~Special thanks to nioki-nainai for proofreading this chapter~
~ありがとうございます~
***Important***
1. -"this is message that was typed but unsent"
2. 'thought'
3. "normal conversation (face to face)"
4. "phone conversation"
5. -places or time-
6. Flashbacks are all in italics.
Chapter 14: Messages
Mio woke up really early this morning, even though she didn't get enough sleep. Yesterday night, she couldn't get over the feeling of seeing and hugging Ritsu. She also tried to think of some ways she could apologize to her. As soon as her alarm clock rang, she got up from bed and went straightaway to the bathroom, not caring that she was still feeling sleepy.
Mio cleaned herself from top to bottom. This was one of her never-changing routines. After cleaning herself, she went down to the kitchen, greeting both her parents. As usual, she had a wonderful breakfast with them and as soon as she finished her breakfast, she excused herself. Mio wanted to go to the university as soon as possible.
But before that, she decided to visit the Tainaka's residence again. She wanted to make sure that Ritsu wasn't there because it would have been a waste if she went to the university and found out that Ritsu was back at home.
Ding Dong
No response...
Ding Dong
Still, no response... Mio tried to open the door but it was locked. 'So, no one's at home huh?' With that, Mio went off to the train station.
'Ritsu... Please... Please be at the dorm! I've got a lot of things to tell you! Please!' Mio kept praying silently throughout her train ride. After thirty minutes, she reached the station. She walked as fast as she could to arrive to the university. Right now, the only thing in her mind was Tainaka Ritsu. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else… She had somehow completely forgotten about her competition.
As Mio reached the university, she met with Hinata, who had come to the university early for some preparations. After all, he was the leader of the team, so he was supposed to do so.
"Morning Mio. You're early. The competition only starts at eleven." Hinata greeted Mio cheerfully.
"Oh.. Hi! Good morning. I... I have to find Rit-one of my friends in the dorm. I need to… erm… ask her something. See you later Hinata-san." Mio replied.
"Okay then. Is everything alright? You look... like you're rushing... and also panicky?" Hinata raised one of his eyebrows.
"Really? I'm fine Hinata-san. Thanks for asking. Gotta go. Bye!" Mio answered while walking away from him.
"See ya." Hinata answered, but Mio had already walked very far away from him.
Mio walked to the dorm where Ritsu was supposed to be staying. Since yesterday, she badly wants to see Ritsu. She wants to hug her, kiss her, ask her and most of all apologize to her. 'Okay, first thing first. I'm going to apologize for hurting her.' Without her realizing, she was now standing in front of Ritsu's room.
Knock – Knock
"Coming~ Yes? Can I help you?" An orange haired girl opened the door.
"Erm… Good morning. Is Ritsu in?" Mio asked politely.
"Ritsu? Do you mean Tainaka Ritsu?" The girl asked for confirmation.
"Yes, Tainaka Ritsu." Mio repeated.
"She doesn't live here anymore."
"What?" Mio was shocked.
"She moved out a few months ago, Mio-san." Another girl came out from the room. She was Ritsu's ex-roommate and Mio had already seen her a couple of times before this.
"O-Oh, really? So, do you know which room she's staying now?" Mio asked. Obviously, she misunderstood.
"No no, that's not what I meant. I heard that she quitted school and that's why she moved out. But it's quite weird. Ritsu didn't even come to collect her stuff. Instead, her brother and some of her friends from this school came, and helped in cleaning and clearing the place."
"..." Mio couldn't find any words. She didn't know how to answer. She didn't know what to do. 'She quitted?'
"Ano... Mio-san? Are you okay?" The two girls asked, while one of them started to wave one of her hands up and down in front of Mio's eyes, trying to get some response from the raven haired girl.
"HEY!" The orange haired girl said loudly to get Mio's attention back.
"Wha- Ah... Sorry! Do you have any idea where she went?" Mio asked.
"Nope. Sorry. We didn't talk that much. She was always busy working." The girl replied.
"O-okay. Thank you v-very much." Mio bowed to the two girls and excused herself.
"No problem~" The door closed.
'What's the meaning of this? Did she get mad and quit school? Why'd she leave without tell me?' Mio's eyes started to water. She was now walking aimlessly in the dorm. 'What should I do now? Phone! Call her!'
She pulled out her phone and called Ritsu's number. Surprised, she heard something in her bag ringing. She took out the ringing object and realized that it was Ritsu's phone. [1]
'I forgot that her phone is with me. What should I do? Where are you Ritsu?' Mio ran to her own dorm. Lucky for her, her roommate was not in the room. Maybe she was still drunk, sleeping somewhere in one of the bar. Party girl. Hehh...
Mio locked the door and started to cry.
"Ritsu…" Mio said between her sobs. She was feeling sad and worried at the same time. She took a deep breath. "Okay Mio, you shouldn't be crying now. You should think about where to find Ritsu. Come on Mio. Think think think!" She tried her best to recall the conversations between anyone who was related to Ritsu.
"Wait. That girl just now said that Ritsu's brother and some friends came to collect Ritsu's stuff. So this means that Satoshi-kun was lying to me yesterday! Ritsu… What happened to you? Where the hell are you?"
"Phone… Her phone, maybe there's some clue. I can't give up now." Mio scanned the contacts on Ritsu's phone, but couldn't find anything suspicious. She then looked through the inbox. Nothing was so special but something caught her attention. 'Draft – 598 unsent messages.'
"598 unsent messages?" Mio opened the drafts. All she could see were her name.
-'To: Mio Subject: N/A Date: 15/01/2012 Status: Unsent'
-'To: Mio Subject: Happy birthday Date: 15/01/2012 Status: Unsent'
-'To: Mio Subject: Sorry Date: 14/01/2012 Status: Unsent'
-... [2]
These were all saved messages to be sent to Mio. Of course, Ritsu had written them all, just without sending them. Mio scrolled the screen down to the earliest message. The first message was dated back to a few months ago, after they started their university life. With the urge to know what Ritsu had written for her, she opened the messages and started to read those drafts:
-"I know you don't want me to send you messages, but I can't control myself, so this is what I can do. I can continue texting you, but you won't be receiving any. Great idea, ya?"
-"Mio, please don't be mad. I promise I won't keep bugging you anymore."
-"How's your day Mio? I saw you laughing with your friends… And… You seem so happy…"
-"Mio, please help me with my math. I'm gonna die!"
-"Hey, wanna watch a movie together? I got premium tickets for free~ Tell me if you're okay with it."
-"You free this Saturday? Since it's my birthday that day, can I find you?"
-"Mio Mio! Tomorrow tomorrow!"
-"Mio! Today is my birthday! Hang out with meeeeee~~~~~"
-"Lycopene…"
-"I saw a new cake shop beside the music store. Wanna try a bite with me?"
-"Mio, my math! I got a pass! Incredible! I thought I would fail it."
-"Mio! You are mine next Saturday! It's our valuable anniversary~ Let's celebrate it together~"
-"Spider on your pillow…"
-"Ohh… I saw you inside the new cake shop… with your friends… ermm… I'm thinkin… ermm… Mio, can I… can I join you guys?"
-"Happy Anniversary Mio! I love you forever and everrrr~~"
-"Did you receive my present? Do you like it? Tell me Mio!"
-"Hey… Erm… Just wanna say good morning to you. Oh ya… I saw a guy send you to university just now. So you are not afraid of guys anymore huh? Gratz~ I am happy for you… or not… Ahhh… Come on Mio, who is he? Your classmate? Your friend? Your boyfriend? Mio, JUST TELL ME!"
-"I hate you"
-"I miss you"
-"Ne Mio, are you still my Romio?"
-"How's your exam going? Excellent as usual?"
-"Mio…"
-"Mio I'm so tired of this... Can we talk?"
-"Heyy..."
-"Oiii~ Mio. Just wait for this surprise! I bet you'll like it… Love ya~"
-"Mio, I just got back from my part time jobs. Damn tired. Nitez~ Love ya~"
-"Oh god! I accidentally cut one of my fingers! Mio, there's blood everywhere… Just kidding."
-"Mio, I'm starting to agree with you that 24 hours a day are not enough… I need more hours too…"
-"Report: Still working hard for your birthday present. Please be patient. Over."
-"Hey Mio. Sorry for lying to you. I didn't mean to. I just don't want you to worry about me. And also, I wanna give you that surprise. I'm sorry."
-"And also, Sakura is just my colleague. I won't love anyone else beside you. Please trust me Mio!"
-"Hey Mio, you won't believe this! I got a great job! Starting from tomorrow night. They're paying me great! Your only job is to wait for the surprise! Yuhooo!"
-"Two more months to go~"
-"Mio, I'm done preparing for your present. All done~ Now, you just have to wait for the time to come~"
-"Tomorrow, I'm going to 'clean' your present. My friends offered to help. It will be an easy task for me then~ Love ya"
-"Sorry for making you angry Mio. I guess I should at least explain this to you. The guys you saw, I believe you're referring to Kei, Ko and Ro. They are just my friends and also... my new band-mates. You said you saw us coming out from a bar... well, we work at that bar, performing there every night. I get paid really well, and that's why I work there. And, they are fun to work with too... So hey Mio, they are only just my friends. Trust me... please? But... Maybe you did the right choice to break up with me. I think it doesn't matter for me anymore to ask you whether you still love me or not. I think I can guess the answer from you now. As long as you are happy, I'm happy too. All I want is your happiness. Seeing you being happy… I wish nothing else in this world. By the way Mio, that guy who always tags along with you, hmm… Ito Hinata… was his name, right? He gets along with you and he seems kind. I asked my friends, and some actually know him. All of them seem to have positive thoughts about him. Good grades, clean background, nice-looking, healthy body, and finally, he is good to you. I approve him. So, live the life you want and be happy. I will always be cheering for you. Ja! From your childhood friend, Ritsu"
-"Happy birthday, Mio. I will always pray for your happiness."
-"Sorry for disturbing you. I've left your present at your house. You can do anything you want with it. Sell it, throw it, forget it… I have no right to tell you what to do anymore… Although my original thought was to live under the same roof with you. But, I think it's impossible now. So, bye. Wish you happiness as always."
Mio read all the drafts. Yes! all the 598 messages written by Ritsu. It didn't matter how many seconds, minutes or hours it took to read those messages. Mio read them all!
Mio was sobbing hard while reading them. 'Ritsu… I'm sorry. I'm sorry' Mio hugged her pillow and buried her face in the pillow. She kept crying hard. 'Ahh… Satoshi-kun, he will definitely know where Ritsu is.'
Mio ran out from her dorm, no caring that she forgot to lock the door. She passed by some of her friends.
"Oi, Mio, where are you going? The competition is going to start anytime soon."
Mio stopped. It was her time to decide whether to choose to join the competition or to find where Ritsu was. Without thinking much, she chose...
Mio ran out of the Japan University and accidentally knocked someone at the gate of the university.
"Ouchh! I'm sorry" Both girls said at the same time.
"Akiyama-san?" the girl said.
"How yo- Sakura-san?"
"Yes, I'm Ritsu-san's friend." Sakura noticed Mio's red eyes. "Akiyama-san, have you been crying?"
Mio felt weak. She nodded a little.
"Is it something about Ritsu?" Sakura tried to guess.
"Y-yes." Mio could feel the tears coming back to her eyes.
"Since you already know, I'm glad I don't have to keep it a secret anymore from you. So, how's Ritsu-san? I heard that she already woke up from the coma. It has already been two months she moved away from her-"
"What? Coma? What are you talking about?"
"Opps… looks like you still don't know. Ahh… I'm sorry, Akiyama-san. I'm a… erm… a little bit busy. Please exc-"
"Tell me everything you know! Please!" Mio was now crying again. She held on to Sakura's arm without letting her ran away.
"Sorry, Akiyama-san, I have promised Ritsu-san. I'm sorry."
"Sakura-san. I beg you. Please tell me, I want to know…" Mio didn't care about anything anymore. All she wanted was to know what happened to Ritsu; her childhood friend, her band-mate, her best friend, her lover, her girlfriend!
Sakura couldn't get away from Mio because of her tight grip. She had no choice but to surrender.
"Okay, I will tell you everything I know. So, please..." Sakura pointed to her arm which Mio was holding tightly.
"I-I'm sorry." Mio relaxed a bit, but still refusing to let go Sakura.
"Let's find a quiet place to talk." They found a bench and sat down. Sakura started to tell the story...
Bla bla bla
"… So, I have told you what I know. But why'd Ritsu got into that accident, only her close friends know it."
"Close friends?"
"Yes, I met them at the hospital. If I remember correctly, their names were… erm… Kotobuki-san, Hirasawa-san and Nakano-san. They were there to visit the coma-state Ritsu-san. And yeah, Satoshi-kun was also there." Sakura finished. Mio couldn't control herself anymore, and started to cry loud and louder.
"Akiyama-san, please don't cry. R-Ritsu-san wouldn't like to see you cry. She loves you the most. Please don't be upset." Sakura tried her best to comfort Mio.
"Oii… Satoshi, where were you on Saturday? We came to your house to find you, but you were not at home!" Mio heard someone talking and a familiar name. She turned her head around, left and right, trying to find the source of the voice.
"Sorry sorry. I went to visit my sister in Hokkaido. I had planned to stay there for few more days, but my mom asked me to come back earlier."
"I se-"
"Satoshi, please tell me where Ritsu is. I need to find here right now!" Mio appeared in front of Satoshi.
"Wahhhh! Mio-neechan. Ermm… Oneechan is in the dorm ri-" Satoshi tried to lie again.
"Satoshi, I know everything already. Just tell me the address. I will find her myself." Mio totally
broke down. She didn't even care how loud she was shouting or how much attention she was getting from the passersby.
"But I-"
"Please S-Satoshi, I beg *sob* you. I ne-need *sob* to find Ritsu now *sob*. Please *sob*."
To be continued~
A/N
[1] Mio helped Ritsu charged her phone. She said she will, remember?
[2] Please imagine the rest of them yourself. And sorry for the five hundred and ninety eight messages.
Hey guys! I thought I already like... ermm.. decrease the usage of phone, but why you all knoww that! Am I too obviousss? You guys are not fun *pouted*
And for the rest of the messages, please... please... imagine yourself *run*
Replies:~
luthor112: gahhh...i met a genius... or... are you mind reader? XD
Kamilia07329: All I can think of is some stupid way... hahahaha
Okazaki Ritsu: Kiss huhh? Maybe I could consider that... but... but.. It was used in "It's too late" by darkwolffromhell~ XD Thanks for the waiting~
InoSaku4ever: No no! I feel honoured! ;D Enjoy~
vocaloid02: Mind reader number 2! Thanks for reviewing =)
RitsuAmberEyes: Yahoo~ Geezz.. you can somehow read my mind huhh?! So, I should call you mind reader number 3 XD Thanks for loving this story~ I'm glad!
ThePanicHour: Ahhh~ All my reader are too genius! Hahaha... Thanks for the wait, hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Hephaestus1923: Dear Hephaestus1923-sama, here is your next chapter, dozo~ And hope you enjoy this~ Thanks for reviewing ;)
Keeper Aki: I totally AGREE with you! Ritsu is COOL! *shouted* Ar-Are you okay? Need extra t-tissue? You're cool!
Orangesora: You'll know what will happened next, you'll know *evil smile* Thanks for the review ^.^
mitsurocks: Haii~~ Here the next chapter, updated a bit late though~ Thanks for your patient =)
kaika-chan: Thanks thanks thanks! I can't find other words other that "thanks"! Hope you enjoy this new chapter~
Thor: Here you go! Enjoy? :D
chibisuke: Yo~ Actually I had planned to break down the last chapter (chapter 13) into two chapter. But I guess I can't leave you guys keep hanging right~ Hahahaha! Yup~ Happy ending for sure =)
Guest: Haii! Did you cry? Did you cry? I'm just curious XD My story will always have a good ending, and I'll make sure of that. Thanks for the review! =D