Yo guize! ^_^ I'M SOOOOOO SORRY for the late update...T^T well, it's only been a week though. But since my junior year just started, xpect me to update weekly! ^_^ Busy, busy, busy, busy...ARGGHHH! Why can't my life be as easy as the K-On! girls's lives?! .
My other fic, Whispered Words, will be continued next week! Yeah! ^_^
Oh here's Since then...'s latest chap! The feeeeeeeellllllsssssssss
Disclaimer: K-On isn't mine YET. BWAHAHAHA! XD
Since then...
"Uggh...man, I only brought my bagpack and suitcase", she grunted. "But this sure are heavy...nnggh."
Cursing and complaining about her own luggage, those were the things she first did while getting off the train.
"But you know, I can smell success already!" Tainaka Ritsu talked to herself once more. And again, a few people were becoming amused by her upbeat behaviour and friendly grins.
She inhaled quickly and exhaled slowly. 'I'm going to see you, Mio!'
It was winter. Well, the coldest season and also the loneliest for her. Sure there was children and even adults playing around outside, but there are other people who can't go out and have fun. Because their were less sunlight. The sun is one of the sources of energy for the beaming golden-eyed. It gives her the warmth that she wants, but Mio's warmth is what she needs.
'Mio...'
Another knot in her poor heart. Her walk down the sidewalk came into a halt. Realizing that she should just get over her childhood crush or rather, her first love, her eyes started to water. It was only the Akiyama that can make her heart fly and can also drop it ruthlessly.
'N-No! No! I already accepted the fact that we were not meant to be with each other...Get over it, she isn't the right one...'
It's not her fault she fell in love. It's not her fault that she cared too much. It's not her fault that she makes her go crazy. She blinked her tears away, returning the strong façade that nearly fell off seconds ago.
"Hey! Open up, sir!"
No one answered.
"Geez, I've been knocking a hundred times already! Open up!"
The only source of light in this darkness was the faint light of the moon.
'Who the hell would be knocking in the middle of the night?!'
Angry stomping of feet echoed in the lonely apartment and was soon followed by the creaking of an opening door.
"WHAT?"
"Geez, if you're gonna open up, you should've done that earlier, y'know?", the man outside snickered.
"Who the hell are you and the what the heck do you want?!", the half-asleep harmonicist growled.
"Well sir, have you heard about geishas? Hmm?", the suspicious man started to whisper, making Ritsu really irritated.
'Ugh...what's his deal?' "Yeah? What about them?"
"You seems to have a cold night, mind if someone make it hot for you?", a sly grin.
The lady hiding behind the mischievous man nervously walked in front of Ritsu. The moonlight poured down a black-haired girl. Her cascading locks falling perfectly, reminding the Tainaka of her beloved one.
"I see you're interested, sir. Care for a 'one night stand' with her?"
Ritsu was dumbstruck. Not only because of the filthy term said to her, but also because there is a girl with undeniable raven locks that has her head bowed in front of her. She couldn't see anything but the girl's hair and figure for the lights were almost out. But on the other corner of her eyes, she could see the man grinning from ear-to-ear.
'This...seems familiar...'
Her mind was swirling with thoughts. She could sense familiarity, but she can't point out where or when exactly they met before. 'Girl ain't Mio...I'm just thinking about her waaaaay too much and ugh, I'm still sleepy...maybe I'm just seeing weird things...'
"Sorry, ain't interested. Leave. NOW.", she stepped back and slammed the door shut. She slumped back on her bed and hugged her pillow tight. 'Mio, you're really making me insane...I can see people who look like you now...'
The Tainaka quickly drifted to a bothered sleep. Images of her best friend once again haunted her. Images of the smiling and laughing Akiyama kept repeating like a busted cassette inside her head. What she didn't know was the gestures Mio was making in front of her were hoaxes created by the wounds inside the girl.
Her consciousness hadn't notice a tear fell down and was followed by more.
In the middle of one night, Ritsu decided to take a stroll for she couldn't sleep. Images of a lovely Akiyama would always interfere her thoughts. She didn't care if outside was cold and dim, for the streetlights were busted and again it was only the moon supplying its faint light upon the streets of Tokyo. Feeling quite bored, she played her harmonica in a lullaby tone. This immediately reminded her of someone.
"I really, really love the way you play your harmonica. It lifts negative emotions to turn into positive ones..."
A page of a newspaper landed on her shoes. She picked it up and read the most visible part.
"Geishas..."
Her business was an absolute success. Investors were popping out like mushrooms whenever she made new proposals and projects. She managed to help her family, get her brother to finish school, build a mansion for her parents and hire farmers to work for her in the lands she brought in the province. She was the hero of their town.
She was now a mature 24-year old. The past two years sharpened Tainaka Ritsu. But even though she's one of the most successful business personalities in Japan, she's still incomplete. She feels incomplete. She longs for love.
The Kotobuki heiress was now reportedly married to someone else. But that someone else wasn't the one she wanted, because the person wasn't Ritsu. Though her heart was shattered, she chose to move on, realizing the crystal clear fact that Ritsu will never feel the same again. Or did she ever?
If you think about it, Ritsu can break the hearts of the most beautiful maidens in Japan.
Sure, the quantity of ladies chasing her tripled even a few guys court her now, but that doesn't mean she should be happy. She rejected everyone. She never answered anyone.
She threw the page to God knows where.
'Love, huh?'
She chuckled at the thought.
'Guess she's already happy and married by now...'
The harmonicist had no idea nor lead where Mio was. Yes, she's in Tokyo, her best friend was here. But why hadn't she seen her nor heard news about the girl? She doesn't know. She doesn't know where she is, neither did she know why hasn't her feelings for the girl hadn't left her heart yet.
It was already over a decade when she first felt something incredible. Like something melted in her chest and something made her mind spin. No, not 'something', but 'someone'. And that someone was nowhere to be found.
'Oh c'mon, Mio! Please come out of my head and be with me instead...'
She felt like dying inside everytime she imagined Mio with someone else. Well, she is with someone else. And realizing that fact made her nights sleepless, leaving her eyes almost waterless.
'Why hadn't I heard a famous Akiyama already?'
The promises they made still plays inside her memory.
Everything in her life was trivial. Including the events where she'd have encounters with a black-haired girl. The one that a man from one night before introduced to her. A black-haired girl that looks like Mio. There were times when they would bump into each other but the girl would always scamper away before Ritsu could even utter a word. This left the golden-eyed wondering.
'If it was really Mio, why would she run away from me?'
It was never confirmed that the girl was Mio. The lass had her head bow down everytime, only displaying her raven hime-cut hair and her fair skin. Ritsu wasn't able to see her face and confirm if her eyes were gray, like that of her missing friend.
'There many girls who have black hime-cut hair and fair complexion...especially here in Japan...'
That image really is popular in Japan. But why would the tawny-haired girl feel familiarity in her? Maybe they've met before? What if she's the one that the harmonist was looking for?
'Destiny would always make a way for people...what if...maybe that mysterious girl knows where Mio is! Maybe she can help me!'
The Tainaka then decided to catch the girl when they meet again, before the black-haired would run away and hide.
"Umphhhh-!"
Suddenly, screams muffled by a hand can be heard in a dark alley quite far from her spot. The cries told her that there's something going on, that something's wrong. The golden-eyed stopped her lullaby, placed her harmonica inside her pocket and immediately stood flat on the wall adjacent to the dark alley.
"Oh c'mon, we've been waiting *hic* all night for a nice entertainment! And now we've got you~, don't resiiiiist!"
"Yeah, he's right! *hic* Lemme touch your bountiful jugs there, babe. *hic* I'm sure you'll enjoy *hic* it!~"
"Ummmmphh-!"
"We've gotcha girl, surrounded *hic* you've got bullet trains there, girl *hic* want me to insert my ticket into yoooou~? *hic*"
Scent of strong alcohol lingered in the place.
'Shit...drunken bastards...'
Ritsu was angry. Very angry. She just can't let this pass.
And before any of the drunken men insert any 'ticket', Ritsu pounced on one of the three rapists, startling the other two.
She couldn't take what her ears witnessed and what her eyes now see.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" The man she pounced from behind got back up. She landed her feet on the ground, her left foot forward and her right one behind. She left her arms encircling the man's neck, choking him, with her upper torso pulled back.
"ACK! W-What the h-heck are you two doing?! Get the fucking tard!"
The two men then charged at her. Being the skillful person she is, she blocked the men's punches, with the throttled man's face as her shield. Ritsu immediately let go of the man's neck but she kick him from behind, the other two pinned down by the fallen man's body. One of the men charged and tried to punch her again, and the other one picked up a pipe. Sensing immense danger, she instantly ducked her body down, rolled away. The punching guy noticed that his prey weren't there anymore so he twirled is head around. Only getting his faced pulped by the charging pipe of his ally.
"Just what the hell are you guys doing to the innocent girl?!"
Ritsu snapped. She stood up and roundhoused the man with the pipe, but the man never backed down. The drunken gang altogether charged at her. But unfortunately, she was outpowered by the great force emitted. She fell down on her back because of a sudden hit on her right cheek. The one who seems to be the leader, the pounced man, picked her collar up and pressed her on a wall.
"Who do you think *hic* you are?! We rule in this side of Tokyo so don't you dare interfere with our businesses, *hic* punk?!"
Out of anger, the Tainaka spit on his face. Which made them vengeful even more.
The man was about to punch her face again but was stopped by the yell of the girl.
"STOOOOP! P-P-Please...stop..."
She was crying so hard at the corner, seeing her hero's bruised and bloody state, she screamed loudly. It must've waken the neighbors up.
"Oh yeah,*hic* I guess I forgot our *hic* dessert, gentlemen. Hihi~"
They left Ritsu's bleeding body alone and proceeded on their unfinished business with the almost naked girl at the other corner.
'N-No...I can't let this happen...I can't let them touch her...'
The bleeding girl doesn't know why, besides the fact that there's someone getting raped, why did she have to do this? She already failed to protect the girl, but why did she have to get back on her feet and beat the rapists up? What is that something that pushes her to do this? If it was other people in her position, they would just scamper away, scared from this place and never to come back again. But why is she doing this? Why was there the feeling of need to do such difficult stuff? Why is her heart willing to protect the girl until the guys were knocked out-cold on the ground when she doesn't even know who the girl was? She doesn't know why.
'...I can't l-let them do s-something to h-her...I just c-can't...'
She mustered up her hidden strength and got up, although quite wobbly.
"Come at me, cowards."
The men were just about to undress the poor girl fully when they heard the hero got up and spoke with high authority.
"What the hell did you say?!"
She caught the fist charging at her face with her left hand, steam coming out of the great pressure.
"Cowards..."
She curled her left hand into a fist, simultaneously breaking a few bones in her enemy's fist.
"Y-You...you'll pay. *hic* KILL THE BASTARD."
But before they could even exhale, Ritsu raised her left leg and twisted her body up in the air. She attacked the gang with a butterfly kick and then hit them with a phoenix-eye punch each on their left temples. They didn't manage to utter any word and fell down on top of one another, knocked-out and unconscious.
"Heh...kill me? Shut the fuck up..."
Her body then collapsed out of extreme exhaustion. With half-closed eyes, she managed to crawl to the girl's place. The reason? Her mind doesn't know but her heart knows.
"N-No! D-Don't move! You're wounded and bruised u-up..."
The unknown girl kneeled down in front of her. Forcing the wounded one not to move, but knowing the Tainaka, she was too stubborn. She was able to kneel.
"I-It's alright. I'm f-f-fine...are y-you?"
"I...I-I'm so s-sorry...it's all my fault. I-I'm s-sorry..."
"D-Don't c-cry, please. R-Ricchan's here...d-don't worry..."
The Tainaka doesn't know why she just said that, she just felt like saying the last phrase with all her heart. But before she could even lift her face up and see the girl's face, she lost her consciousness and her limp body fell down the other girl's arms.
Shock was written all over the girl's face...
'Ricchan...'
Alarmed by the earlier scream of the girl, neighbors came rushing to their place.
She wrapped her arms tightly around the fallen being in her arms. Her raven locks cascaded perfectly down her companion's back and she closed her eyes, hiding lustrous steel-gray orbs under her lids. The certain girl smiled and whispered.
"Ritsu...I finally found you...leaving you with him was a terrible mistake. I should've told you my feelings instead...but I'm sorry, I can't stay..."
NOTE!: The disgracefulness of Geishas and Emperors in my stories ( Enchanted, Princess Mio's mother and Akiyama-tennou-sama and Since then...), DOESN'T REFLECT MODERN JAPAN AT ALL. It's just the Author-sama's complicated imagination. OtakuLoverlord21's just writing what she wants for her stories. Arigatogozaimasu...
O/N: "Let 'em know that we still Rock 'N Roll!-" oh hi there, finished reading?
I'm pretty lame at fight scenes, ya know? Although I got into fights alot recently. TROLOLOOOOOOL.
Please be active in my poll on 'Who's better for Ricchan?' at my profile (PM me if u want an OC ;)) so I can decide what fic to write next, hmm?
Bye-Bye! LoveLots...