"Where'd Mugi-senpai disappear to?" Azusa asked. The girls were sitting in the club room, munching on crackers and cookies. Yui was shoveling crackers into her mouth two at a time, causing crumbs to fall everywhere. Mio brushed the cracker debris into a napkin.
"She said she was going to see Sawa-chan. Something about plans for another training camp this summer."
"Hmm," said Ritsu absentmindedly. She was stacking cookies on another napkin, not paying much attention to the conversation.
"Ritsu?" said Mio, waving her hand in front of the drummer's face. Ritsu jolted back to reality, blinking as the others' faces came into focus.
"S-sorry, what were we talking about?" she said, hoping to draw attention away from her.
"We were talking about next summer. The training camp? Remember?"
"Oh, sorry, wasn't paying attention."
"Ritsu-senpai, is something the matter? You've been acting strange since last week," said Azusa. Ritsu made eye contact with her and then quickly looked away. The last thing she needed was her face going red in front of Mio.
"Just . . . thinking about stuff," she said, staring at the wood of the desk. Yui and Azusa stared at her. Mio looked at her for a second before turning to look at the club room door. Ritsu frowned. If she didn't draw attention away from herself soon, things would go from awkward to very awkward in a flash.
"H-Hey! Isn't it Mugi's birthday tomorrow?" Ritsu said quickly. Yui and Azusa's faces brightened at this.
"Oh my gosh, I totally forgot!" Azusa gasped. "We need to plan something, quick!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Let's bake her a cake!"
"Yui-senpai, do you even know how to bake a cake?"
"Sure I do! Ui helps me all the time!"
"And do you do any other jobs besides putting strawberries on the cake?"
"Of course! I stir the batter and I frost the cake sometimes. Of course, Ui always makes extras 'cuz she knows I tend to eat the leftover frosting."
"That's the Hirasawa sisters for ya," said Ritsu. "The lazy, older sister that loves sweets, and the doting younger sister that is a wizard at baking."
"Aw, Ricchan, you didn't have to put it like that, hehe," said Yui, rubbing the back of her neck.
"That wasn't exactly a compliment towards you, you know," Ritsu said, rolling her eyes. The three of them started laughing, with Mio chuckling along beside them. Ritsu looked at Mio. The bassist was probably still suspicious of her attitude, so it's best to fake a smile 'till the whole thing blows over.
Yui reached over and snagged a cookie from the top of Ritsu's cookie tower just as the club room door opened. Mugi walked inside, holding a stack of permission slips.
"Hello everyone! Sawa-chan says that she wants to accompany us on the next training camp, but she wanted me to ensure that she had a seat on the plane with us so that she wouldn't get left behind."
"Whoa, wait, Mugi," said Ritsu, standing up. "We're taking an airplane to the next camp?!"
"Yes, I managed to book us a room in one of my parents' favorite hotels on the other side of Japan. There are several soundproof conference rooms that we're allowed to use for practice sessions, and we will have access to room service and the pool."
"Room service!" shouted Yui. "Fancy food and drinks, brought right to our doorstep by a handsome young man in a tuxedo! He'll wake us up and offer us expensive tea, and offer to dress us and do all the cooking and cleaning and gardening. Plus, he'll attack bad guys with forks and knives!"
"Isn't that from that butler anime you've been watching, Yui?" said Mio. "The one where the butler is a demon and the kid wears an eyepatch?"
"Heheh, I may or may not have mixed reality and fantasy," said Yui, blushing.
"What anime are we talking about?" asked Azusa. Yui immediately began to paint a dramatic picture of grand mysteries, handsome butlers and demons, and the lifestyle of the wealthy characters. She sprinkled in hints of a forbidden love that Ritsu was positive wasn't a part of the anime at all.
"Psst, Ritsu," whispered Mio. She pulled Ritsu out of the group and into the hallway, telling the others an excuse about the bathroom. In the stairwell, Mio stood facing Ritsu, who had her back against the railings.
"What gives, Mio?" asked Ritsu. "I'm fine, there's nothing wrong."
"Are you sure?" said Mio. "You've been acting strange since you and Azusa came to Yui's house out of breath. Azusa was almost about to pass out, even. Did something happen to you two?"
"I told you guys, we were racing from the park. Azusa's guitar made it hard for her to run well."
"She told me something about her chasing you, and that you were acting strange during your time at the park."
"How so?"
"Dunno. You wouldn't make eye contact with her, and it's almost like you're avoiding her. You've also been kind of distant with me lately. You're not as energetic as usual."
"Sorry. Maybe I've just been tired lately. I've been behind on homework, and I'm procrastinating way too much . . . I need to catch up on schoolwork, I think."
"If it's just schoolwork, I can - " said Mio.
"No! Um, I mean . . . my parents want to see if I can finish this week's schoolwork on my own. They want to know that I can survive in school without your help for a week, otherwise they'll just assume I copy off you all the time and ground me."
"I see . . . I guess that means less late-night phone calls?" asked Mio.
"Maybe . . . I'll let you know if I can call, though I doubt I can for too long."
"Okay, if you say so. You know, I worry about you, Ritsu."
"Aw, ya don't gotta worry about me. I'm just a person."
"You're also my best friend. I don't want you to distance yourself from me like this," said Mio. She grabbed one of Ritsu's hands.
"Please tell me if anything's bothering you. I'm here to listen if you need me."
"Thanks, Mio," said Ritsu. Mio walked back into the club room. Ritsu stayed outside for a few minutes before letting out a sigh and following her.
After school, the five of them walked home together. It was a weekend, so the girls decided to explore the town. They took a bus to the shopping district and browsed a few of the novelty shops. Ritsu and Yui got into a plastic sword fight, only to get the group kicked out of the store for making too much noise. They came across someone walking a group of dogs, and they had to drag Yui away from them, otherwise she would have stayed petting them for hours. They also had to drag Mio away, as one of the dogs barked at her, which caused her to faint. Finally, they stumbled upon a small corner store. A big sign was set up outside, advertising a colorful drink with what seemed to be black jelly balls at the bottom.
"Um, b-boooooba? What's that?" said Yui, squinting at the sign.
"I'm pretty sure that's not how it's pronounced, Yui-senpai," said Azusa, shaking her head.
"Ohh! It looks so interesting!" said Mugi, eyes sparkling. Ritsu made eye contact with Mio. They nodded, and then walked inside, with the others following close behind.
"Welcome to the store! Please have a look at our menu," said an overly cheerful cashier. Mugi looked on in awe at the massive menu.
"Thai milk tea, Japanese green tea slush, watermelon, kiwi, passion fruit? So many flavors!" said Mugi dreamily. "So many to choose from!"
"Tapioca pearls, aloe vera, rainbow jelly . . . egg pudding?" Azusa read from the bottom of the menu. "Um, I think that these drinks have these toppings that you can add. I think the tapioca pearls are the black balls."
"Geez, my head hurts," said Ritsu.
"It's quite a sophisticated menu," said Mio. "The drink sizes can get pretty large, and you can choose how much ice or sugar goes into it as well."
"Excuse me!" said Yui, already at the counter with her wallet out. "How much for the biggest size with 200% sugar and all the toppings?"
"Yui-senpai, no, don't order that!" said Azusa, rushing to the aid of the confused cashier girl. Ritsu chuckled. Mio turned to Mugi.
"Order whatever you want, Mugi. It's on us."
"Oh no, I couldn't possibly . . ."
"It's our treat. Consider this outing an early birthday treat."
"Oh my! Well, if you insist . . ."
Their orders placed, the girls watched as the workers skillfully mixed the concoctions and sealed the cups with plastic. Finally, their drinks arrived at the counter.
"What did you get, Azu-nyan? I got strawberry milk tea with boba!" said Yui.
"Just a jasmine milk green tea for me," Azusa said, taking a sip. She chewed on one of the tapioca balls slowly, and watched as Yui began gulping down large sips of her strawberry boba.
"How the heck do you get the straw inside this?" said Ritsu, attempting to poke a hole through the plastic seal and spilling some of her drink.
"Here, senpai, I'll do it" offered Azusa. Ritsu blushed, but then handed over her drink and watched as Azusa skillfully punctured the seal with the straw. Mio and Mugi came back from the counter with their drinks.
"How wonderful!" said Mugi. "Honey dew milk tea with boba and rainbow jelly. Jumbo size with 100% sugar and 50% ice."
"Only you would get something involving honey and rainbows, Mugi," said Mio. She carefully took a sip of her coffee milk tea, flinching as the tapioca ball hit her tongue. She took a couple of experimental chews before blanching and spitting it out onto a napkin. Ritsu and Yui started laughing at her, having gotten used to the sensation of chewing the tapioca. Azusa went over to comfort Mio, who was trembling slightly. The two of them went to the counter and asked for a replacement without boba.
"Hey Mugi-chan, how's your - " said Yui, only to stop mid-sentence. Mugi was already done with her drink, and was tipping the cup so that she could scoop the last of the rainbow jelly into her mouth.
"Ahh," she said happily, rubbing her belly. "What an amazing thing to experience for my birthday."
"How the heck did you inhale all of that at once?!" said Ritsu, dumbfounded.
"I just drank it. I wasn't sure about this, as it's my first time drinking boba, but I absolutely love it."
"Mugi-senpai, you're amazing," said Azusa.
After they were finished with their drinks, the girls went their separate ways. Yui had to be escorted to the bus station by Azusa, having drank not only her own drink, but most of Azusa's cup and Mio's unfinished drink. Mugi happily skipped her way to the train station, and Mio and Ritsu headed for their homes. The two of them walked in silence for a while, and then Mio asked,
"So, um hey, I have something to ask you."
"Y-yeah?" said Ritsu.
"About . . . us," she said nervously.
"What about us?"
"W-What do you . . . think about me?"
"What do I think about you? You're my best friend, what else is there to think about?"
"I mean, as . . . more than just friends . . ." Mio said, stopping suddenly.
"Mio?" Ritsu said, right before Mio's lips connected with hers. Ritsu stumbled back into the wall, pinned there by Mio. She pulled away, tears in her eyes. Ritsu could still feel her lips against her own.
"Um, Mio, this is seriously out of left field, even for you. I mean, you seemed practically normal most of the day."
"Dummy . . ." said Mio. She put her face against Ritsu's shoulder, and Ritsu was silently thankful that it was late and no one else was in the general area.
"Hey, you wanna know something?" said Ritsu. Mio lifted her head.
"What?" she asked, sniffling.
"You're cute."
"No I'm not! I'm a miserable mess and you're probably going to say no . . ."
"I wasn't going to say that. I was going to say that I think of you as more than a friend. Geez, you seriously beat me to the punch, though. I was going to ask you eventually, but you got the jump on me."
"No you weren't! I . . . I thought you were starting to show affection for Azusa, and I got scared that you'd leave me, so I . . . so I . . . "
"Hey, hey, don't cry, don't cry!" said Ritsu hurriedly. "That wasn't anything, I . . . I like you, Mio."
"R-Really?" said Mio, wiping her eyes.
"This answer your question?" said Ritsu, leaning in and kissing Mio's cheek. Mio sniffed, wiping her eyes once more. She looked Ritsu in the eyes.
"D-Does this mean . . . ?"
"Yeah, I think so," said Ritsu. Their lips met once more, and fireworks went off in Ritsu's heart. Mio started tearing up mid-kiss, causing Ritsu's cheeks to grow wet. Ritsu opened her eyes slightly at the sensation, only to catch a glimpse of a pair of long black twintails rounding the corner.
"Uh oh . . ." she thought.