DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to K-on!
WARNING: Rated T for safety though I doubt there will be little to no explicit content.
Underneath the Starry Sky
Leaves rustled; swaying back and forth, dancing, as the raven-haired girl sung a song. Her voice, an enthralling melody, captured the hearts of many even those who dwelt in a different worldly realm. Human or not, all fell prey to Mio's gentle singing - a mixture of pure innocence as well as a speck of melancholy as she lamented the fate that had befallen to her family.
Right now, she was singing for herself while basking under the shafts of light created by the sun. She poured all her emotions to a particular song - a song about a young girl hidden in the pretense of Akiyama Mio, a figure known to possess utmost perfection yet deep inside her crumbling heart, she only wanted someone who will look her not the fallacious image bestowed by the people around her but as a person who yearned for normalcy: the pleasure of falling in love with the person who made her heart skip a beat; the feeling of being rescued by someone in the midst of loneliness and the anticipation to pull her real self to the surface when she wore her heart on her sleeve, while her hands intertwined to the person responsible for opening a path towards salvation.
"Please, call out to the girl with a soft and gently voice
You may not be able to see her, but she is my true self
It's me, call me…"
Trying to chase the elusive silhouettes; a young girl forever ensnared by the grasp of society, her cries unheard. She wanted to break free but not in the form of tragedy. The people around her knew nothing of her real feelings with the exception of her bandmates but what she desired the most was someone who will lend a hand to her: offering it to the crying girl sulking on a corner, gently calling out her name, a voice filled with warmth and kindness - a sun in the figure of a human.
"Who will be the one to give her a strong push forward?
As it becomes later into night, she becomes unable to move out of fear
It's me, guide me…"
Cowering in fear as night approached, the little girl wanted to hold someone's hands; together they will face uncertainty brought by darkness without falter. Her newly found courage was the fruit of believing… to whom? Even in this present age, she was still clinging on the hope of finding the person who will be her backbone; to be her legs to walk forward and to enjoy the beauty of being alive - a luxury reveled only to those who understood the concept of life in a higher perspective.
"…When my fragile heart is decorated with frills, it squeals in delight
It dreams of a love sweeter than chocolate coming to visit her someday
Realize that small voice saying 'I'm here!' is that small girl."
She concluded her song with a mysterious feel, unable to discern whether it was fluff or bittersweet. All she knew was this is how she felt and through her songs, may reach the person she dreamt of. There, the raven-haired girl sat on the same spot where she met the amber-eyed waiting for her arrival.
A soft tune hummed with the gentle wind, blowing the girl's delicate raven strands. She recognized the tune because it was the same as the one she sung earlier. Glancing at different directions, frantically looking for the owner, she saw a figure bathed in sunlight, smiling at the same time taunting her for singing such an honest song.
She cringed at her position, clutching the hem of her shirt out of embarrassment. 'How much has she heard?' she thought while not attempting to raise her head to greet her guest.
"You're thinking how much I've heard, aren't you?" she grinned, her smile resembled a hungry wolf staring at her dispirited prey.
Mio didn't dare to look up. The girl shrugged upon Mio's initial response; she tucked her hands on her black pants with chains that act as its belt, "Well… To tell you the truth, I didn't hear much."
"Lies" Ritsu's eyes widened when the steel-eyed girl rejected her claims, "I know you heard me singing that song right from the start."
"When my fragile heart is decorated with frills, it squeals in delight" she grinned as she faced the younger girl, her eyes coming close to slit, "It dreams of a love sweeter than chocolate coming to visit her someday…"
Mio mentally screamed; this was the first time someone heard her sing a song about herself let alone a stranger whom she met yesterday was the first person who witnessed the side she tried to suppress the most.
The brunette chuckled, smiling at the girl who blushed furiously from her teasing, "So… where's the woman who was with you yesterday?"
"You mean… my grandmother?"
Ritsu nodded while she kept her hands tucked, waiting for Mio's answer, "She's not here" the latter answered, "she left earlier this morning to settle things in my hometown."
"I see, so you're home alone now…" the brunette tilted her head before curving her lips into a sinister smile, "so… would you mind playing with me the entire day?"
"W-what?" Mio left agape; the amber-eyed girl's words were too suggestive enough to be taken as an innuendo, being vague with her proposal at the same time had Mio hysterically search for the right answer - deducing whether the girl meant to spend the day doing things like strolling on the area or the other way around.
Ritsu minimized the distance between her and the raven-haired girl. Their lips almost met each other. The former stared on Mio's face before the younger girl closed her eyes. The poor girl felt her emotions going haywire; this is the first time someone had their face as close as hers, only just inches away before she'll get her first kiss in her fifteen years!
Her heartbeat went wild, her breathing became uneven. Cold sweat started dripping on her cheeks; she's on the verge of blocking rationality at this point of time.
The brunette cupped her hand on Mio's face, her tantalizing amber orbs added to the growing tension. "You got chocolate near your lips" wiping the remnants of the food much to the raven-haired girl's embarrassment.
"B-baka!" She hit her tormentor on the head, earning a loud yelp from Ritsu, "You could have just told me, I can wipe it on my own."
Ritsu held her head for a while before she switched into a predatory grin, "Heh… Acting tough, huh? I bet there's a moment when you thought I'm going to brush my lips against yours?"
This girl!
"Okay, okay… I'll stop fooling around" the brunette shrugged, not wanting to get another free hit in her aching head, "So, I'm going to repeat this once again… would you like to play with me?" her tone sounded gentle as if she wanted Mio to accompany her in her little adventure around the tranquil place.
"Well… if you're fine with me while I'm walking in crutches, then I don't mind."
Tilting her head while her face showing hints of confusion, "You don't have to walk. I'll carry you on my back instead."
The raven-haired girl was surprised with the brunette's blunt suggestion, she refused without delay, "N-no. I can manage on my own."
"No need to be shy, Ms. Pretty face." She smiled, "Your Ritsu-senpai's gonna carry you. After all, I am the one who insisted with this idea."
Still keeping a stubborn act, Mio gave up when Ritsu knelt on her knees while her hands clasped each other, trying to look as pitiful as possible to win her approval, "I give up… Do as you please."
After the steel-eyed girl's submission, Ritsu happily stood from her knees while pumping her fists in the air. She was really happy... undeniably happy. Vexed with the older girl's stunts, Mio can't help but to think that Ritsu's not acting upon her age. She's the childish one between the two of them yet she admired how the girl was too honest in herself - her actions devoid of any superficiality.
"So… you ready, Mio?"
The girl snapped back from her little musing, picking up the remaining dignity left when in just a short span of time, the brunette succeeded to render Mio off-guard. That's not all, this was the first time Ritsu called her by her name without honorifics; it felt like she was friends with her for years but no, she had to shake that fictitious belief that was building up on her mind.
Right before her eyes, Ritsu's back was facing her, inviting her to accept her offer. She reluctantly accepted her invitation, slowly slipping her creamy legs onto Ritsu's arms then let out a squeak when the brunette stood up from her position while carrying Mio on her back. The raven-haired girl gently wrapped her arms around Ritsu's neck to which she felt blood rushing down her face, at the same time saw a huge scar surrounding the brunette's posterior neck. Judging by appearance alone, the wound must somehow be a major one with a clean-cut look extending from her common carotid artery until to the other lateral aspect of her neck.
Mio, drawn with the perfection of the scar, subconsciously traced its length starting from the distal then to the proximal side using her left index finger. "How did you get this scar?"
Pure silence enveloped the area; the brunette hadn't moved an inch when the raven-haired girl suddenly asked such an unexpected query. Perhaps that subject should never be brought up but Ritsu answered Mio's question without a hint of anger; instead, she said it in a much ridiculous way that even grownup kids will never buy such petty excuse.
"I rescued a princess from danger" she giggled, "then when I strutted my way towards the main area, my neck got slit by the tiger's claws."
'A princess? A tiger?' All Ritsu's words were nonsensical in every way - a messed up fairytale about the knight's comical adventure to rescue the damsel in distress. She could be more creative or make the story believable if she just said something like she got it from an accident.
Ritsu resumed her pace; right now, they were walking on a path surrounded by high trees, vines wrapping around its sturdy trunks. A speck of light escaped the trees' thick leaves, illuminating a portion of the forest. Mio wandered her eyes for a bit, watching the beautiful scenery while the birds chirruped as they continued to make their way with no known destination.
"Hey, I want to ask something" the amber-eyed asked, "what's the name of that song you sung earlier in your house?"
Here they go again; the brunette was really good in making Mio pissed. Only a certain amount of force was enough to choke Ritsu with Mio's frail-like arms but the latter didn't attempt to commit such barbaric move.
The younger girl cleared her throat, responding to the brunette's question with a low voice, "...Hello…"
"Hello?"
"Hello little girl" then she buried her face on the brunette's back, expecting to laugh at her for the childishness of the song's name. She was blushing furiously; anytime by now, she could really burst into tears.
Yet Ritsu didn't laugh instead she complimented it, "I see… the title fits the song." Somehow, it is still a mystery on how the mind of the older girl works. She could be sweet during unexpected times but most of the time, wears her signature grin that could be interpreted as the one who spent life inflicting malice to her poor victims.
They continued their conversation, not knowing that it was past noon already. It felt like minutes when actually they've been walking for two hours already without halt. The brunette, energetic as always, never showed signs of exhaustion; it seems that she's really used to it while Mio felt guilty for making the girl do all the hardwork.
Not wanting to admit that she got immersed to their conversation, she found Ritsu's company peculiar… and relaxing. They're different ingredients in a concoction yet when mashed together has proven to have a synergistic effect. However, she has yet to ascertain the older girl's true nature especially…. when she felt a series of familiar sensations whenever it has something to do with the latter.
"Here we are, Ojou-sama."
Mio found herself astonished on the scenery before her. Currently, they're on top of the hill while they took shade under the leaves of the maple tree. The entirety of the remote place could be seen in the spot where they are now standing. On her west lies a small village, their ancestral house could be easily spotted: a two-storey house with a grey roof, surrounded with lots of trees and high walls that created a barrier between the rich and the middleclass.
She sighed mentally, and then shifted her focus to her right, revealing the industrious part of the far-flung place. Tall buildings crowded around the small area yet compared to the busy streets of Tokyo, the latter was second to none.
It's a shame that it tries its best to keep up with the world's shift towards modernization when almost all the people went to test their luck to the well-known places in Japan. 'It's really a ghost town' she shuddered in fear when came across the word she tried not to mention in the very least but she couldn't find an accurate description to describe the place. On her middle what separates the peaceful to the aspirants, was a lake; its water almost crystal clear, reflecting the clouds and birds that passed by.
The hill where they set foot could be used as part of encouraging tourism in the area yet regrettably, no one had notice such beauty in this remote place, disregarding it when compared to the top prefectures.
"I'm going to pick some fruits. Probably, you're hungry by now" said the older girl while letting Mio enjoy every piece her vision could capture. She carefully bent her knees while allowing the steel-eyed girl to find a comfortable spot to sit on. She leaned on the trunk, resting her back on the maple tree's smooth surface.
Ritsu smiled before she waved goodbye to the girl to proceed on her task to pick some fruits. The latter nodded then she watched the older girl's back until her shadow's gone for good.
All of a sudden, Mio felt her eyes getting heavy. Maybe the long walk and talk with Ritsu has drained more energy than what she had expected. The gentle breeze and the birds humming together lulled her to sleep.
+FLASHBACK+
"Otosan… Are we going to see the stars today?"
"Gomen ne, Mio. The heavy rain wouldn't allow us to see the stars on sky… Maybe next time" he patted the head of her little daughter who was on the verge of crying.
The man sighed; he never wanted a sight where his precious Mio's disheartened. He suggested something to uplift her spirits, "Mio, let's make a teru teru bozu to wish the rain away. Maybe we could still see the stars."
Delighted, she agreed on her father's proposal. They hung white dolls with a smiley-face on their windows hoping that the rain would subside yet it never did.
Supposedly, there's a meteor shower that will occur on that night but because of the heavy pouring, they were not able to witness such rare event. Mio was looking forward to it, wanting to wish something to the stars but it never happened again. The rain stole her happiness on that very day.
Tears started to flow on her cheeks, overwhelmed by the pain brought by breaking a promise. Then long before she knew, a taste of salt reached her lips… it was her tears that woke her up on her dream.
+END of FLASHBACK+
She opened her eyes, only to be surprised to see Ritsu above her face and it was already late too! The moon had already replaced the sun on the skies, her light shone magnificently on the entire place. She tried to raise a question to the girl who never moved an inch since her awakening, "What do you think you're doing?" their breaths felt each other.
The brunette smirked, as if she was certain enough to assume what the raven-haired girl was thinking at this very moment. "Well, you look beautiful awake or asleep" she paused before her smile widened than ever before, "but you really look more beautiful when you're bathed with the moon's light."
That remark almost made Mio to lose her composure until the brunette gradually slipped away from her field of vision. Ritsu stood up and walked a few meters away from the younger girl's position, "Great timing!"
Confused, Mio tilted her head while twitching her eyebrows, implying to further elaborate what the older girl meant with her exclamation.
"Well you see… there's a meteor shower tonight! It's been all over the news and this is the spot where you could enjoy every last bit of it!"
She couldn't believe it, she had just dreamt about the broken promise a while ago and then by the time she woke up, her past crawled back today except that her father would no longer watch the stars with her but with a certain peculiar lady.
"It's already time. Never blink an eye, Mio" she grinned before she turned around to face the night sky filled with bright stars, "Don't forget to make a wish!"
A series of lights appeared in the sky, glowing vibrantly as it entered the earth's atmosphere before it disappeared. The raven-haired girl closed her eyes, making a wish under the bright-lit sky then she opened her eyes to watch the remaining lights continue their way towards the earth until it came to an end.
"Woah, that's too short for an event!" a girl yelled, disappointed on the duration of the meteor shower. She glanced at the younger girl, "So… did you like my surprise? You see… it's my little way of saying thanks for taking care of my wounds yesterday" embarrassed that it was just as simple as that, scratching the back of her head while waiting for Mio's verdict.
"Thank you" Mio smiled for the first time, genuinely expressing her gratitude to the brunette who went throughout the trouble just to repay the kindness she had shown to her when treating her wounds.
"I see… Glad that it catered to your taste" she handed the younger girl an apple, "eat your fill while I'll carry you back home."
Along the way with just the moon as their source of illumination, Ritsu carried Mio on her back. The latter should be scared knowing that she couldn't stand being exposed in darkness while the eerie chirps of the insects should left her unconscious in this very moment. Miraculously, she didn't shivered in fear maybe because she felt secured whenever she's with Ritsu - a feeling she had earlier when their bodies met for the first time.
"Say…" the amber-eyed tried to break the deafening silence, "what did you wish during the meteor shower?"
Mio curved her lips slightly while smiling teasingly, "Not telling."
The older girl felt a little disappointed but she laughed when she declared her wish loudly, "Well, I asked the stars to grant me the capability to save a damsel in distress once again!"
Stifling a laugh, Mio couldn't believe on the level of ridiculousness of the amber-eyed girl. She was really certain that she really got loose screws on her head. She watched the moon above before she buried her face onto Ritsu's back, whiffing her sweet scent that brought her little euphoria.
I asked the stars to grant me the wish to look for the person who will love me as I am and not the Akiyama Mio whom the society had created out from the course of pretension.
A/N: Hi, IQzero here. So… I lied when I said that the fourth chapter will take time. Actually, this should be posted next week but luckily, I got a spare time to kill so I have decided to write it before things get more complicated.
So, I'm going to thank the following people:
-Guest: Hi, there. Thank you very much. Yes, I made Ritsu the older one so Mio could build a trusting relationship knowing that older girls should be more reliable but I doubt Ritsu's exhibiting that kind of quality but she does unexpectedly.
-Raine1o1: Hahaha, yes. I know you have lots of ideas up your sleeve so a little help wouldn't hurt because newcomers should rely to their senpais. Kidding aside, thank you for giving the third chapter a review although I have to admit that the fluff was a little bit forced because I ran out of any ideas.
-Gia B87: Thanks, you made my day too by giving reviews. Hope you'll be looking forward for the next chapter.
-Keeper Aki: Thank you for adding this story to your list as well as for dropping a review. Hahaha, you got the same reaction with my fellow reviewer here. But nevertheless, thank you very much.
-To you readers out there: Thank you very much for reading this story.
Well in this chapter, Ritsu thanked Mio by letting her witness the meteor shower which should happen at that very day. This is her way of saying thanks when the younger girl treated her wounds. Granny went to the city to settle things especially that she had to take care of their family business, Autumn, knowing that the previous owners died from an accident.
The song Mio sung was entitled, "Hello little girl." It's her character song but I don't know if it fits the situation. I just searched the web for the translation while listening to that song. So… thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated. This time, I'm going to say this for sure: the next update will take time. Please bear with me.
well... uhmm.. five's available.