If you're thinking what someone as young and graceful as Ritsu Tainaka would be doing at a dingy old bookstore on a beautiful sunny day, well… you'd be right in thinking it was pretty odd to say the least. Partly seeking shelter from the brutal summer heat but mostly waiting for her best friend Mio so she can scare the living hell out of her, Ritsu peaks out from one of the few rows of books in the store and looks toward the door. Mio has been on and on about this smelly old place for weeks now, and ever since summer has started she's been planning her trip to this old dump all week.
Ritsu isn't usually a fan of books, but looking around she can actually see the appeal. It's not really a dump, that was cruel to say. The rustic ambiance is actually quite relaxing and, dare she say it? Calming her!? Okay, no way is she staying here, it's too much calm for so much summer! Geez, where the hell was Mio? Ritsu had been waiting for over half an hour now, but doubt started to set in when her raven haired friend didn't show up.
"Is she lost? Maybe something happened… Nah, Mio is too responsible for tha-" Ritsu started pondering out loud about Mio's whereabouts when in the corner of her eye she spotted a familiar flow of shiny brown hair.
"Miss Sawako? What's she doing in this neighborhood?" Suspicious, yet intrigued, Ritsu forgot about her prank on Mio and walked out of the booksture to set her energy on shadowing their lazy teacher. "Damn, maybe she's meeting up with someone. Oh Lord, a lover? I gotta see this!" grinning at the prospect of some juicy inside details on her admittedly favorite teacher, Ritsu quietly sneaked behind a tree trying not to seem too suspicious to others while simultaneously staying out of sight from Sawako.
Sawako was by no means the perfect teacher she let everyone believe. In the clubroom she's lazy and glutenous like the rest of them, however it's this real side of Sawako that Ritsu really enjoyed and loved. It's great she can just be herself with the girls without judgment. Despite being and sounding annoyed a lot at the teacher's antics, Ritsu really enjoyed her company in the clubroom.
Sawako suddenly rounded a corner that took Ritsu off guard. Now, why would she sneak into an alleyway? That's definitely suspish. Ritsu was standing behind a vending machine at this point contemplating her next move. There was nothing else that could aid in hiding her if Sawako happened to come out of the alleyway. Thinking it would be okay Ritsu took a chance and walked over. Just as she turned the corner she was met with Sawako's Death Devil signature glare.
"The hell you doing, kid?" Using her raspy stage voice to scare the amber haired girl, Ritsu jumped and let out a little yelp. "Hu-hey, uh, Sawa, haha 'sup, girl?" Ritsu sputtered out random words, trying not to sound nervous for getting caught or guilty for trying to follow her teacher.
Sawako could only laugh at this. Kids these days, you know? Boundaries aren't what they were back then. The amber eyed girl looked at her teacher. She was dressed in her signature rave clothing, just some ripped jeans, comfy sneakers and a tank top with... Was that a faded Iron Maiden band shirt? Ritsu couldn't stare for long before Sawako spoke up.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. I was just heading out to a hidden festival, actually. Wanna come with?" Sawako's offer seemed rather genuine. Her bubbly demeanor had returned and with a hand on her hip she was smiling almost as warmly as it was hot outside. "Hold on, are you alone? Where's Mio? You two usually hang out together, right?"
"Nah, Mio ghosted me. I was supposed to scare her at the bookstore a few blocks back but she never showed." A twinge of annoyance cracked through Ritsu's voice. She hadn't hung out with Mio in seven days and it was summer! How could she do- Wait hold on. "Wait, hold on, whaddya mean we usually hang out together? Because Mio and I are totally our own person you know, and we can hang out with other people, too!" Before long Ritsu started rambling on about her and Mio being their own woman, a faint blush across her face. It was too hot for this shit so Sawako dismissed her ramblings. Cutting in with a sigh she went "Okay, okay. Sorry for mentioning it. But my offer still stands. I think the festival will do you good. It's kind of like a mini carnival with a bunch of rides and games. Some bands are also said to perform." That last part was enticing. Ritsu briefly thought about it, but needed no more swaying.
"Off to the festival then! So where is it?" Looking expectantly at her favorite teach she grinned broadly. Happy to shut the yappy teenager up, Sawako started walking, Ritsu right beside her, but then stopped again and had a look of udder cluelessness. "Oh, well honestly I have no idea. It's literally a hidden festival and Janice didn't give me clear instructions on where to find it.". Sawako seemed as lost as she was the day she was born, trying to contact this Janice person probably, as she tapped away at her phone.
Annoyance was setting in again as it started sounding like Sawako would be literally of no friggin help to her. Groaning, she said "Man, seriously? Alright let's just do something else then. Ain't no way I'm heading back home this early.". Sawako laughed. Ritsu, always loving to make people laugh, straightened her back. Gaining a bit more confidence, she proclaimed "Don't worry Sawa, I'll take you somewhere fun. Leave it to me!". Sawako tried to protest, but noticing Ritsu's big strides she followed suit. "Hey but wait, where are we going? I was really looking forward to that festival, though… Wait, Ritsu!". Ritsu wasn't having any of it. If today was a Sawako day, then today would be a Sawako day and she will drag that woman to wherever the wind can carry them to.
"So, Sawa… um, got any plans for the summer?". Ritsu had started walking at a leisurely pace again. She tried making small talk with the ditzy teacher, but what are you supposed to say to a teacher? How's school? So weird. Sawako started to visibly relax though as they walked along a riverbank heading to God knows where.
"Ha, plans? I wanted to spend some time with my boyfriend, but he's not returning my calls at the moment. Tch, well his loss I suppose. This year I just want it to be all about me!" Sawako huffed, her cheeks puffed and her facy comically swollen. Ritsu glanced at her teacher. She can be pretty sad, huh? Or I guess it's just her way of coping.
Before long they crossed a bridge over the river and started heading to a park. It wasn't very popular, which was unfathomable, because it was gorgeous, especially in the summertime. "So, will I be informed of where we're going, then?" Ritsu forgot to tell her. Damn I hope she doesn't think I wanna kidnap her or something.
Sheepishly grinning, the amber eyed girl scratched her cheek before replying "Oh yeah, sorry about that, haha. We're going to my favorite park. It's not very crowded because it's so out of ways from the busy city center, and there's this awesome sort of store unit in the middle where you can buy albums, costumes, books and comics. Mio and I love to come here when we need a distraction from life.".
Y'know what, maybe she does always hang out with Mio. Suddenly lost in her thoughts about Mio, Ritsu looked back at all of the times she's done something. Rarely was there a scenario where she didn't include Mio in her plans. Damn Sawa, she's right Mio and I do hang out a lot. Not that it was a bad thing, however. Girls just being girls. Right? Or…
"Oh wow, that sounds like fun!" Ritsu snapped back to reality. Sawako was grinning, probably also glad to at least be doing something fun today, instead of getting lost looking for some random festival. "You know I used to love doing these kinds of things with my friends when I was younger. We would hang out at the mall and look at albums for inspiration for our own K-On club band." Sawako reminisced fondly as she looked out in front of her, smiling at the nostalgia. Ritsu smiled. I guess Sawako and I aren't so different after all. Just two people trying to live life I guess.
"Ah, I can see the bookstore already!" Sawako was pretty into it. There was a pep in her step that Ritsu loved seeing. The kind where someone is giddy with a sort of innocent joy. Maybe this is just what Sawako needed, and Ritsu would make sure she had a great day today! It'll be like her good deed for the day. Unfortunately the bookstore was closed, but Ritsu's favorite shop, the costume shop, was open. "Don't worry, Sawachu, let's go to the costume shop. They also sell trinkets and other fun or silly things here. I get most of my props from here." Grinning a bit devilish, Ritsu looked around like a leery old man as she started scouring for items to scare Mio with. Sawako, genuinely confused, cocked her head, but ultimately decided not to engage and walked down the isles with Ritsu.
For such a small shop, they really did have a lot of interesting things. Both Sawako and Ritsu very quickly realized they have the same kind of humor as they sampled certain items, trying to make the other laugh as hard as they can. Wearing masks and modelling weird costumes, dancing around and being silly or imagining wearing them during their concerts.
It was the most fun both of them had had in a while.
"Man, it's been so long since I've laughed so much my stomach hurt." Sawako wiped a tear from her eyes and tried to control herself. "This was a really fun idea, Ritsu." Quite pleased with herself, Ritsu grinned. She was glad Sawako was enjoying herself. And… She was also pleased to notice she enjoyed herself as well. Who knew this day would turn out to be like this?
Just then her phone buzzed. She glanced at her screen. Ah it's Mugi. Wasn't she supposed to be in Finland? Wait, hold on, what time is it?! They had been in the shop for over four hours now! That's never happened before. Usually she or Mio would get bored after half an hour and then leave. Ritsu wondered about it again. There she is, thinking about Mio again.
"Damn her."
"Huh? What's up, Ritsu?" Sawako walked over, her fist clenched and clearly holding something. "Do you need to leave?" Ritsu grinned sheepishly. "No, Mugi just texted." Oh shit Mugi just texted. Ritsu quickly opened the text.
'Ricchan, there's a fun little hidden festival going on here. Yui and Azusa and Ui are here too. Come join? Texting Mio to come too!'
"Well I'll be damned, Sawa, Mugi is at a hidden festival, probably that one where you were gonna go. Wanna come with? She sent me the location as well, so we can easily find it." This day was alrady awesome, but the thought of seeing her friends again gave Ritsu a new found spark of energy.
"Oh hell yeah, let's go! Oh but hold on, I have something for you." Ritsu cocked her head. What's this now? Something for me? Sawako opened her hand, revealing a silver keychain with a tiny raccoon pendant on it with an even tinier yellow backpack. "It's to commemorate our day, if you will. I'm not sure how, but I feel like I needed a carefree day like today and I just want to thank you for bringing me along." Sawako smiled. There's that genuine sincere smile of hers. This is why our peers think she's a sweet wholesome lady. Ritsu took the keychain. It was definitely adorable and so sweet of Sawako to do this.
"No problem, Sawachuan. Now, come on! Festival foods await us! I'm starving. Did you notice we've been in here for almost four hours? Crazy!" Ritsu texted Mugi back to confirm and they went off to the festival, still laughing and cracking jokes along the way.
Surprisingly it wasn't very far from where they were. They needed to go over a hill, and then turn left and walk five minutes to a huge gated park. Walking towards the south end corner of that park there were faint noises of music and carnival rides to be heard. A sweet smelling breeze hit them as they neared the festival. "One thing's for sure, they did a good job hiding it, visually at least. You can't see a thing!"
Just then near the entrance she spotted her friends. Mugi and Yui were in an almost heated argument and Azusa and Ui just looked visibly annoyed.
"Hey guys! What's going on? We're here, I bought Sawa with me."
"Ricchan settle this for us will ya? Mugi says the yakisoba is the best festival food, but I told her it's incomparable to takoyaki. What do you think, Ricchan? It's the takoyaki, right?" Yui was distressed, her eyes a fiery passion as she eagerly waited for her friend's reaction, fists clenched and shaking. Ritsu chuckled nervously. This was the whole argument? She glanced at Azusa who had a "don't ask" kind of look. "Well, I mean-".
"Catharine! There you are!" Just then, the lady from the live house appeared in front of them. Wait, Catharine? Who's that? She walked towards Sawako who held out her arms ready for a hug.
"Janice! You gave me shitty directions, girl, I could not find this place for the life of me." Sawako tried to feign annoyance, but couldn't as she smiled and hugged her friend.
"Well you're here, so come on, the others are waiting for you. Nori is drunk off her ass and she decided she wants to open a flip flip hut." They laughed and Sawako said her goodbyes to the girls before going with her friend into the festival. Well, at least she's with her friends now, right? Ritsu smiled. It's good to see Sawako happy like that.
"Ritsu! Where were you? I was looking for you at your house, but you weren't there." Right behind her stood her raven haired friend. Slightly red in the face, and a weary smile gracing her features. Ritsu was startled because she hadn't seen Mio standing behind her, but smiled as she started to apologize.
"Ah hey! I'm so sorry, Mio, I-" Wait, no, why was I apologizing again? I didn't do anything wrong, right? Genuinely confused, Ritsu started pondering again.
"Mio, Mio, you're here! Maybe you can settle our issue!" Yui was not gonna let this go. She needed the mighty takoyaki to win! Trying to get her mind off it Ui gently ushered her sister towards the entrance. "Come on, sis, let's go check out the shaved ice stand. I'm parched." And as soon as Ui said shaved ice Yui couldn't even think about takoyaki anymore. They all started walking inside leaving Mio and Ritsu behind, knowing smiles on their faces as it was evident they needed to talk before they could go in.
"Sorry I blew you off this week, Ritsu." Mio mumbled, a but embarassed at her behaviour. Ritsu snapped back to reality. That's right she did blow Ritsu off this week. A whole week! "It's just been a bit difficult dealing with some, um, stuff. Some personal stuff." Hearing this made Ritsu sad. They're supposed to be best friends right? At the very least Ritsu should be able to cheer her up. But she knew better than to pry in these situations. When Mio is ready she'll tell her.
"Awh it's okay Mio. I was kind of scared I did something bad-".
"N-no way! You didn't do anything, promise! I just needed some time to myself, honestly. I've just been having confusing feelings and I wanted to be left alone to process them."
Ritsu Grinned. She couldn't help but poke a little fun at Mio, and considering she wasn't able to for a week she had to get back into the game. "Well these feelings aren't about me are they, hmm?" Lightening the mood by being annoying is Ritsu's forte. Mio realized this and her blush crept behind her ears before she hid her face in the pal of her hands.
A muffled sound emitted from Mio's face "Stupid, Ritsu." Ritsu smiled, a soft content look in her eyes as she looked at her childhood best friend with pure adoration. Yeah. I am. "Come on, let's go join the others."
Hi all,
Thanks for reading! It's been a long time since I've tried my hand at writing again. I hope you enjoyed this little slice of fluff. Please leave a comment/review, give your honest opnions, I'd love to know!
Disclaimer: Not my characters, just my imagination.