Little pissed, cuz My Little Pony decided to delay the new episode until I dunno next week? And the show that comes on before it, Strawberry Shortcake, is a little stupid…. I mean I don't wanna dog on it, but their voices are REALLY high and I just cannot watch it.
Ok, enough of my ranting~
Yeah, don't own K-ON, or it's characters, or it's songs. Don't own any other music mentioned or used in this either. Unless of course I make it up, in which case I will let you know. I also don't own any types of clothing, or TV shows I use in this.
Oh yeah, and … :
This is regular text
"This is when someone's talking"
This is when someone is thinking
This is phone or internet, electronical devices, speak
Blahbahblahblah[1] this indicates a note
Just incase you get confused.
X
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"I want to ride that next!" Anna shouted, pointing to a tea cup ride that spun in circles. Her white dress spun with her and she spun around to look at the two teenagers.
"Sure, sure!" Ritsu said, enthusiastically. She turned to look at Mio. Ritsu had to wear a hat and sunglasses, to avoid anyone at the amusement park recognizing her, but Mio could tell that Ritsu's eyes were sparkling. "Will you be joining us, Mio?"
"Uhm… that looks a little fast for me," Mio admitted. "I'll just wait for you to get off."
"Oh come on, the only thing you've gone on is the Monarail," Ritsu, pointing to her mouth with a gagging expression. "You'll disappoint Anna."
"Please, Mio-oneechan?" Anna said, with puppy dog eyes. Ritsu copied her, and knelt beside her so that they were both looking up at Mio. Mio looked at them for a minute before sighing with defeat.
"Fine." Mio said, reluctantly. They got in line, which moved pretty quickly. They went to the measurement.
"This kids got an adult with her?" the man running the ride said, looking at the two quickly.
"Yeah, Mio's here," Ritsu said, with a grin and ushered them in. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"
Mio gulped as she sat down, and Anna sat beside her, and then Ritsu. Ritsu held the center wheel, with a crazy expression on her face. Mio looked at her suspiciously. Then the ride started. And Ritsu spun the wheel as if her life depended on it.
"!" Mio shouted, clinging to Anna for dear life. "Stooooooooooooooooooooooooop nooooooooooooooooooow!"
"HAHAHAHA!" Ritsu laughed manically, throwing her head back.
"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'M NOOOOOOOOOOOOT HAAVIIIIIIIIIIIING FUUUUUUUN, RIIIITSSUUUUU!" Mio shouted at the brown haired girl. Suddenly, she gagged, pushed Anna to the side, lifted her head out of the cup, and threw up. And unfortunately, it landed on someone who's cup was coming up from behind them.
"EW GROSS! What is this… GAH!" the person behind them shouted.
"Ritsu…" Mio hissed, even though Ritsu couldn't hear her.
Finally, after what seemed like years, the ride ended. The ride had to be closed for cleaning. Ritsu got off, laughing hysterically. Mio apologized at least twenty times to the people who had been splattered, and they couldn't even be angry at her. They saw how… "excited" Ritsu was, and they just nodded sympathetically and forgave her quickly, as they hurried off to a bathroom.
"Ritsu, that wasn't very nice," Anna said to Ritsu.
"Huh? What wasn't?" Ritsu asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Did you see her?"
"Yes, Ritsu." Anna said, seriously. "Sometimes, Ritsu, it surprises me how immature you can be, but you usually you fix it, so I will leave you alone for now."
"What, you're calling me immature, kid?" Ritsu growled, annoyed. "I was just poking a little fun."
"Fun has its limits, Riichan." Anna said, and walked to Mio's side. Ritsu just stood there, shocked.
"Did I just get told off by a kid?" Ritsu grumbled. She stuffed her hands in her pockets of her brown jacket and trudged over to Mio and Anna. "Yeah, like a kid knows everything! I was just kidding anyways, it wasn't that big of a deal!"
Ritsu walked over and stood in front of them for a second. Anna pat Mio on the back, while Mio attempted not to cry. Ritsu felt guilt wash over her and the anger she had withered away. She tentatively moved to Mio's side and held out a hand. Mio looked up at her, and took it.
"Uhm… you ok?" Ritsu said, looking Mio in the eyes.
"N-n-n-no," Mio sniffled. "You're such a jerk."
"I know, I know," Ritsu said, pulling Mio in to a tight hug. Mio sobbed into her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it would upset you this much."
"W-w-well, it d-d-did," Mio said, between sobs.
"I'm sorry," Ritsu repeated, smoothing Mio's hair. "I'm sorry."
"If I forgive you," Mio said, as her crying subsided. She pulled herself from Ritsu, and looked at her. She tilted her head to the side slightly, causing Ritsu to flinch from how cute she was. "Will you treat me to dinner?"
"Of course!" Ritsu said, smiling. "I was planning on it anyways!"
Mio stepped back, letting go of Ritsu. She looked at her with a smile, causing Ritsu to smile back at her.
"Let's go!" Anna said, running in between them. She took Mio in her left hand and Ritsu in her right, and skipped away with the two.
…
"I wanna go on that next!" Anna said, pointing to a Ferris wheel that was several stories high.
"Uh…" Ritsu started, gulping.
"No!" Mio said, almost immediately. "That's too high, and I wont go on it."
"Riichan?" Anna said, with a pleading look.
"I-I-I-I-I don't know kiddo…" Ritsu stuttered, shrinking back as she saw how tall it was.
"Wait… you're not afraid of heights, are you?" Mio asked, looking at her with sympathy.
"Pfft!" Ritsu laughed. "No way! It just… looks a little dangerous, don't ya think? I mean, we're suspended in mid-air for the longest time, it could break at any moment!"
"If you're scared, we don't have to," Anna said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. Ritsu looked at her, gulped, and puffed out her chest.
"We're going on it!" She said, her voice shaking slightly.
"Are you sure, Ritsu?" Mio said, worried Ritsu was going to over do it.
"If I couldn't handle a little Ferris wheel, I wouldn't be the bravest Ritsu there ever was!" Ritsu said, proudly. She held Anna's hand, which she noted was sweaty, and walked to the Ferris wheel. They waited in line for only about ten minutes, Ritsu fidgeting the entire time.
"Riichan… are you sure you want to go on?" Anna said, worried as Ritsu already looked like she was gonna pass out.
"…Yes!" Ritsu said, weakly. She half-dragged Anna onto the ride. And they slowly went up. Ritsu's breathing started getting heavy, and she leaned on to the side of the ride awkwardly.
"Riichan… are you ok?" Anna asked.
"P-p-p-perwectly fwine!" Ritsu said, her words slurred as her mouth was chattering with fear. She gave Anna a weak thumbs up, small tears coming from her eyes.
"We really shouldn't have gone on…" Anna said, with a sigh. Ritsu turned to glare at her.
"Why not?" she asked.
"Uh… well," Anna started, not wanting to hurt Ritsu's pride. "Uhm, I'm scared of heights a bit?"
"Hahahaha! Don't worry you're pretty little head!" Ritsu laughed out. "Good ol' Riichan's here!"
With her enthusiasm, Ritsu had kicked out her legs, causing the ride to swing…
x
xx
xxx
"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Mio heard Ritsu scream from the top of the Ferris wheel. She looked up, unable to tell which one was Ritsu. She stood on the ground, worried about the girl.
"Riichan wake up!" Mio heard Anna shout from the top of the ride. Mio's head shot up.
"What? What happened to someone on the ride?" the people in the line started to say. Mio sprinted past them, and pushed her way to the front of the line.
"Please bring down the people at the top right now!" Mio demanded, with determination. If she had to, she would climb up there to help Ritsu.
"Uh, right away ma'am." The man running the ride said, surprised. The ride slowly came down, not fast enough for Mio. She squirmed restlessly until she saw Ritsu leaning over the side of their seat, and Anna shaking her frantically. Mio rushed to their side, taking Ritsu out of the ride and shaking her vigorously.
"Oi! Ritsu! What's wrong with you?" Mio pleaded. "Wake up. You said you were going to treat us to dinner!"
"Hmggg, what…?" Ritsu muttered, slowly opening her eyes. She blinked a couple times, looking at Mio. "Oh… did I die?"
"No, you idiot," Mio said, sighing with relief.
"Oh… so then you're Mio!" Ritsu said, smiling. A thought seemed to hit her, and she frowned. "I fainted, didn't I?"
"You did." Mio said, nodding, while she laughed.
"Oi, oi, it's not funny." Ritsu grumbled, standing up by herself. She shook her head and brushed herself off. "So… I guess you figured it out, right?"
"Why didn't you just say you were scared of heights?" Mio said, sincerely. She felt Anna take her hand.
"Because… I didn't want to seem weak…" Ritsu admitted, turning red and looking away. Mio was hit by how Ritsu looked.
"You're Ritsu." Mio said, smiling. "You wouldn't seem weak... because we all know you're not."
"Really?" Ritsu said, turning to Mio. She looked like a child who thought their parents were going to be angry at them, and then realized they weren't.
"Of course not, Ritsu," Mio reassured her.
"Yeah, Riichan!" Anna added. "Although, when you don't admit things like that, it's not good for you."
"Right!" Ritsu said, straightening herself out.
"Don't over do it, ok?" Mio said, sternly. "I wouldn't want you to tire yourself out."
"Hey! Isn't that Ritsu Tainaka?" A girl shouted, from in front of them. Ritsu grabbed at her face, realizing her sunglasses were gone.
"Shit," She hissed.
"Wait, don't go over there!" Another girl said to her friend. "He's clearly there with his family."
"Ritsu's not married! He's probably barely with that Bass chick!" the girl said back, and ran over to Ritsu. Ritsu had to do everything not to glare at the girl.
"Hey, what's up," Ritsu said, scratching at her neck.
"Oh my gosh, it is you!" the girl shouted. Mio rolled her eyes. Ritsu laughed, noticing.
"Yeah, yeah," Ritsu said. "Did you want me to sign something?"
"Could I… take a picture with you?" the girl asked, sheepishly.
"Sure, why not?" Ritsu said, with a shrug.
"Here, take it please!" the girl said, shoving a camera at Mio. She had to let go of Anna's hand to make sure it didn't fall.
"Sure," Mio growled. She held the camera at eye level, and started cutting out some of Ritsu just to make the girl angry. "Say cheese…"
"Cheese," Ritsu said, faking a smile.
"Cheese!" the girl said, making the fish face and putting up the peace sign. Mio went to snap the picture, and the girl swiftly placed a kiss on Ritsu's cheek.
"Eh?" Ritsu said, surprised. The girl expected Ritsu to blush, but she just looked confused.
"What…?" Mio growled. The girl giggled, snatched her camera back and stood in front of Ritsu.
"Thanks." She said, sickeningly sweetly. Determination lit her face. "So… what are you doing now?"
"I'm about to take my family out to dinner," Ritsu responded, almost immediately, with a straight face.
"Mama," Anna said, pointing to Mio. She slowly brought the finger to point at Ritsu. "And Papa."
"Um…?" the girl seemed confused for a second. She felt a stab of pain from behind her, causing her to look over. Mio was glaring daggers at her, a fire forming behind her, her eyes glowing red.
"It's as you see," Ritsu said. "These guys are my family."
"B-b-b-but…" the girl stuttered.
"Listen, you seem like a nice girl… or not," Ritsu muttered the last part. "But, this is the only girl for me, kay?"
"Yeah, well what's so good about her?" the girl said, ignoring the eminent danger.
"Well… you see, she maybe not be the perfect person," Ritsu started, Mio starting to glare at her. "But, you know, as a wise person once said, : you come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly." [1]
"…" the girl remained silent.
"So, you see, I'm going to have to ask you not to do that ever again." Ritsu said, taking Anna by the hand. "Or my wifey here might get a little jealous."
"Jealous?" Mio grunted. "I'm not jealous."
"Sure you're not," Ritsu chuckled, and she wrapped an arm around Mio's waist and led her away.
"It's just rude, when clearly you're here with us," Mio grumbled, leaning against Ritsu.
"Love you," Ritsu said, to her.
"Love you too," Mio said, blushing. Ritsu kissed her on the cheek.
"What… just happened?" the girl said, left behind.
"See I told you," her friend said, from beside her. "Just gotta stick your nose up in other people, dontcha?"
"Shut up."
x
xx
xxx
"So, where are we going for dinner?" Mio asked. "It's already like 4:30. We should eat soon, so we can get back and let Anna sleep by eight."
"I was thinking sushi, but I'm up for what ever." Ritsu responded, Anna on her shoulders.
"Hey Riichan?" Anna said, suddenly.
"Yeah, kid?" Ritsu responded, looking up at her.
"Would you really be my Papa?" Anna said, seriously.
"If you wanted me to," Ritsu said back.
"And Mio-oneechan would be my Mama?"
"Well, who else would be if I was the papa?" Ritsu said, as if it was obvious. Anna leaned her chin on Ritsu's head.
"Good," Anna said.
"Ritsu?" A voice called out.
"Geez, if this is another fan…" Ritsu grumbled, annoyed. She turned around to see familiar faces. "Oh! It's you guys!"
"Yui, Azusa, Mugi?" Mio asked. "Akahiko, Akahiro, Ko?"
"Sup?" Ko said, waving.
"What're you guys doing here?" Ritsu asked.
"Akahiro asked these three to the park, and Akahiko decided to tag along." Ko explained. "I was gonna pick up girls, but then I decided to come to, in case they ran into trouble."
"Sounds reasonable," Ritsu said.
"Mio!" Yui suddenly shouted. "You had a baby?"
"What?" Mio and Ritsu said in unison, confused.
"Look, Mio might eat a lot, but that doesn't mean you have to – OW!" Ritsu started, as Mio stomped on her foot. "Watch it! I might drop Anna!"
"I'd catch her," Mio said, turning away from Ritsu.
"Mio! Don't be so irresponsible with your child!" Yui lectured. "It was your decision to get pregnant so you ne-"
"Yui- senpai, how many times do we have to go over this?" Azusa said, with a sigh. "Ritsu is a girl. She just looks like a boy. She can't make anyone pregnant."
"You can't?" Yui said, turning to Ritsu.
"You wanna find out?" Ritsu said with a smirk. Mio took Anna from her shoulders, put her on the ground and then whooped Ritsu in the head so hard that she fell face first into the ground.
"That was rather… forceful," Mugi said, alarmed by the violence. They all stared as Ritsu remained motionless, except for some slightly twitching.
"Oh crap!" Mio shouted, remembering something. "Your nose, your nose!"
Mio rushed to Ritsu's side, pulling tissues from her purse. She lifted Ritsu carefully, who's face was covered in blood, as she face had made a dent in the ground and the blood had pretty much filled it up.
"Ow… ow… ow…" Ritsu grumbled.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Mio pleaded, biting back tears. She handed Ritsu tissues and got a cold pack from her purse. She squeezed it to make it cold, and pressed it against Ritsu's nose, lightly.
"It's… fine… I-I-I-I'm ok, r-r-really," Ritsu said, wincing through the pain.
"Stop it, I can tell your not!" Mio said, angry at herself. "I told you, you don't need to say things like that."
"Yeah, but you'd get upset if I told you I wasn't ok," Ritsu responded, leaning back.
"But it's the truth." Mio said back, gazing at her with a worried expression.
"If I wasn't ok, I would tell you, ok?" Ritsu said, patting her on the back. She took the tissue off, and the blood had ceased. "See?"
"…fine…" Mio grumbled, still upset with herself.
"Alright! It's sushi time!" Ritsu said, standing up quickly. She wobbled, slightly light headed from the loss of blood, but quickly regained her balance. Mio went to her side, supporting her and holding Anna in her other hand.
"Are you really ok?" Azusa asked.
"Yeah, yeah, look at me!" Ritsu said, grinning. "Perfectly fine!"
"If you say so…" Akahiko said, still not believing it. He followed the large group as they went to go inside of the restaurant.
"Everyone!" Ritsu said, as soon as they had been tabled. "Please censor your words, as there is a child here!"
"Why do you have a kid, anyways?" Yui asked. Ko had already sat next to Anna, and was playing with her.
"Some one abandoned her in front of my house," Ritsu whispered.
"Really?" Mugi said, shocked. "That's terrible!"
"Well, I suppose she's better off with us anyways," Ritsu said, laughing. She glanced at Ko and Anna talking. "Who'd a thought Ko was such a child lover. Better not be getting shady ideas though."
"Oi, Ritsu," Ko said, glaring at her.
"Yeah, yeah," Ritsu shrugged.
"Hey, my names Julio, and I'll be your waiter today," A tan boy said, appearing in front of them. "Would you like to start off with some drinks?"
"You serve alcohol?" Ko asked immediately.
"Yes sir," Julio said.
"I'll have a beer. I don't care what kind, just bring me one."
"Ok… and the rest of you?"
"Sprite." Ritsu said.
"A lemonade, please," Mio said.
"I want a chocolate milk!" Anna said, happily.
"I'd like a coke, please," Azusa said.
"Uhm… root beer?" Yui asked, instead of told, the waiter.
"I'd like a ginger ale," Akahiro said.
"Same," Akahiko said, right after.
"Uhm… do you serve tea here?" Mugi asked, looking at the waiter.
"Yep, if you look at the back menu." He said.
"Oh!" Mugi flipped the menu over and gave it a quick once over. "I'll have an earl grey then, please."
"Right away," Julio said. He closed his book and started walking away.
"Alright, everyone choose quickly so we can order before he comes back!" Ritsu said to the group. "What do you want Mio?"
"Uhm…" Mio said, quietly. She blushed, which didn't go unnoticed by Ritsu.
"What?" Ritsu asked. Mio jumped, and looked away from her menu. Ritsu tried to look at it, and Mio closed it. "Oi, oi."
"It's nothing, I'll just order something else." Mio said, bright red.
"Is this what you wanted?" Anna said, holding up her menu, pointing to a 'Lovers Special'.
"You're quite the insightful kid, aren't you?" Ko said, chuckling.
"Oh hoho!" Ritsu said, smirking at Mio. "This is what you wanted isn't it? Well?"
"No!" Mio shouted, stubbornly.
"Oh… that's too bad, because I was gonna suggest it too…" Ritsu said, shrugging. "I'll just get something else then."
"Wait!" Mio said. "It'll save money… if we get that… so we, uh, could, you know."
"Of course, my dearest," Ritsu said, smiling. The waiter came back, after what seemed like forever. They quickly ordered, and waited an eternity for their food to come back.
"Yes! Food!" Ritsu shouted, excited. She tried not to drool as a platter of at least forty pieces of sushi, twelve pieces of sashimi and a bowl of white rice was put in front of them.
"I threw in some extra in there," Julio said, looking directly at Mio. Ritsu sensed this, and looked between them. Luckily, Mio had been looking at the food, and responded with a nod and a smile. Ritsu glared at him.
"Let's dig in, Mio~" Ritsu purred, picking a piece up with her chopsticks and holding it out for Mio.
"What are you doing?" Mio said, bluntly.
"Feeding you, milove!" Ritsu said, enthusiastically. Julio had left.
"But, this is tuna," Mio said, raising an eyebrow.
"So?" Ritsu said. "I like to share with you~"
"You never say that," Mio said, but still opening her mouth. "Aaah."
"Here you go~" Ritsu said, as she gently put the piece of sushi in the other girls mouth.
"This is really good!" Mio said, grinning. "Have one, have one!"
Mio picked up a piece and held it out for Ritsu. She eagerly chomped on it. Ritsu held her cheeks with pleasure.
"Soooo gooood~" Ritsu said, ecstatic. Several minutes passed, as Ritsu fed Mio, then Mio fed Ritsu, then Ritsu made sure Anna was eating, but Ko pretty much had it covered.
"I'll be right back," Mio said, standing up.
"Where ya going?" Ritsu said, immediately missing her.
"The bathroom."
"Oh, I can go with you~" Ritsu said, starting to stand up.
"It's fine, I can go by myself," Mio said. "Besides, if I let you have your way… no you're not coming with me."
"Oh, alright," Ritsu pouted. "Wait, my way?"
"I'll be right back!" Mio growled, and walked away quickly. Ritsu noted that she saw Julio see Mio leave. Julio looked back at the table, and Ritsu caught his eye.
He grinned.
Ritsu looked at him, weirdly, and he went back to doing something on the cash register.
"Weird…" Ritsu said, looking back at her food. She put her chin in her hand, and sighed. "I don't really feel like eating when Mio's not here…"
"Aaaw, you must really love our Mio!" Yui said, smiling.
"Uhm, you couldn't tell before?" Ritsu said, laughing.
"She's pretty commendable," Akahiro said, snickering. "She's the longest person to stay in a relationship with you."
"What're you trying to say?" Ritsu said, looking at him with an amused expression. "It's five times longer than you've had a girlfriend."
"But you've only been together for… two, three months, maybe." Azusa pointing out.
"And?" Ritsu said, smirking.
"Ritsu, I hate you," Akahiro said, frowning.
"It's true, though," Akahiko said, nodding.
"Akahiko, this boy here, he's the only person to have a relationship last more than five months, out of the four of us!" Ko added, laughing. "And he's such a youngin'!"
"How old are you, Akahiko?" Azusa asked.
"I'm fifteen," Akahiko said.
"So am I!" Azusa said, smiling.
"Really?" Akahiko said, smiling back. "That's cool."
"Geez, and I thought I was the youngest person here!" Azusa said. She looked at Anna, and laughed. "Well, besides Anna."
"Hm?" Anna said, after hearing her name. She looked at the older people, before smiling. "This is yummy!"
"Gimme a bite?" Ritsu said, with a grin.
"Yes Papa," Anna said, holding her sushi out for Ritsu to taste.
"Papa?" Ko asked.
"Riichan said she would be my Papa!" Anna said, with a huge child-like grin. "So now, my Papa can't do anything to me, because I have Riichan!"
"Yerp," Ritsu responded, chuckling. Suddenly she stopped. Something was off. She looked around.
She couldn't find Julio.
"How long's Mio been gone?" Ritsu asked, looking around.
"Uhm, only like three minutes, why?" Azusa said, looking worried. Ritsu stood up and marched away. She went to the bathrooms and saw two doors, one with a men's sign on it and the other with a women's. She attempted to open the door to the women's bathroom.
It was locked.
"Shit," Ritsu cursed. She pressed her ear against the door, and heard shuffling and protesting.
"Let … me go…!" a muffled female voice said.
"Oh, c'mon," a familiar male voice said.
"No!" the girl cried out, clearer. "Let go of me!"
"Ouch!" the man said, in pain. Ritsu heard the sound of someone being hit. "You bitch!"
"Ritsu!" Mio shouted, from inside the bathroom.
"Mio!" Ritsu growled. Ritsu pounded on the door.
"…Someone's in here!" Julio called out. Ritsu kept pounding. She heard an annoyed grunt, and someone opened the door. Julio showed her face, some how able to hide Mio fairly well.
"Get out." Ritsu said, flatly.
"Oh, it's just you," Julio said, starting to close the door. Ritsu stuck her foot in before he could close it. He looked angrily at the foot, and attempted to close it harder. Pain seared throughout Ritsu's foot, but she managed to find the strength to push her shoulder against the door. Julio was strong, but Ritsu was stronger. She forced the door open, pushing Julio back. Mio sat, afraid, on the toilet, her shirt ripped, her purse on the floor, and her pants half way down her thighs.
"What… were you trying to do?" Ritsu growled. She glared at Julio, who was about to hit Ritsu. "No… I don't care. I'm gonna kill you."
Julio sent a fist towards Ritsu. She ducked, and charged at him. She grabbed him by the waist and forced him into a wall. He coughed, in pain, and pulled Ritsu by the hair. She hissed in pain, cracking a punch into his jaw. He staggered, releasing Ritsu. She hit him in the face again, and his nose started bleeding. Ritsu sent another punch, just as Julio stepped on her foot, hard. Julio took the moment to head butt Ritsu in the face. Ritsu wobbled back, pain shoot through her nose. Blood flowed from her nose, faster than Julio's. Julio landed a punch on her stomach. Several times. Ritsu finally reacted through the sting, and grabbed his hand. She lifted her leg to kick him in the crotch. Julio bent over, with pain, and Ritsu kneed him in the face. He fell, side ways, to the floor. Ritsu panted heavily, and kicked Julio in the stomach.
"Ha, mess with my girl," Ritsu growled, coughing up blood. She looked at Mio, the only thing in her eyes was kindness. "You ok?"
"Don't ask me that!" Mio shouted, through tears. She started going to Ritsu's side before she heard a click and then a loud crack in the air. Ritsu gasped in pain, grabbing her arm. Mio looked at Julio, who had somehow produced a pistol. Another click, and another crack. Ritsu was down, her leg now bleeding. He was getting ready to shoot her again, when Mio ran over and stomped on his foot. He shouted in pain, letting go of the gun. Mio kicked it away, as far from Julio as possible. Then Mio kicked Julio in the face.
"Ritsu!" Mio shouted, sobbing. Ritsu was kneeling on the ground, grinding her teeth.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Ritsu said, waving her away. Blood painted her hand. "I've had worse."
"Worse?" Mio shouted, now at her side. "What could be worse than this?"
"When you're angry at me?" Ritsu said, smiling, her nose still bleeding.
"What's going on here!" Ko shouted, appearing in the doorway. He looked between Mio and Ritsu, and then saw Julio. "You bastard."
He walked over to Julio, and grabbed him by the collar.
"Ko, what happened?" Akahiro said, appearing shortly after. He took in the scene, and growled menacingly. He saw Ko holding Julio. "We are gonna mess this kid up so bad."
"You know we are." Ko said. "But first, keep the people away from the door."
"Will do," Akahiro said, ushering the gathering crowd away.
"Call 9-1-1, now." Ko said to Mio. Mio grabbed her purse and went through it for her phone. Ritsu growled in pain. Mio quickly dialed 9-1-1.
"So, you thought you could do this and get away with it?" Ko snarled at Julio, who was somehow still conscious. "You don't know what deep shit you just got yourself into."
Julio spit a wad of blood into Ko's face. Ko didn't even blink.
"Mio…" Ritsu hissed through pain.
"Ritsu?" Mio said, turning around soon enough to catch Ritsu as she fell.
x
xx
xxx
"…" Ritsu didn't have any idea where she was, or why she was in so much pain. She heard beeps, and things coming out of her arms and nose. She felt a weight on her side, which was wet. Then, suddenly, she remembered everything.
So… I must be in a hospital. Ritsu thought, not ready to open her eyes yet. Shoot, I need to make sure Mio's ok. If I sleep much longer, she'll probably just get more and more anxious.
Ritsu attempted to open her eyes, finding herself almost too tired to. She shook her head, or she thought she did at least, and forced her eyes open. Everything was blurry, so Ritsu blinked a couple of times.
She saw her feet, covered in her plain white socks first. She took in her surroundings.
I wonder why hospitals are so… white. Ritsu thought. Maybe it's so they can see where the blood is, so they can clean it. Or maybe other things come out of people too… I guess it'd be important to be able to clean it.
Ritsu looked at the TV, which was playing Spongebob.
They must've counted on my waking up some time now, Ritsu thought, chuckling. She stopped soon, the pain of moving her chest hurt her entire body. Now… where's Mio?
Ritsu looked to her right, where the weight from before was. There was laying a black haired girl, surrounded by a wet stain.
She's been crying, hasn't she? Ritsu thought, with the first mental pain hitting her. She attempted to lift her hand, which was hooked to a bunch of tubes. Pain shot through her arm.
Must've been that one… Ritsu thought, still continuing to move it until it landed on top of Mio's head. Mio's head shot up, flinging Ritsu's hand to the side, causing her to yelp as needles stabbed through her arm.
"Oh my god, Ritsu!" Mio shouted, placing Ritsu's arm back carefully. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! You just scared me!"
"…fine…" Ritsu barely managed out.
"No its not, Ritsu," Mio said, clearly upset. Whether it was at Ritsu or not, Ritsu couldn't tell.
"…sup?" Ritsu said, with a smile. Mio looked at her, and broke into tears. "Whoa… st…st…stop cr-crying…"
"Ritsu, you shouldn't… try to talk if you can't." Mio said, attempting to stop her tears.
"Just… a little tired…" Ritsu said, regaining control over her tongue. "See?"
"Of course you're tired," Mio said, smiling at her, still crying.
"How long… have I been… asleep?" Ritsu asked, trying to sit up.
"No, stop," Mio commanded. Ritsu ceased any action. "You've been asleep for a week. The doctors said that your body knocked you unconscious in order to recover."
"So, my body's the one that did it?" Ritsu asked, already able to speak properly again.
"It fascinated the doctors a lot." Mio said, thoughtfully. "They said, you body must of recognized the danger you were in, and shut you down to start repairing itself and stop your bleeding. They said if it hadn't had done that… you might've… you know."
"Ding dong, the witch is dead," Ritsu sang, laughing.
"It's not funny Ritsu!" Mio shouted, biting back her tears, again. "If you had died… if you had…"
"I wouldn't have," Ritsu said, confidently.
"Oh yeah?" Mio shot back. "How do you know? Why did you save me Ritsu? Why did this happen to you? Why?"
"…" Ritsu thought for a second. "Lions make you brave, Giants give you faith~"
Mio blinked, as Ritsu softly sang to soothe Mio.
"Death is a charade. You don't have to feel safe to be unafraid." [2]
"Ritsu, you have the most round-about ways of saying things." Mio said, laughing gently.
"Because, it's much cooler to quote some one else," Ritsu said, laughing with her. "I can't say cool things like that right off the top of my head."
"You don't think they did, do you?" Mio responded.
"Of course not," Ritsu said. "But they had more time to think about it."
Mio and Ritsu sat in silence for a while, before a nurse came in.
"She's awake?" She yelped, surprised.
"Oh!" Mio said, sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you."
"It's perfectly fine, at least she's awake!" the nurse said, smiling brightly. "It's a good thing, the group just showed up to visit!"
"Oh, it's already visiting hours?" Mio said, sitting up.
"Mhm," the nurse said, and she went to fetch the others.
"You're here before visiting hours?" Ritsu said, raising an eyebrow. "Rule breaker."
"…Only the good die young?" Mio said, smiling. [3]
"Ey! You're learning." Ritsu said, returning the smile. "Gimme a kiss?"
"No." Mio said, quickly. "I don't want to accidentally do something to you."
"Then I'll just sit up and kiss you!" Ritsu said, starting to sit up. Mio placed a hand on her chest, and pushed her down gently. "Oh c'mon, there's nothing wrong with my torso!"
"Yes there is." Mio said. "Your stomach was… ruptured. They had to sew it back together. It helped that you were asleep so long, you've recovered fairly quickly. But, you've still got a hole in your stomach."
"So… if I sit up, or move too much, my guts spill out?" Ritsu asked. Mio paled.
"Uh… yeah," Mio said, shivering from the thought. She wanted to faint, but she couldn't as long as Ritsu was like this.
"Mio." Ritsu said, looking at her seriously. "I'm fine."
"What?" Mio said, blinking.
"I know what you were thinking," Ritsu said.
"…ESP?" Mio asked.
"No, Ritsu," Ritsu said, chuckling. The white curtain separating them from the rest of the hospital opened, slowly.
"Ritsu?" A tentative voice said.
"Oh, come on Akahiko, it's not that bad!" Ritsu shouted.
"Papa?" Anna said, poking her head out from the curtain.
"Hey kiddo!" Ritsu said, smiling. "What's up?"
"You're ok!" Anna shouted, running to her side. She stood next to Mio, beaming at Ritsu. "See, Mama, I told you she'd be ok! She said we'd be together forever, so she wasn't going to leave!"
"Yeah, yeah," Mio said, turning red.
"Oh, I wasn't gonna die," Ritsu said. "I mean look at me. I'm like healthier than… I don't know, a super healthy person. I'm just a little banged up."
"Excuse me… I'm sorry, I just let you in, but… I've been told to get you all out," the nurse returned, looking a bit upset.
"By who? We're not leaving." Ko said, angered.
"I'm sorry… it's her legal guardians, I can't do anything about it." The nurse said. "The system says family comes before others… I'm so sorry."
"Well, that's my daughter," Ritsu said, looking at Anna. She looked at Mio. "And this is my wife. So they stay."
"Of… of course," the nurse said, smiling, even though she clearly knew it wasn't legal. She ushered the others out. "Again, I'm so sorry about this, I'll extend visiting hours so you can spend more time w-"
"That won't be necessary," a cold woman voice said.
"It's not your choice." Ritsu shot back.
"It is." The woman said back.
"Oh is it, mother?" Ritsu said, coldly.
"Why are they still in here?" Mrs. Tainaka said, ignoring Ritsu.
"The patient said they were family, so I allowed them to stay," the nurse said, defiantly.
"Well, they aren't, so please escort them out." Mrs. Tainaka responded.
"Do it, and what ever you say, I won't listen to." Ritsu said.
"Do you think you have a choice?"
"Do it, and I sit up." Ritsu threatened.
"Why is that a threat?" Mrs. Tainaka scoffed.
"If Ritsu sits up, she's at risk of letting the stitch in her stomach open up." Mio answered.
"Oh?" Mrs. Tainaka said. "Do it."
"You want me to?" Ritsu said, holding her ground against her mother.
"You won't." Mrs. Tainaka retorted. Ritsu, enraged, started sitting up. Mio pushed her back down.
"Stop it Ritsu!" Mio scolded. "You'll hurt yourself."
"That's kinda the point, Mio." Ritsu said, looking at Mio as if it were obvious.
"Papa, if you hurt yourself, you'll worry Mama." Anna said.
"Papa?" Mrs. Tainaka said. "Remember when she used to call you that, darling?"
"Of course I do," Mr. Tainaka said. Ritsu realized that he had been standing there this whole time.
"Now, you two, I have things I need to talk about with my… child." Mrs. Tainaka said, looking at Mio and Anna. "Leave."
"…No." Mio said.
"No?" Mrs. Tainaka asked, surprised by the resistance. "Do you not remember who holds power over your father?"
"I… I do…" Mio said, unsure of what to do.
"Mother, do we have to go through this?" Ritsu asked. "You understand that what you say without my family here, will be void. I can go back to sleep whenever I want."
"Then I will force you to wake up," Mrs. Tainaka said, anger starting to show on her face.
"And slow down my recovery?" Ritsu said, mocking her mom.
"Ryuuji, let them stay here," Mr. Tainaka jumped in. Mrs. Tainaka looked appalled. "This is the first time Ritsu has shown interest in a family. What's more, it's with a girl, so we could continue to hide the fact that she's a girl. Besides, she's just as stubborn as you. She won't listen to you if you go against her will."
"But Satomi," Mrs. Tainaka started.
"Do not get ahead of yourself," Mr. Tainaka said, sternly. "You may run the household, but remember who it is that truly is the leader of this family."
"Fine… they can stay," Mrs. Tainaka gritted through her teeth.
"Good," Ritsu said, smiling.
x
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[1] A quote from Sam Keen
[2] Lions – Lights
[3] A Billy Joel song.