Chapter III: What She Really Meant

Yui Hirasawa

"Why did we get turned down?" Ricchan complained as we exited the Faculty Room, with me pouting all the way, "We gave a lot of thought about it…"

"Mou~ and I followed what Nodoka-chan said about anything I really like to do," I whined with Ricchan, my pout still in place, "How can Sawa-chan reject it?"

Ricchan sighed, "Well, I guess Sawa-chan just want us to choose a more stable career," she said, crossing her arms behind her head.

"But don't you make a lot of money when you're a musician?" I asked her in confusion, and she looked at me with a slightly surprised face, "Plus, we even get to be really famous!" I declared, shooting a fist up in the air.

Ricchan looked at me dryly with an eyebrow raised. Some students also seemed to have their attention on us.

"Yui, you do know that being a musician does not guarantee that you'll become famous." She stopped walking as she said this, crossing her arms as she did so.

"Eh?" I exclaimed, looking back at her and stopping as well, "Really?"

"Yes, really." She sighed looking at something I couldn't see while thinking, "Plus, there aren't even many all-girl bands like us which makes me think it'll be a lot harder for us."

"But how about that band with the school girl image, SCANDAL? They're an all-girl band like us!" I insisted. If they could do it, we could too, right? "And the one that sang Secret Bass!"

There went another eyebrow-rise, "You mean, Secret Base?" cataclysmic

"It's the same thing," I waved her comment off, wanting to prove her my point, "And anyway, it was an all-girl band too!"

Ricchan gave an exasperated sigh and continued to walk. "Look, Yui," I followed her towards the stairs to our clubroom as she went on. "I'm not saying that we can't do it, but even if we do, sooner or later, we'll break up. We'll want to pursue our own careers and if worse comes to worst, each of us will join different bands."

"…you mean, you're planning on disbanding HTT?" I asked softly, the thought making me want to cry.

"Tha—wah! Yui, don't cry! That wasn't what I meant. I would never dream of disbanding us!" she assured me, panicking slightly when she saw my face after she turned to look at me. We once again stopped walking as I tried to wipe the tears that probably threatened Ricchan just a few moments ago. I realized we had stopped on the platform in the middle of the stairs, our clubroom door only a few steps away.

"Listen, Yui," she sighed and continued in a low voice, "We're a band. And no matter what happens, we'll always be HTT, but…" she paused, scratching her head as she contemplated on how to explain.

"But?" I prompted.

"…a lot of things can happen," she answered without looking at me, "Even if we do reach stardom, some of us might want to have a simpler, better life, and of course, I can't just stop her from pursuing that."

I blinked. Was it just me or did it sound like she was referring to someone?

Ricchan gave out a tired laugh before adding, "I've practically held her back all my life, causing her trouble all the time… even if she did say she was thankful because I introduced her to music, there are a lot of other people that could've done the same thing."

She was beginning to rant, and I knew she was talking about Mio-chan, but somehow, I felt that she needed to say all the thoughts she had in order to overcome her insecurity.

Yes, I couldn't believe it either. Ricchan, our happy-go-lucky and energetic club president was insecure. What's more, she was insecure about Mio-chan.

And with that in mind, I had let her continue.

"I mean, c'mon!" Ricchan turned to the window and leaned on the frame, "Music, pff…she'd probably have better grades compared to now if I never introduced it to her. She won't have to focus on anything else besides her studies. And even making her join the Light Music Club? That won't even help her apply for a suitable university!" she suddenly slammed her fist on the wall beside the window. I jumped slightly, silently hoping that she didn't injure her hand, "She's just wasting her time practicing and writing lyrics instead of being productive writing essays and articles or whatever they do in the Literature Club. It's a way better background than being in the Light Music Club! Ha! Performing in a band? What a joke. She doesn't even need to know music to have a good future…"

I stared at her, feeling sad for her at what she said. I realized Mio-chan's words earlier had affected her more than she let on.

"Ricchan…"

"She'd be better off without me…" Ricchan told me in a soft voice, turning around and leaning her back on the wall as she slowly slid down to a sitting position, "You heard her… Mio regretted asking me for help." She put her forehead on both of her palms, her arms resting on her propped knees. "I mean, I knew I've been a pain in the ass for her and that I annoyed her a lot, but…" She was silent for a moment, but then she gave out a weak laugh, "I never actually thought that she hated what I do that much."

"But Ricchan…" I wanted to retort but she continued.

She let out a deep breath, and with a sad smile, she looked up, revealing the tears she had been keeping inside since our talk about her and Mio-chan's childhood. "Maybe she's right… she shouldn't have asked for my help. It would've been better for her if she had been friends with someone like Nodoka instead of me…"

"Ricchan!" I said with the most commanding tone I could muster. I didn't like the way she was thinking, and shouting that was the only thing I could do to stop those thoughts.

She made no move to indicate that she heard me, but I noticed that uncharacteristic smile was replaced with a blank one. I concluded that she was probably listening to me so I continued.

"None of what you said is true," I started, and I noted that her eyebrow twitched lightly when I told her that, "You should know better than anyone else that Mio-chan never really meant that. She probably just said it without even thinking."

I searched for any type of reaction from her but found none. Because of that, I continued, determination fueling my voice.

"Ricchan, we all know how important music and the Light Music Club are to Mio-chan. Maybe you're right about saying it doesn't give a proper background when applying for a good university, but I'm sure Mio-chan didn't care about that," I said, and all the response I got was Ricchan looking down and hugging her knees closer to her chest, "She didn't join the club because you forced her to or because was thinking about college. She joined because, like the rest of us, we love music. And we love to play more than anything else." But after I thought over what I had claimed, I realized something, "W-well… maybe I did join the Light Music Club thinking that I just need to be in a club so I won't become a neet…" I sheepishly admitted, scratching my cheek and removing my eyes from her, "B-but! After a while, I really learned to love music! And I stayed because I wanted to keep playing with everyone!"

Ricchan chuckled lightly, a forced smiled on her face as she replied, "Don't worry, Yui. I know."

I sighed in relief when she said that, then, I remembered what I was saying—supposed to be saying—and went back to my original point, "A-anyway, Ricchan, Mio-chan wouldn't have stayed if she didn't love playing with us." I stated, regaining my quote-and-quote convincing composure, "Remember that one time when Mio-chan thought of that really cool bass line? How she just jumped at her bass and started playing without notice? I know I can be a bit of an airhead but I'm not blind to not see Mio-chan enjoy playing. And I'm pretty sure she became even happier when you joined her with your drums!"

I pumped a fist as I said those with confidence. I knew that everything I had said was true, and I knew Ricchan knew this. I waited patiently for a reply.

"That song, huh?" she muttered softly, her voice glazed with reminiscence, "I guess…" my face lit up when I heard her response but it was short-lived when she continued, "But you heard her, right?" she turned to look straight at me, "You heard her say—and I quote, 'Maybe I shouldn't have asked for your help.'" She pursed her lips, her eyes searching for something, "She said it so frankly. Tell me just how she didn't mean it?"

My eyes softened when I saw Ricchan's face. She had started to believe what I said. But it seemed like she was still a bit doubtful, especially with Mio-chan's statement earlier.

This was all she needed then…

"Ricchan," I said with my usual preppy tone, "I actually think that Mio-chan meant what she said, to some extent," her eyes suddenly fell, and before she could revert back to the depressed-Ricchan state, I continued, "But I'm also pretty sure that she wasn't talking about what you were thinking."

This caused her to look at me blankly, "Eh?"

"When she said that, you were thinking about the essay, right?" she slowly nodded, "Well, I don't think Mio-chan was talking about that," I explained, putting a hand to my chin as gave it a thought, "She mentioned that there were a lot of things you taught her before she said that. So she probably meant one of those things and knowing you, Ricchan, you had probably taught her some weird things like how to remove her shyness or become more confident or something…"

Ricchan didn't respond immediately, so I looked at her and found her staring blankly at me. I blinked a few times before she suddenly burst out laughing. I briefly wondered if she was having a period or maybe going insane because of her sudden shift in moods.

"I'll let that indirect insult slide, just this once, Yui," Ricchan said when her laughter somewhat subsided, "You were right though. I do remember teaching Mio that she has to say 'you know' at the end of everything she says in order to sound more confident. And if I recall correctly, she said the same thing to me back then along with a hit on the head." She released her hug from her knees and moved her legs so she was Indian seated. She stared up the stairs—I assumed at the clubroom door—for a moment before shaking her head with a sigh.

"Ricchan?"

"I was being stupid, wasn't I?" she gave me a slightly sheepish grin, "I was practically worried about nothing! I should've known Mio never meant it that way. I was just over-thinking things."

"But that just shows how important Mio-chan is to you, doesn't it?" I asked back with smile, "When I first met you two, it seemed to me that your relationship was somehow similar to that of Nodoka-chan and I. I thought you were just like me, always relying on a more responsible friend."

"Oi, oi," Ricchan commented with narrow eyes.

"T-that wasn't what I meant!" I held my hands up palm-forward, trying to defend myself, "I mean, it really did seem like that to me at first, but then I noticed how you always try to protect Mio-chan!"

Her eyes returned to normal, looking curiously at me. "Protect Mio?"

"Yeah… even though you bug Mio-chan all the time, I noticed that you always consider her when it comes to other things…"

Ricchan's eyebrow rose, silently asking for an explanation.

"For example, that time when we were picking a job to earn money for my guitar, you rejected a lot of our suggestions and kept saying that Mio-chan might faint or that she won't be able to handle it."

Ricchan seemed to have understood, so I continued.

"You're actually very subtle when you do that, but you've been doing it so much that I was actually able to notice," I explained, "I realized that even though you tend to ask Mio-chan for help when it comes to school work, it's her that actually relies on you more. And I'm pretty sure Mio-chan knows this as well."

I noticed Ricchan's face had a light tint of pink and that she was facing away from me.

That only made me smile wider.

"But after seeing you react to what Mio-chan said," I resumed, "I guess I was wrong again," Ricchan turned her head slightly to me, "You need her just as much. But not because she helps you out with your studies and such, it's just that you've been friends for so long that Mio-chan is now a part of your life and without her, you wouldn't be you."

She looked directly at me this time, and I beamed at her.

"You wouldn't be Ricchan without Mio-chan." I concluded, "That's why you were so sad when Mio-chan said that, right? Because you can't imagine not having her as your best friend."

Ricchan smiled a little, "Since when did you get this perceptive?"

"Well, it wouldn't be obvious to other people but after spending so much time with you, it became pretty noticeable," I replied with a smug face, "And of course, I'd notice! Even though I'm just a Private, I have to keep my eye on my Captain!"

"Are you sure you should be saying that?"

"Mou, you're okay now, aren't you?"

She shrugged, a light grin on her face, "Maybe."

"So I did my job well!" I proudly announced to practically the two of us, "I made my Captain feel better and realize that you were being stupid, thinking about those things!"

She gave a short laugh and looked at me, "Alright, I admit it, you really did good. And I really was being stupid. Gosh, I totally overreacted. I even almost cried right in front of you, Yui. How can a crybaby like me be your Captain now, huh?"

After the most eventful minutes I've ever had with Ricchan, she finally smiled—for real this time. I couldn't help smiling brightly back when I saw her expression.

"Maa… everyone experiences a time of weakness, Ricchan. Showing it to others just proves how strong you are even though you have it."

She shook her head again, this time it was directed at me, "You're really weird, Yui. One moment, you're the biggest airhead I've ever met, and the other you're wiser than I could ever be."

I giggled. I supposed it was a compliment.

I then approached her as I said, "Well then, are you ready to go back in there?" I stopped in front of her and held out my hand, "Captain?"

She looked at me for a moment before nodding once and taking my hand. I pulled her to her feet and when she was standing up, she grinned at me and said, "Thanks a lot, Private."

Humoring her, I saluted and stated, "Anytime, Captain!"

Ricchan laughed again, and I couldn't help beaming as well.

'And to think it was Mio-chan's simple statement that made her like this. Ricchan really treasures Mio-chan a lot.'

"Let's go then, Ricchan!" I pulled her up the stairs, stopping just in front of the door as I waited for Ricchan to regain her usual composure. I knew she wouldn't want the others to know about what happened. She was just strong like that.

"What were we talking about again?" Ricchan suddenly asked me, "You know, before… that."

Now that she mentioned it… "Oh yeah, I forgot…" I told her, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Ah! The Senior's questionnaire!" she pointed at the paper I was holding.

'I was holding a paper…?' "Oh right!"

After recalling what we were supposed to do, we barged in the clubroom together with a loud announcement, "MISSION ABORT!"

Together we walked towards the table where Nodoka-chan and the others—ehem, Mio-chan, ehem—were. Once we were near it, Ricchan and I saluted, and I reported to Nodoka-chan, giving her the paper, "It was a failure, Captain!"

"A musician?" Nodoka-chan asked.

"Stop goofing around!" Mio-chan suddenly scolded Ricchan.

"But… we're not." Ricchan answered, scratching the back of her head.

I was panicking inside. Ricchan just recovered not more than two minutes ago and here Mio-chan was, scolding her like nothing happened.

Well, Mio-chan didn't know that something had happened but still!

I was worried that Ricchan might break down again and I tried to think about a way to distract her.

Suddenly, I heard Nodoka-chan's laugh.

"Ooh! Nodoka-chan's laughing!" I announced, being surprised myself.

"I think she's lost all hopes for you," Azunyan remarked dryly at me.

I ignored her and turned around, claiming, "A-actually, it was a well-crafted joke aimed at Nodoka-chan!"

"No, she probably thinks pigs will fly before you become a musician, Yui-san," Mio-chan told me in a monotonous voice.

"Aw c'mon, what's wrong with that?" Ricchan tried to defend me.

"You do know how difficult it is to be a successful musician." Mio-chan said.

"So what if it's hard?" Ricchan asked back. I turned to them and saw a frown on Ricchan's face while Mio-chan looked skeptical, "If it's what we want to do, why back down before even trying?"

"Look, Sawa-chan probably just wants us to have a stable future. Pursuing music won't give us that so she's encouraging us to pick a better profession."

"Being a musician a good enough profession, thank you very much."

"I'm not saying that it's not. It's just that being a successful musician is more difficult than it seems. Sawa-chan and the Death Devils probably tried it before but failed."

"They did fail to become famous but that doesn't mean the same fate will happen to everyone else. There's still a chance to actually be successful in the music world, Mio. Don't be such a pessimist."

"Look, I'm not being pessimistic. I agree, there's still a chance to be successful, but is it worth the risk of throwing away an assured future for an uncertain one that comes with being in the music industry?"

"I don't know. Is it, Mio?" Ricchan suddenly questioned Mio-chan with such intensity that I thought my work earlier was for naught. Everyone was watching, and Nodoka-chan had stopped laughing a while ago. "Tell me if it's not worth it to pursue something you love."

"That's not what I—"

"Yes, it is what you said," Ricchan cut her off, "You'd much rather sit in front of a desk the whole day than play music, right? So what? Music is just a pass time for you? The thing you're most thankful of me for is just something to satisfy your boredom? Was my role in your life that insignificant to you?"

Mio-chan looked taken aback, and so did the others in the room. My eyes widened slightly the moment she stated that. It seemed that Ricchan hadn't realized what she had just said.

Ricchan let out a deep breath, avoiding everyone's—especially Mio-chan's—gaze. "Sometimes I wonder why you even stuck with me for so long." She said, before briskly walking out of the clubroom, slamming the door on the way.

The rest of us, who were the witnesses of their argument, stared at the door where Ricchan went through. Mio-chan, on the other hand, just stared blankly at the space where Ricchan was standing a few moments ago.

I looked at Mio-chan worriedly. Ricchan's words had hurt her too.

"What… just happened?" Azunyan asked apprehensively.

"Mio-chan?" Mugi-chan called her softly, confusion plainly shown on her face.

Nodoka-chan seemed lost as well, but then, she suddenly apologized, "I-I'm sorry… it must've been my reaction…"

"It wasn't your fault, Nodoka-chan," I told her with a small smile. I turned back to Mio-chan, continuing, "It's just… a bit of a misunderstanding."

The room was silent for a few moments—a feat that rarely happened, if I might add—until Mio-chan spoke.

"Do I treat her that badly that she thinks I don't care about her?" Mio-chan asked in a soft voice. I saw tears slowly build up in her eyes, "She's my best friend! How can she not know how important she is to me?"

Mio-chan's tears started to overflow, and she desperately tried to wipe them before it reached her cheeks but failed. She sat down on the floor, putting her knees close to her chest and started to sob, causing Mugi-chan to rush to her and rub her back, trying to soothe Mio-chan. Azunyan, Nodoka-chan and I were rooted to our spots. They were probably still too confused and didn't know what to do, while I was thinking of a way to fix this new mess.

"Shush, Mio-chan," Mugi-chan lulled as Mio-chan continued to sob, "Yui-chan was right, maybe Ricchan just misunderstood your words."

"Oh god, it was my fault, wasn't it?" Mio-chan cried harder, "I was so stupid! I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't even thinking when I said it, and now… I… Ritsu…"

"Mio-chan," I said in my usual tone which caught her—and most probably the others' too—attention. She looked up at me and I gave her a comforting smile, "What did you mean when you said that?"

"I… N-no, I wasn't saying that I didn't want her helping me, b-but I…"

"You know," I approached Mio-chan and crouched down in front of her so we were eye-level, "It's not us that needs to hear your explanation. We know what you meant, but Ricchan seemed to have misunderstood that."

Mio-chan looked at me questioningly, and I patted her head.

"Understand, Mio-chan?" I gave her an encouraging grin.

Slowly, a smile formed on her lips. She wiped her eyes dry and nodded at me, standing up the moment she did so. She headed toward where Ricchan went with a determined glint in her eyes but paused when she was at the door.

Mio-chan turned to me and said, "Thanks a lot, Yui."

She exited the room after I gave her a nod, undoubtedly in search for our club president.

"What just… happened?" Azunyan repeated, "Again?"

They all looked at me with confusion and slight bewilderment.

'Ah… they want an explanation…' "Maa, I told you it was just a misunderstanding," I answered her, waving their curiosity off.

"Yui…" Nodoka-chan said in her slightly demanding tone.

"Just let them be, Nodoka-chan, I'm sure it'll work out," I gave her an optimistic smile before turning to Mugi-chan and saying, "Mugi-chan~ can I have some cake now? I'm almost out of energy~" I whined, slumping down on a chair.

Mugi-chan didn't respond at first, probably contemplating what she should do, but then, she smiled at me and nodded, "Alright then, Yui-chan,"

"Mugi-senpai?" Azunyan questioned Mugi-chan, "You mean, you're just gonna let Yui-senpai relax without even an explanation?"

"Well, it's not really something Yui-chan can explain, right?" Mugi-chan asked, directing it to Azunyan instead of me.

"But…"

"She's right," Nodoka-chan agreed, a small smile also grazing her lips this time, "It's not something for Yui to tell, and not ours to know."

Azunyan was silent for a moment, thinking if she should relent. After a few moments though, she nodded, "I understand."

I silently sighed in relief. As I waited for Mugi-chan to serve me the cake I had asked, I looked out the window.

'I hope they'll still be best friends after this…'

Author's Notes:

…this didn't go the way I planned it…

It was supposed to be three times shorter! I originally planned that after going to Sawa-chan, Yui notices that Ritsu was a bit down. Ritsu tries to wave it off but Yui realizes what the problem is and explains what's needed to be explained. Ritsu becomes happy again (all of these should've happened within their short trip from the faculty) and they return to the clubroom, Yui thinking about how important Mio is to Ritsu…

But then it ended up like this… there is waaaay too much drama -.- well, can't change that now…

Anyway, thanks to Fanamaniac and Gitah-Muttan, I corrected my mistake :DD Oh! And the dialogues from the flashbacks are all based on CoalGuys subs. Absolutely NOT MINE :)) But I did edit some of it for other reasons.

Did you find the development too fast? Well. If you did I sincerely apologize. I just let the words flow when I was writing this. I don't even know where I got half of this.

Was Yui a bit OOC? I'm not sure how to portray her when she's stuck at a problem that only she can fix… something like this one. And I've thought of Yui as an airhead that has a good perceptive when it comes to her friends. Sure she doesn't make sense most of the time but she pulls through when needed.

I guess that's it! Review Please! I actually found it hard to write this chapter (I've been on break from school for a whole week now and i just finished this yesterday evening), partly because of the drama and partly because the second chapter had less reviews than the first one...

Were there any mistakes? wrong grammars? misspellings? Tell me :D

**********Chapter 3 Edited**********

No major edits :))