Disclaimer: All rights to the name "K-On!" belong solely to Kyoto Animation and their affiliates. I neither own this franchise nor do I profit from the writing of this story.
Author's Note: I can't believe it has been over two months since I last updated. Truthfully there have been things holding me back and this past week especially has been an eye opener regarding priorities. I sincerely apologize to all those who have been waiting for this story to be updated but I have made a commitment to focus on my writing and get my projects done. Many thanks to all those who have stayed with the story. Hopefully this chapter will be worth the wait. Enjoy.
Never did Mio believe that focusing on her exams would bring her any sense of relief but focusing on her studies helped her forget about her current situation with both Azusa and Mugi.
Thankfully they too were just as committed to their studies so their paths seldom crossed. The few times they did there was a sense of awkwardness that made Mio feel on edge. Azusa would politely greet her but that was the extent of their interactions. If they were ever alone in the club room Azusa would often find an excuse to leave.
Mugi was even worse.
The blond was doing her best to pretend that the bassist didn't exist and only acknowledged her when absolutely necessary. There was a tension between them that seemed to stretch tighter every second they were forced to interact with each other. Mio was saddened that their relationship had disintegrated to this point but wasn't given much time to think about it on account of her studies.
The week seemed to fly by and before the girls knew it their end of year exams were now over. For Azusa that meant that she was relieved for the rest of the school year though her sempais had the unfortunate task of having their entrance exams in a few short weeks. Even so they were afforded a bit of time to relax as they convened in the club room.
Mugi was taking some time to get tea prepared as the other members of the club took their seats. Ritsu, being Ritsu, made a grand spectacle as she plopped down on her chair and exclaimed her relief loudly.
"Finally! I was beginning to think that we would never finish! If I have to see one more X or Y then I'm going to go ballistic!"
"Well it seems you still have quite a bit of energy despite all those exams. Perhaps we can put that to good use and practice for once." replied Mio with a look of slight reproach.
Ritsu did not seem thrilled with the idea of practice and it showed in her posture, which instantly went rigid.
"We just got through with our exams and you're thinking about practicing? You're crazy!"
Mio shook her head in disagreement.
"You want to know what I think is crazy? Performing for the end of year festival. Honestly we have had zero time practicing. I doubt we can even get through 'Light and Fluffy Time' without it sounding like a huge mess."
"Always the pessimist Mio! We'll be fine just like we were last year and year before." said Ritsu as she waved her hand.
Despite no longer being in a relationship with the bassist Azusa still felt for her and was incensed that their club president could be so lazy about their practice. She stood up, garnering the attention of the other band members, and voiced her disapproval.
"Don't you have any pride in yourself as a musician Ritsu-sempai? This is going to be the last performance here! Don't you want to make a good impression?"
Ritsu sensed that she was losing the battle. She turned to the one person whom she could always count on for support.
"Yui! Don't you agree that we shouldn't practice right now? I mean we just finished exams. No use over working ourselves, right?" pleaded Ritsu.
The guitarist placed a finger beneath her chin as she thought up her response. This was already a bad sign for the drummer. Typically Yui agreed with her without question. The fact that Yui was taking her time didn't bode well for Ritsu.
"Well I do admit that I'm kinda tired but I also miss playing Gitah! I haven't had any time to practice because of these exams and I have been wanting to play for a while already!"
Caught between a rock and a hard place Ritsu then turned to her last salvation. Mugi typically was a wild card when it came to these matters but Ritsu had no other choice.
"What about you Mugi? I'm sure that you're pretty gassed from having to study for those exams. What's one day without needing to practice? I mean you spent so much time making that tea I'm sure that it'll go to waste if we practice right now."
The blond pianist smiled toward Ritsu's direction and, for a moment, Ritsu saw the smallest glimmer of hope. That was until Mugi started to collect all the tea cups and plates from the table and started to put them away. With that Ritsu's hopes for having another lazy day at the Light Music Club were dashed.
"Well we can always have tea and cake whenever we want but we will never have another chance to play here again. I don't think a bit of practice will do much harm. If anything I think it would be a nice change."
Both Azusa and Mio had a huge sweat drop as they both thought the same exact thing.
Practicing would be nice for a change? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
However not wanting to pick and choose unnecessary battles Mio took the initiative as she made her way straight to her bass and unzipped.
"Well you have been overruled Ritsu. We practice and we start now!"
Despite losing the battle Ritsu couldn't help but still be the sore loser.
"Yeah whatever you say your highness." replied Ritsu sarcastically.
For her smart mouth Ritsu received a bonk on the head.
"Hey what was that for!"
"Quit dawdling and get your drum set ready!"
Ritsu started grumbling incoherent nothings as she and rest of the Light Music Club got prepared to practice. As they got all together Mio couldn't help but notice how unusual they looked all together with their instruments. It saddened her to realize that she was more used to seeing themselves goofing off than practicing.
What made this even worse was the fact that she allowed herself to get into such a state of complacency. Mio was the type of person who tried to excel in whatever she put her mind into. Allowing herself to become lazy showed just unfocused their band really was.
If they could even be called a band.
For the moment they started their first note to the end of what could only be called a disaster it was clearly apparent that they were not ready to perform.
Yui kept flubbing up on runs that she normally would hit clean. Her notes were muffled and often were slurred together into a sloppy mess. This was made even worse when she tried to sing. It had gotten so bad that Yui had to give up playing once she started singing.
There was horrible phasing between both Ritsu and Mio as neither could agree on what tempo to set the band off to. Ritsu wanted to push the band faster while Mio tried to slow down knowing that they were still rusty. This lack of steady tempo affected the band as a whole and Mio wondered if Ritsu was rushing on purpose just to antagonize her. This didn't even account for the fact that Ritsu, because of her rushing, was not hitting key notes when she needed to. Her cymbal crashes were late, the snare was sloppy, the bass pedal off beat and the high hat non-existent.
Due to the musical bickering between Mio and Ritsu the poor pianist could never get her groove on. Her runs always came too early or too late and she would miss notes here and there.
Azusa, being the most dependent on steady tempo, found herself lost at times as she wondered where in the music she was supposed to be. Often times she would have to be reminded by Yui, who was used to playing in such a chaotic session, to know where she was. Even then this was not a guarantee as Yui was having troubles of her own. To make matters worse it seemed that her attempt to tune by ear had ended miserably as she was considerably sharper than the rest of the band. Truthfully she had not put as much time in her tuning because of their lack of practice time and felt that it was unnecessary. The thought angered Azusa knowing that she too let herself get lazy and that if she had kept at it she would have been able to tune by ear by now.
As for Mio she had done the best out of the entire group as she did not miss her notes or runs but her performance still suffered due to Ritsu's insistence in rushing. Because of that it affected her singing as her cues came in too late and thus was late herself. It also didn't help that her voice felt raspy at the end of the practice session...not a good sign. That meant that she had the very real chance in throwing out her voice if she pushed too hard.
The band members all stared at each other wondering if that debacle that had just occurred truly was the result of their playing. There was an awkward silence as none of the girls knew what to say. That was until Yui finally broke the ice.
"Guys...we kinda suck."
The rest of the girls had despondent looks on their faces as the realization of Yui's words hit them all. Even Ritsu seemed to know that their performance was, for lack of a better word, pathetic.
Azusa started to tear up as she clutched at her guitar tightly. Mugi's eyes too shone with unshod tears as her arms were trembling on the keyboard. While Ritsu was the club president Mio was often looked to as the unofficial leader of the band and as such Mio had always taken the responsibility. Because of that she too clutched at her bass tightly almost as if in disbelief.
D-Do we really sound this bad?
In anger Azusa soon stomped forward in front of the band her body trembling from the effort to hold her tears in.
"Have I been wasting my time with you all? What happened to the band that captured my heart nearly two years ago? What happened to our dream to go to Budokan? To play the music that we have poured our heart and souls into and to have the crowd go wild and share in our vision of music? Was that all it was to you guys? Just a dream? Because the way things stand right now that is all it's going to ever be. Perhaps to you guys forming a band is nothing more than a silly hobby, something to stroke your petty egos and say that you play in a band to impress others. Well not me! I take PRIDE in my ability to create and play music! Music is my life! There is nothing else I would do for the rest of my life! Yet somehow I find myself getting suckered into joining this band that has no aspirations, no pride, and no ambition! You all don't care about music! If you truly did then we wouldn't be wasting time drinking tea or goofing off!"
The rest of the girls were shocked at the verbal lashing they were receiving from Azusa. She stood before them her eyes streaming tears, her body trembling as she pointed an accusing finger at them. Each of the girls tried to think of someway to pacify her and yet they couldn't. Every word that came out of Azusa's mouth was true and they could not deny it. So they stood and bore their punishment silently though not without remorse. Mugi was already crying as was Yui. Ritsu had a look of shame as she started down her drums despondently. Mio, however, refused to avert her eyes and kept them fixed on Azusa. She knew, more than anyone else, how Azusa was feeling and despite their sundered relationship there was one thing they could agree on and that was their passion for music.
"You know what's funny guys? No matter how much I want to blame you for all this the person whom I'm most upset with right now is myself. I allowed myself to become complacent. I let myself get bought in by your bogus promises and now I find that I cannot even enjoy what I love doing the most."
It was then that Azusa met Mio's eyes. There was an anger that welled up inside of her as she took a step forward toward the bassist.
"And you Mio-sempai. Regardless of what has happened between us I still care for you. You may not realize it but you have a tremendous talent. You can tune by ear without any trouble. Your sight reading is nigh impeccable whether in bass or in treble clef. You can write lyrics on the fly and still come up with the instrumental concepts to compliment those lyrics. Most of all I can tell that you also love music as much as I do. There is nothing else you would rather do in your life but to continue to create and play music."
"Yet by staying with this band you hold yourself back. You're capable of so much more Mio-sempai! I don't know whether to feel sad or furious at you for allowing yourself to be crippled like this. There are so many bands that are in need of good bassists. If only you put yourself out there I guarantee you could find yourself playing with a band that has REAL ambition! A band that loves to create music and share that joy with others who listen to their creations."
It was then that Azusa, perhaps emboldened by her recent relationship with Ui, took the initiative as she grabbed Mio by the hands and held them tightly to her own. The sight of this caused Mugi to grasp her chest, gasping softly as she did so.
"In some ways I wish I had the courage to have retained our relationship. Perhaps we could have gone off together and formed a band of our own, one of which we could be proud of. I can wish many things but I have made my decision. I hate to hurt you more than I already have Mio-sempai but I will if it means seeing you succeed and be happy!"
Mio felt a harsh stab of pain through her chest as her hands made contact with Azusa's. Her kouhai's argument was persuasive and Mio thought of how she would do if she were in another band. It wasn't the first time she thought about it. However such thoughts were replaced by anger as she thought about what Azusa did to her.
"Happiness you say. Is this your way of making me feel better Azusa because if it is then it's not working."
"M-Mio-sempai..."
"Look I understand where you're coming from. I'm flattered that you think so highly of me but apparently it wasn't enough. Fine. But regardless of your concerns my place is here with this band and I will rise or fall with them. While I love music I also have loyalty to my friends. There is no one else I would rather create music with than the HTT. I will not stop you from leaving this time Azusa. But think about this when you do leave. Does our friendship mean so little to you that you would abandon us when we are at our lowest?"
There was a pang of pain that came across Azusa's face when she heard this. Her face then screwed up and it looked like she was about to cry again. Then it suddenly morphed to anger as she yanked her hands away from Mio and replied hotly.
"Friendship? Do true friends drag down the ones they claim to care for the most?"
Azusa shot a dirty look at Ritsu when she said this causing the drummer to further sink behind her drums in shame.
"Perhaps I may be wrong about what friendship is but I was under the impression that friends help each other out! You know what I see whenever Ritsu-sempai, Yui-sempai or even Mugi-sempai tease you about practicing? Envy that's what! They're jealous of you Mio-sempai!"
Mio could already see Yui already kneeling on the ground in tears in obvious pain from Azusa's sharp words. Mugi had her head hidden in her arms on her keyboard her body trembling. Even Ritsu was having a hard time containing her tears as she looked at the floor as her hands grasped her skirt tightly. The sight angered Mio and she replied hotly.
"That's enough Azusa! You have already made your point. Obviously there is a definite difference in how both you and I define friendship. Maybe we have been nothing more than just a waste of time to you Azusa but on my part, and everyone else's here in the band, you were our precious little kouhai! Do we mean so little to you? If so then perhaps it is I who should feel sorry for you. You may love music but at what cost Azusa? Are you willing to forsake us to fulfill your petty little pride? Then go ahead and leave. But don't think for a second that we won't be upset because we will! We love you Azusa...we still do..."
The pain was intolerable at this point as Mio started to succumb to tears of her own. She held Elizabeth close to her which gave her an oddly vulnerable disposition.
"But we will no longer hold you back. You are our little angel but it has become apparent that you are no longer the little cherub that we had come to adore. You have grown to become grand and magnificent. Your talent and potential are the greatest among us and you can become great without us. So be it."
Mio then did something strange. It had started off as a whisper at first but soon it became abundantly clear what it was that she was doing.
Little angel
My love tethered and never yielding
I cry out yet you don't hear
Always beyond reach of my outstretched arms.
Little angel
Do you know how I love you so?
Light upon the dark of my heart
I stretch out my arms once more
Still in vain, always failing...
I have fought my fears
Conquered my demons
Clawed from my despair
To bask in your light
Now I have held you in my arms
My joy unmatched
My love requited
Even if it is fleeing...
Little angel you are no longer
You have no need for my strength
You have grown beyond me
And now are free to fly away
So I see you spread your wings and fly to great heights
Now you are forever beyond my reach
And with that you have taken my joy
My love
Goodbye little angel
For though you may be gone
I still carry our memory
Brief though it may be
Goodbye...
With that Mio ended her lay of remorse as she started to cry softly to herself. The other members of the band were shocked at what had just happened. They did not expect Mio to start singing all of all sudden and were mesmerized from beginning to end.
However the hardest hit was Azusa.
The song which was sung to her told her very much what Mio thought of her...still thought of her. The guilt washed over Azusa like freezing water. It was a cruel surprise as it told Azusa the repercussions of her actions.
"I'm so sorry..." whispered Azusa softly.
Mio rose her head as she smiled softly through her tears. Walking forward she embraced Azusa and held her closely to her chest. Azusa clutched the jacket of Mio's uniform before crying loudly. In maternal fashion Mio held Azusa closely as she stroked Azusa hair softly.
"Forgive me...I-I must have sounded so horrible just now accusing you guys and-"
"None of that Azusa! You have every right to pursue your own happiness. Your happiness didn't lie with me. So be it. I do not hate you for making the choice that you felt was best for you. As such if you feel that you truly aren't happy with us here at Houkago Tea Time then we won't stop you. But I wanted to make one thing very clear. We love and cherish you Azusa and by leaving you will take a part of us away forever. Yet we will continue on, amputated and crippled, if it meant that you would flourish. You have that right."
Azusa shook her head violently from Mio's chest.
"N-No! I was wrong and you were right Mio! We may be in a bit of a rut right now but what kind of person would I be if I abandoned you all right now? Truth be told I'm partly to blame as well. I have no right to be pointing fingers at all of you."
"I still want to flourish but I want to do so while playing for Houkago Tea Time! I want to recapture those moments where we are able to express ourselves through music as one. We can do it and we become a force to be reckoned with! I know we can!"
Mio smiled when she heard this.
"Of course. I believe that as well. That is why I have chosen to stay because I still think we have something special here. That means, however, that we will be practicing everyday from now one, right!"
Poor Ritsu had been the recipient of harsh glances all day and again she recoiled from the sight. However she knew better than to complain. It was because of her complacent attitude that they nearly lost Azusa. For that she knew that she had to make amends. Stepping from her drum set she soon went forward toward Azusa. The normally brash drummer looked awkward and unsure of herself. Then again it wasn't often that Ritsu ever admitted to being wrong.
"Look Azusa I understand why you're upset with us. I have been the major reason as to why we haven't progressed as a band. I have abused my powers as president and my refusal to practice has affected us. When Mio and I had watched the Budokan on TV back during the summer before our first year in high school I genuinely wanted to be there. I was mesmerized, awe stricken and amazed. It was then that I realized that I wanted to be a part of that too."
"Somewhere along the line I had forgotten the entire reason why I founded the HTT. What had been an burning passion to play on the biggest stage in Japan has regressed to apathy. For that I will take my share of the blame and offer you my deepest apologies Azusa as well as my thanks. While you were a bit harsh you have opened my eyes and now I'm willing to take responsibility. From here on forth we will practice every morning as well as after school. We want you here Azusa. Otherwise we will have to depend on Yui's guitar work and that doesn't fill me with much confidence."
Yui perked up when she heard the jab at her guitar playing skills.
"Hey! That was mean Rit-chan!" complained Yui.
"Then get good so I don't have to make fun of you!" retorted Ritsu.
"Says the drummer who can't even stay in tempo." jabbed Mio.
"Okay now that was uncalled for!" exclaimed Ritsu.
Azusa smiled as she realized that the group dynamic was beginning to go back to normal. She was so focused on Ritsu and Mio that she was caught completly unawares by Yui's glomp attack.
"Y-Yui-sempai!"
"Azu-nyan we'll practice everyday we promise! Just don't leave!" cried out Yui.
"T-That's fine but can you let go of me?" asked Azusa in slight annoyance.
"But I haven't had time for my Azu-nyan recharge!"
Apart from the initial glomp Azusa enjoyed these tender moments with Yui. There was an innocence to her sempai that endeared Azusa to Yui. It was for this reason that she allowed Yui to hold her like this.
"Oh geez." said Azusa as she settled into the hug as she felt warm and cozy.
It was then that Mugi came forward and bowed before Azusa.
"It was never my intention to facilitate our complacency. However I will also take responsibility. By tomorrow there will be no cups and plates. The music room is meant to practice our music. For that I too apologize and offer to give my full effort to the band."
Truth be told Azusa was going to miss the tea and didn't want to quite give it up. Besides that was the whole gimmick behind their band. To stop drinking tea would destroy their character as a band.
"H-How about we just have tea at the end of the week? If we have a good week's worth of practice under our belt then tea time on the last day would be like our little reward."
Mugi smiled at the idea.
"That is a compromise that I can agree with!"
With that Mio decided to step forward in front of the band as she clapped her hands to get their attention.
"Okay now that we have gotten ourselves settled let's start practicing again! From the top!"
There was a definite difference in the way they performed this time around. While it wasn't perfect it was still decent enough to be stage worthy. They were all in sync and there was hardly any phasing. Yui hit her chords and runs solidly and though she still had to pause every once in a while to sing while playing it was completely hopeless like before.
Ritsu was on tempo and was hitting her cues on time, helping Mio with her own entrances as well. Azusa compensated for the sharpness of her instruments by playing her notes flatter than normal. While this wasn't a complete fix it was enough to where it fit alongside the key signature the band was playing in. Meanwhile Mugi played the keyboard with confidence this time and didn't miss a single note or run.
Even so they were not satisfied as they stopped at certain sections of songs they were having trouble with and worked on them. Before they knew it the sky was already darkening from outside. Ritsu looked over at her watch and nearly gasped.
"Guys! It's already seven!"
"Really? I felt like no time has passed at all." said Yui.
"That's what happens when you get really absorbed in your practicing Yui-sempai." replied Azusa.
"Okay then. One more time from the top and we'll call it a day." said Mio.
Once they had gone through their list of songs all the girls looked over at one another in disbelief. They were all out of breath and sweating but there was no denying the fruit of their labors. The amount of improvement they made from this intense, two hour session was mind boggling. They had gone from completely hopeless to ready to perform.
"T-That sounded pretty good. If we improved by this much in only two hours imagine if we practice like this everyday?" asked Ritsu in disbelief.
"That's the point Ritsu-sempai! Why do you think I try to get you guys to practice. We nearly could have been pros by now if we had been at it as hard as we should have!" exclaimed Azusa.
"Well better late than never, right?" replied Ritsu with a grin.
Azusa smiled. She was happy that they were so motivated right now.
It was then that the door to the club room opened to reveal a cross looking Sawako.
"Girls! You're still here? Don't you have any idea what time it is?"
"Well we were practicing! We just sort of got carried away is all." replied Yui.
Sawako couldn't believe her ears. Did she just hear them say that they were practicing? The teacher was inclined to not believe them until she saw how sweaty and out of breath they were.
It looks like they actually practiced for once. Perhaps now that they are motivated I can get them to come along with me them.
"I see. Well even though I'm glad that you girls are practicing that means that you all probably have missed your train rides back home."
There was a look of panic in the girls' faces when they heard this. More than that was the angered reactions of their parents knowing that their children were late and that they didn't call.
Sawako sighed as she realized there was no way around their predicament.
"Look girls I'll give you all a ride back home but don't expect this to become habit. Next time you will have to call your parents to pick you up, okay." said Sawako sternly.
All the girls nodded in understanding. Seeing that she had their attention Sawako then pulled some tickets out of her pocket.
"Now that you all are here I figured that I might bring this up to you all. You see I was going to go to Natsu-Fest with a few friends of mine but they bailed on me. Seeing that you girls are all of all sudden so motivated I don't mind you guys tagging along if you want to come. What do you say?"
Mio couldn't believe what she was hearing. Natsu-fest was one of the biggest musical events in the country. Musicians from all over the world came over to play music. They were not going to get another opportunity like this.
"I'm in! There's no way I'm gonna miss this!" said Mio excitedly.
"Sure I'll go. But I heard that it's in the mountains. They won't eat us out there or anything, right?" asked Yui childishly.
Mio sweat dropped when she heard this.
Whatever it is that you're imagining Yui it's wrong.
Ritsu too was excited as she went up to Sawako and placed an arm around her neck.
"I don't mind going but why invite a bunch of snot nosed teenagers like us? Do your friends hate you or something?" asked Ritsu with a grin.
"No they do not! At least...I hope they don't." replied Sawako in an unsure tone.
"That doesn't fill me with much confidence." replied Ritsu smartly.
"Do you want to go or not!" roared Sawako as her patience was running thin with Ritsu's teasing.
"Yeah, yeah I want to go! Please don't hurt me!" said Ritsu as she ran from Sawako and hid behind Mio, who was shaking her head at Ritsu's antics.
Mugi, however, didn't look too excited as she stared out in space. Truth be told she was actually staring at Mio but didn't have the courage to actually speak to her especially after what had happened today.
"Earth to Mugi! Want to tag along or not?" asked Ritsu as she snapped her fingers in front of Mugi's face.
"Uh...yeah sure I'll go!" replied Mugi hastily.
"You don't sound all that thrilled to come along." accused Ritsu.
Mugi placed her hands in front of her body as she waved them in an almost panicked motion.
"No I do! Promise! As long as they have yakisoba!" said Mugi.
"I'm sure they do..." said Ritsu in a slightly sarcastic manner.
It was then that the group noticed something. For an event like this they should have heard Azusa beside herself with excitement. It wasn't until they tried to look for her when they realized that she was on the ground in a near unconscious state.
"Natsu-fest...I'm really going to Natsu-fest...I'm really going..."
"Azu-nyan!" cried Yui in concern as she went over and held Azusa close to her. The petite guitarist didn't seem to recover from her stupor as she continued to repeat the same phrase over and over again.
"She's lost it." said Ritsu with shrugged shoulders.
"Well I don't blame her. I'm surprised that I'm not in a comatose state like her from sheer excitement myself. Knowing me, however, I'll probably faint when I get there." said Mio with a laugh.
"Don't expect me to catch you! You weigh a ton." said Ritsu.
Ritsu was rewarded with another bonk to the head for her cheeky insult.
"Geez and you wonder why I have such a hard time with my studies with you killing my brain cells and all. Those don't grow back you know!" exclaimed Ritsu as she nursed the bulging bump on her head.
"Then stop saying stupid things!" replied Mio childishly.
It was then that Mugi came from between Ritsu and Mio and held her hand up a little.
"I-I'll catch you if you like Mio."
The reaction was instant as Mio's face went beet red. Mugi too felt her face flush and was suddenly embarrassed with what she said.
I can't believe I just said that. It's obvious she still has feelings for Azusa-chan. She'll probably think I'm being a weirdo or something.
However Mugi was surprised as Mio grabbed hold of Mugi and placed her arms around body and held her close.
"See Ritsu! If you were like Mugi here then you wouldn't be suffering from brain loss syndrome!" said Mio.
"Now you're comparing me to Mugi? That's totally not fair Mio and you know it!" complained Ritsu.
Mio stuck her tongue out at Ritsu knowing that she had won their little spat. She was so happy that their group dynamic had returned to normal. Looking over she realized that she was still holding Mugi, who was blushing.
"What do you say Mugi? Care to stick with me during Natsu-fest? I know of a couple of bands that you'll enjoy."
It was then that Mio felt Mugi trembling from beneath her arms. Mugi placed her hand on one of Mio's arms and grasped tightly.
"Now that Azusa has rejected you now you come to me? As a second choice? How cruel even for you Mio."
The response came in a soft whisper that only Mio could hear. The bassist felt like her insides had turned to ice when she heard Mugi's response. She felt her arms fall limply at their sides as she watched Mugi do everything in her power to hold her tears in and plaster a smile on her face to prevent the others from suspecting.
Mio realized what it was that she had done and instantly regretted what she had said.
Great.
Now Mugi thinks I'm just using her as the rebound.
Leave it to me to ruin a day that was ending so well.
It was then that Mio felt Ritsu tug at her arm. Mio didn't want Ritsu to be showing any concern for her so she did what Mugi did and plastered a smile on her face. Mio desperately wanted to hide her anguish, to hide the guilt in knowing that despite the amount of pain she was going through right now Mugi was suffering even worse than she was.
Author's Note: Of course my overly depressive style of writing won't allow me to end the chapter on a light note. Anyway this is the first time I have tried to come up with song lyrics. Hope it isn't too cheesy. Let me know what you all think. Thank you all for reading!