line for some reason, and she didn't know what it was. But it was clear by the look on her face that she didn't like the change of plans one bit.

Jun, Ui, and Mio decided to eat out at a casual restaurant in town. It had a rustic setting, and was recommended by Jun herself, since a number of her other friends dined here as well. "I will say this, dear Jun, this was a good choice," Ui said.

"Ui, my dear partner, never underestimate the power of Yelp," Jun replied, wagging her finger with a victorious smirk.

"I agree, this is a good place to relax," Mio concurred.

"Even though Ui has enough to pay for the three of us, I'll foot the bill this time."

"If you say so," Ui said, snacking on some cake.

"So, how is our squirrel/hamster friend doing with you guys?"

"Not too bad, but she really likes her guitar that much," Mio noted.

"It's like a man and his dog. They are inseparable. Already it looks like the bond is looking to be very, very strong."

"Absolutely."

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Ui asked.

"We were talking about hamsters and squirrels and how they could be great pets to bring home."

"Right..." She knew Jun was lying. But she chose to let it go.

The odd twist about it was that Ritsu, Azusa and Tsumugi were eavesdropping. "Yo quiero Taco Bell, Ritsu-sempai," Azusa said to Ritsu with a sneer.

"Hush, kitten," she responded. Turning to her and Tsumugi, she went on. "Could you believe that those three are getting along so well?"

"Anyway, aside from my cravings for Taco Bell, why the hell are we sneaking around like this?"

Tsumugi giggled. She visualized this situation in the shows she watched, where a rival or a best friend eavesdrops on what's going on without trying to blow his or her cover. It invigorated her creative juices and her vapid, vivid imaginations. "I feel like Sherlock Holmes tonight." The other two looked at her in disgust. "What?"

Ritsu decided to take action. "All right, time for the attack!"

"Oh, and by the way," Mio said to Ui and Jun, "the teacher is a user on deviantART and goes by the handle of..."

"Hey you guys!" Ritsu exclaimed bumping into Mio. "Getting along so well?"

"Ritsu, what the hell are you doing here!"

"Well, you know..."

"Ricchan, are you by yourself?" Ui asked.

"Actually, Mugi and Azusa are down in the corner."

"Uh huh..."

"Guys, I want to thank each and every one of you for always taking care of our Mio..."

Mio was feeling a bit uneasy with Ritsu's pushiness. "Hey...Ritsu!" She felt an elbow on her shoulder.

"What, you don't like this?"

"No, it's not that..."

"All right, then there shouldn't be any problems."

Tsumugi noticed something strange was going on. "Ricchan..."

Azusa felt it too. "Sempai..."

"Uh oh, the ice cream is melting." Ritsu forgot to finish it.

The days began to pass by, and the situation on began to get worse and worse. Case in point: back on campus, where everything seemed to be fine and dandy en route to lunch.

"Mio, here is a boxed lunch for you," Jun said during the break.

"This looks arranged nicely," Mio said. Salmon, chow mein noodles, stripes of fried rice and brown rice, omelettes, salmon, chicken karaage and salad replete with green eco-friendly chopsticks.

"I decided to grab whatever I could find and I came up with this."

"Well, I will say this to you: good job! You're amazing."

"Thanks. I try."

"But seriously, you are!"

"All right you two, lunchtime is over!" Ritsu said walking in.

"Huh? But Ritsu, I just started..."

"From now until the school festival, we're using this time to practice!"

"Hmmm..." This was a 180-degree change in Ritsu's attitude to something she normally doesn't take seriously.

"So, Mio," Ritsu asked back at the music room, "I wonder what you're going to do at this year's festival?" Mio wanted to hear none of it. "Last year, you flashed your panties in front of the whole school. What will it be this time? Will it be showing your delicious Mound of Venus? Or will it be that God-given cleavage of yours? Or is it...?"

"You said we were going to practice, right!" Mio snapped. "Well? Let's do it, then! You made me gut my lunch for this, so let's go!"

"But of course," Ritsu said in her decidedly naughty tone.

"All right, well-ahh!" Her cheeks were being pinched.

"Takoyaki!" she said, as if rings were shaped like octopus balls. Now she went around and lifted her hair up in various formations. "Ponytail! Braids! Twintails! Odango!"

"Oh boy," Ui said, tuning Gitah. "Here she goes again."

Mio brushed Ritsu aside. "Jesus H. Christ, what the hell is wrong with you today?"

Her friend remembered something "Oh yeah, I have this great horror film to show you..."

"That's enough; I am going back to my classroom."

The game of words continued. "Yeah? And then what? What will you do by yourself?" Mio froze. "I should apologize for interrupting your precious lunchtime with Jun, shouldn't I?"

For Mio, it wouldn't matter much. The damage had already been done. "I didn't ask for an apology, did I!" she screamed to Ritsu.

Ui put a palm to her forehead in disgust. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but you two make me sick."

"Maybe we should have some tea instead?" Tsumugi suggested. "Let's have some tea, okay?"

Even Azusa tried to mellow the situation by putting on her cat ears. "Guys, let's just chill out and be friendly to each other and practice, all right-nya?" It didn't work. "No way-nya..." Or so it seemed not to.

"Whatever," Mio said. "Fuck this. Let's jam."

"You're right," Ritsu concurred.

But it just wouldn't feel the same. Mio's bass lost its soul, and Ritsu's rhythm just felt shattered. Actually it was Ritsu who was feeling the worst among the two. The cadence was off, the punch was not there, and the beat was barely audible.

"What's going on?" Mio asked. "It's all right that you're speeding it up, but where is the power behind it?" But Ritsu would not respond. Mio had a look of concern. Something was really wrong with her friend playing the drums. "Ritsu!"

"Sorry, I don't feel so good. I'm getting the fuck outta here," she said, packing her bags and leaving. "See you guys after school."

The others looked on with pained looks in their eyes. "Ricchan!" Ui exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"Let's forget her," Mio said. "We'll soldier on without her."

"But still..." Deep down inside, Mio knew that something bad had happened to Ritsu that caused her to act the way she did the past few days.

"Stupid Ritsu," she cursed.

As the school festival drew closer, it was apparent that the next day, Ritsu would not be meeting with her band after school.

Azusa was feeling rather drab over Earl Grey and muffins. "This sucks," she said. "What is going with Ritsu-sempai? Could someone explain what I have been missing here? She wasn't here yesterday or today. That's two straight you guys; what the hell is going on?"

"Something really terrible must have happened to her," Ui concurred. Sawako, Tsumugi and Mio admitted as much.

"How far are you with coming up with something?" Sawako asked Ui.

"Very close," she replied. "I'll let you know soon."

"On another note, Mio, you must have been cold to your friend who is not with us today. Shame on you."

"I'm sorry."

"Well, don't apologize to me. I'm not the one ditching class." Sawako pointed as Mio. "For the sake of the Light Music Club, become Ricchan's toy for a day! If you don't, bad things will happen. Possible scenarios: 1. her mind will deteriorate, 2. she will fail to finish an extra large beef bowl that she can't stomach anyway, and 3. she will be desperate go emo and join a rock band that plays heavy metal music. And then we will never see the likes of her at this school or this city ever again!" The tears began to fall.

"That's some doomsday scenario," Ui noted to Azusa, who nodded. "But that's how you got rejected, right Miss Sawako?"

"What was that?" she grunted.

She sighed sheepishly. "Strike it from the record, I say."

"But if this goes and she doesn't come back," Azusa said with the others turning to her, "what the hell is gonna happen to our live gig?" That was a big question to chew on. Not only does the light music club not have a name, but they may not even have a concert.

Mio rose up. "Let's practice. We have no choice."

"Shouldn't we first go get Ritsu-sempai before anything else?" Azusa asked

That was a good suggestion, one that Mio had to glance over. She thought about it.

Sawako brought up another possibility. "Looks like we could use a replacement. Ui, can you play drums?"

"Well," Ui explained, "I can, but I don't want to steal Ricchan's thunder. Besides, I prefer two guitars to one."

Tsumugi snapped. "There is no replacement for Ricchan! None!" They turned at her in shock. "If she doesn't come back, this concert can't go on. It shouldn't!"

Ui looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "Tsumugi..."

"I will wait for her. I will wait for her until she comes back." She tried to fight back tears that were streaming down her face.

"Tsumugi...this devotion is why we are glad you're here."

"She will definitely come! I know it!"

Somehow this made the decision all the more easier for Mio. Maybe she did cross the line a few times too much. The objective now was to come to terms with her mistake and do something about it. For now though, she was hoping that it was just a case of the shivers and that she would be back to normal.

Whatever the case, Year 2, Class 2 was going to have an unusual, unwanted feel to it, almost eerie. Mio saw the classroom. It had students conversing with others, but for a third-straight day Ritsu was nowhere to be seen.

"It's Mio! Good morning," Tsumugi said.

"Morning," Ui echoed.

Mio scratched her neck a little. "Morning, you two."

"Hey, we found out what happened to Ricchan..."

"No, I'm not here to see Ritsu." Although, that was part of the plan. It would have to be crossed off for now. Tsumugi and Ui looked at either. They knew she was lying.

"She's absent," Tsumugi said.

Mio turned to her friends in a state of shock. A third straight day? One day was bad enough. Two days was terrible enough, but three straight? Either she really was ditching the band, or she may have fallen under the weather.

Tsumugi and Ui smiled, but for Mio, this was not good news. She had to head over to Ritsu house to see what was going on.

The flu. Ritsu hated the bug that was hopping all around at this point in the season. She never had a chance to get her shots ahead of the flu season and on top of that, she dismissed the thought of having a flu shot. But to have this happen days before the School Festival was the worst timing ever imagined. It drained her of her energy, it drained her of her strength, and she never felt like herself. It was a terrible feeling.

She was under blankets, in her own bedroom with just a few rays of light peering through the window. Outside the house, her brother Satoshi was chatting with his elementary school friends about the Giants and other random gibberish. A hot towel graced her forehead as she closed her eyes.

"So this is the price I pay for being mean to Mio," Ritsu thought to herself. It might as well have been karma in the form of a bug. She wished that she could have taken back everything she said and everything she did to hurt Mio the way she did. Maybe she could have let Mio go home on her own. Maybe she could have done herself a favor and not eavesdrop over ice cream. One can only wonder about the sanity of anyone who eats ice cream on a cold autumn evening. Maybe she could have let Mio eat her lunch before practice began, or maybe she could have eased up on crossing the line too many times.

But no matter how many times Ritsu Tainaka wanted to take back what she did, it would not amount to anything. The damage was done, and she was paying the penalty by falling ill to the flu, catching a fever, and sinking into a deep slumber. "If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take," Ritsu thought to herself as she slept.

Mio slowly walked up the stairs to her room. Ritsu heard her coming. It had to be Mio. "Mio?" she asked.

"God dammit, are you a fucking esper?" Mio said, opening the door. "Sheesh..."

She giggled. "I know how your footsteps sound. And I know that the first person that would come to my room would always, always be you."

Mio sighed. "The hell, you know me too well." She went over and sat next to her on the carpet. "How's your cold? You're not feeling too sick, are you?"

"It's starting to get a little bit better, but I think it got a lot better when you got here."

"I'm not your personal Jesus, you know that, right?"

"I know."

"Good." Another sigh. "So this is why you couldn't play the drums like you did."

She sunk her head under the comforter, and curled into a ball. "And this is days before the school festival, too."

The good thing about Mio was that she got vaccinated days before the bug went on its course, so this would have no effect on her. "Whatever; just get better already. You know," she said, leaning her head next to Ritsu, feeling her heartbeat, "everybody is worried about you. You gotta shake this thing off, man."

"They aren't mad are they?"

"I hope not. No, they aren't."

"What about you?"

She turned to Ritsu. "I was for a little bit, but come on, I'm not anymore. However..."

"What?" She meant to find out.

"I want to be honest with you. Without your drums, Ritsu...I feel lonely. Even though you play too fast, when you at your best, you bring power. You bring energy. You share it with all of us, and it drives us to be who we are on stage, Ritsu. I know it, you know it, the band and everyone who watches us knows it. You make us who we are. And I don't want you to forget that." Mio smiled and turned to Ritsu, who gave her a few tickles. Somehow that caused her mood to change because those were words she took to heart as well. Those wounds were beginning to heal, and fast.

Laughing, Ritsu rose up and said, "I'm okay now!" But she sneezed, and Mio had to grab the box of tissues across the room.

"No you're not," Mio replied, tucking Ritsu back in. "Hurry up and rest. I'm going to go now."

"Eh!" Ritsu grabbed Mio's arm. "Stay with me until I fall asleep! Please, Mio?" She was like a little child, wanting her mom to come back to her and watch over her. That's how ill she was.

"Jeez, you think I'm going to be leaving now?" Mio noticed Ritsu taking off her clothes. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Mio, I have an idea. Take off your clothes."

"But you're sick! I don't wanna catch your cooties!"

"Just do it." Sighing, Mio complied.

"I hope this is not one of your dirty trucks again." They both took off their clothes until they were down to their panties. Well, Mio still had her skirt on.

"Mio, for a fever," Ritsu explained, "body heat is the best kind of warmth.

"Really. Wait a sec, why are we naked! This is one of your kinky tricks, isn't it!"

Ritsu's tone got even naughtier than before. "Mio...can I hug you?"

"Eh! Eh!" Somehow Ritsu was turning the illness on its head by utilizing the power of sex. "Well, I guess it's fine if you do it gently-hey!" She felt Ritsu embrace her, and her fingers were stroking her hair as their busts met.

"Mmmmm, Mio's skin is so warm," Ritsu said with a deep moan, her eyes closed. Pockets of wetness could be felt near her stripes as she internalized the floral scent of her hair, the shampoo she put on before class began.

"Hey! Don't whisper so close to my ear!" Mio felt Ritsu going in for the kill. She began to sweat, and her pulse quickened as her breathing began to accelerate.

"Mio...shall we do even more amazing thing, so I can get better faster?"

"Ritsu, quit touching me in weird places!" She was trapped, but Mio wanted her to do it. "I-!" She found Ritsu on top of her, the two of them locked in a long French kiss. Mio surrendered to Ritsu advances amidst the groans. This was their way of apologizing to each other. And it was a good thing Mio was vaccinated.

Ui was peering through the window. "I think they apologized to each other." Azusa had a disgusted look, while Tsumugi's epistaxis issue reared its head of liquid red again. "Let's go."

"Mugi-sempai," Azusa said, "are you all right?"

"Dontakoi desu," she replied.

Both Mio and Ritsu were fully clothed when the others walked in. "Hello, you two lovebirds," Ui said. "Ricchan, are you-?"

"Shhhh, Ritsu is sleeping," Mio said. Ui gave a thumbs-up while Tsumugi and Mugi looked at each other in amazement. Good ol' Mio Akiyama.

Little did Ui know that she was supposed to get vaccinated the day before, but she was taking her time playing some music and she also had some other things to do. Tsumugi and Azusa already got their shots. Forgetfulness gets even the best of those who do it best, it seems.

The next day, Ui went over to Miss Sawako's office. "Hey, Miss Sawako?"

"Hi, Ui," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"I think I have a name you will like. I have this on paper."

"Let's take a look." She glanced at it, and smiled. "This has my Sawachan-sensei Seal of Approval! Let's show it to them."

"I knew I hit the mother lode today."

"You sure did!"

Ritsu was back in business again, ready to smash some skins with her sticks. "A complete recovery! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special report to announce here at Sakuragaoka Senior High School: the great Ritsu Tainaka is back from the dead!" she proclaimed up at the music room on the third floor in a Kamina pose.

"Did you really have to make that a special report NHK-style?" Mio said with a sheepish look to her face.

"Yeah, I just did."

"Oh dear."

"Let's kick some butt when we get this school festival going!" They raised their fists in the air. The spirit and drive was restored.

"Hold on a second!" Jun said, barging in. "You morons forgot to turn in your forms to use the auditorium!"

"Whoops!" exclaimed Ui, Ritsu and Azusa. Well, Ui was ready for this one.

"A deadline is a deadline," the Student Council president said back at the Student Council office

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Ritsu exclaimed. "Please, give us some more time!"

"I'm also begging you," Jun said to the president. "She was sick and could not fill the form in time. She will get this done today. Please!" The two of them bowed.

"Well, Suzuki," the president, "if you do have to go through all this trouble (and you do have a legit excuse as well), please go ahead and fill it out and get it done today."

"Thank you, Madame President!"

"Ah, you're such a good person!" Ritsu wailed, holding Jun's hands. "I was wrong about you from the beginning."

"I know, I know. I'm leaving Mio in your care, and please...look after me too!"

"Hey!" exclaimed Mio. She was going over the top again.

So the final deliberations for the name went on. "We're not going to call ourselves Project Pure Pure, huh." Mio asked.

"How about the Closed Fists?" Ritsu suggested.

"That's an enka band name."

"How about the Gumshoe Five?" Tsumugi suggested.

"Did you step on some today?" Mio asked Ritsu.

"You are an esper!" she retorted.

"Let's see," Tsumugi suggested. "How about 'Charging Period'?"

"Bad luck," Mio replied. "'Popcorn Honeymoon'?"

"These things sound so dumb and corny, peoples!" Ritsu shot back.

"Or maybe 'Rocket Pencil,'" Tsumugi suggested. "Doesn't the sound like a nice name?"

"Idiots! You people are pissing me off!" Ui shouted with Sawako looking on, a palm to her face. "God fucking dammit, I can't even drink my tea like this! I have a name here that you will like. Filling this shit out." She did. "There."

"And it has my Sawachan-sensei Seal of Approval," Sawako added.

"For real!" the others shot back.

Ui let it be known. "From this point forward, this group will forever be known as Ho-Kago Tea Time. Abbreviated, we are HTT. I came up with this name after the refreshments we have before and after our practice, and I kept in mind the importance of our meetings, of the bonds we forge, of the memories the five of us will have to our dying day. Ho-Kago means After School. Wherever we go, wherever we may play, wherever life may bring us to, the name 'Ho-Kago Tea Time' reminds us of where we began our musical journey. It reminds us of our roots. Here, in the music room of Sakuragaoka High, amid cakes, cookies, coffee...and tea. No matter who you are, no matter where you will be, you will always think of us. You will always think of HTT."

Applause. "Well said, sister!" Ritsu said.

"That was well-put," Mio replied.

"I like it," Tsumugi said.

"It's unanimous," Azusa said. She shouted out from the windows. "Ho-Kago Tea Time is born!" A cheer could be heard outside.

A photo was taken to commemorate the event. These Founding Members of the band that would be known as Ho-Kago Tea Time:

Ritsu Tainaka

Mio Akiyama

Tsumugi Kotobuki

Ui Hirasawa

Azusa Nakano

Advisor/Band Manager: Sawako Yamanaka

Shortly after, a sneeze could be heard from Ui as well as a groan. "Awwwww shit."

END CHAPTER 11