Chapter 22 – Tropical Tea Time
Miharu's POV
"W-We're here!" Mugi yelled out as we met up with the others at the airport.
"Geez, you guys. We were about to leave without you." Ritsu said.
"S-Sorry. Miharu overslept."
"Ugh. Damnit. Why the hell is this flight so freaking early? Je suis tellement fatigue." I whined.
"I-I did tell you to…g-go to bed early…M-Miharu-san." Mikuru said. She was currently hiding behind Yoriko due to her anxiety acting up. I'm honestly surprised that she made it this far.
"Isn't 12:34 am early?"
"N-No. I-It is not."
"*sigh* Whatever. I'll just sleep on the plane."
"Well, that should make everyone now." Mio said.
"Aw. I really wish you were able to come, Tamura-san." Yui said.
"I wish I can too, Yui. But Golden Week is yet another one of those holidays in which tourism goes through the roof. There's going to be a lot of people looking for a place to stay for the next ten days."
"Will you be okay by yourself?" Ui asked. "With Miharu-senpai, Mugi-senpai, and Mikuru-chan gone…"
"I already got that covered. My step-niece Iyo said that she and her college friends were willing to help out. They could use the extra money right about now."
"I see."
"Come to think about it, why isn't Sawako going with you?"
"She said that she was busy with something and will catch up on a later date." Ritsu said. "What that something actually is…"
"Oh, God…" Mio and Azusa shuttered in fear.
"*sigh* Even on a national holiday, that woman is up to no good." Yoriko said with a slightly annoyed tone.
She must really not like Sawako, huh?
*Chūi, jōkyaku. Okinawa hontō e chokkō-bin 1364-bin ga 15-bu-go ni shuppatsu shimasu. Shuppatsu made 15-bu.*
"Crap! We only got fifteen minutes!" Ritsu yelled in a panic.
"Geez! It's because we had to wait for Miharu-senpai!" Jun yelled.
"Well, excuse me for wanting to sleep…"
"Just let it go, Miharu." Mugi said to me. "Come on, Mikuru-chan. I'll help you."
"Um…o-okay. G-Goodbye…M-Mother."
"Have fun, girls. And good luck with your performance." Yoriko waved us off as we all made a mad dash to the terminal to catch our flight. My second time going on a plane and it's taking me to a tropical island.
I wonder what mess will happen there…
*ONE 2 ½ HOUR FLIGHT LATER…*
"Miharu…Miharu…"
"*tired moan*"
"Come on, Miharu…"
"No, man…You gotta go into the…Zzz…Nissan Maximas. Not the…Zzz…Nissan Altimas. It's under the…Zzz…Regis Philbin. Not that far down. That's…Zzz…That's the Nissan Sentras. Just keep…Zzz…getting it right in the Pathfinder…Zzz…"
"What the hell? Miharu, please wake up."
"H-Huh? Mugi? Wh-What happened?"
"You were talking in your sleep. Something about…Nissan cars and…whoever the hell Regis Philbin is."
"O-Oh, sorry." I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. "I was thinking of this TV show that I like to watch. It's truly funny as hell."
"I see…" Mugi gained a sweatdrop. I bet she still thinks that I'm a weirdo for dreaming about the full line of Nissan and a guy named Regis Philbin.
Who the hell is that guy, anyway?
"Anyway, what's happening?" I asked.
"Oh, right. We arrived in Okinawa. We're about to land soon. So, I woke you up."
"Really? That was fast." I then looked out the window and saw what looked like a tropical paradise just flying on by. "Woah…this is Okidna? It's freaking huge."
"It's Okinawa, Miharu." Mugi gained another sweatdrop.
"Wow…never did I think that we would be performing in a festival on Okinawa Island. This is so cool!" Yui cheered from the window behind us.
"I know." Ritsu said. "And we'll make such a mark here that people of Okinawa will never forget the name Hō-kago Tea Time!"
"Ritsu, don't yell on the plane." Mio scolded her.
"Wait, was that the name? I already forgot."
"Why must you make things difficult?" Ritsu said to me with an exasperated look.
"Hey, guys." Azusa said while looking on her phone. "Do we know any of the other performers at this music festival? I'm not finding any on the official site."
"From what Sawa-chan told me, the list is being kept a secret. There are apparently rumors of a big-time celeb being a part of it."
"Big-time celeb? Like a singer or something?" Mio asked.
"Who knows. We'll just have to wait until we get there."
"Until we get there…*sigh*" Mugi to herself with a sad tone.
"You're still worried, aren't you?" I asked her.
"Well…I would be lying if I said I wasn't."
"Don't worry, Mugi." Ritsu said. "If anything happens, we'll be there to back you up."
"We're bandmates and more importantly best friends." Yui added.
"Agreed." Mio and Azusa chimed in.
"See, Mugi? We'll all here for you. If we run into that Pricky Prickerson and he tries to do something, we'll be there to stop it all. Just trust us on this. Please?"
"Everyone…" Mugi went silent for a bit. Then giggled a bit as she grew a small smile on her face. "…Thank you…everyone. All of you are truly my best friends."
"No problem, Mugi." The five of us said.
*Chūi, jōkyaku. Nahakūkō ni chakuriku shimasu. Chakuseki shite shītoberuto o shimete kudasai. Jettosutājapan o go riyō itadaki arigatōgozaimasu. Mata o ai dekiru koto o tanoshiminishiteimasu.*
"Woo-hoo! We're here! We're finally here!"
"Jun-chan, please calm down!" We heard Ui and Jun yelling from behind us.
"Man…soon, we're about to experience island life." Ritsu said.
"I know, I'm so excited." I said.
"Oh. Just one more thing, Miharu."
"Yeah, Mu…"
*FLICK*
"Ow!" I whined after Mugi finger-flicked me in the forehead.
"Pricky Prickerson? Really?"
"I was hoping you would notice that, Mugi." Mio said with a sweatdrop.
"Man…Daddy's Girls are a total pain."
"I couldn't agree with you more, Miharu." Ritsu said to me.
We all soon got off of the plane and grabbed our bags. And now, we were standing outside. Witnessing the tropical scenery that is…uh…wait…
"Psst. Hey, Mugi. How do you say it again?"
"Okinawa."
Right. What she said.
"Wow…so this is Okinawa Island." Nodoka said in amassment.
"It's everything I thought of it to be. Clear blue sky, sandy beaches, the right amount of heat…it's truly amazing." Himeko said.
"Alright, girls." Ritsu said. "We're here in Okinawa…let's do some sightseeing!"
"Um…Ritsu-senpai. Should we not head for the hotel, first?"
"Yeah, I totally wouldn't want to carry these bags everywhere." I said. "Nice idea, uh…S…Sumire."
"Okay, now I am certain that you are just…wait. What did you just call me?"
"Uh…Sumire? Why, did I get wrong again?"
"Y-You…Y-You ACTUALLY got my name right?!"
"I may have given her a few extra lessons in that regard." Nodoka said.
"Nodoka-senpai…"
"I really am sorry for getting your name wrong time and time again, Sumire." I said. "It's just…well, with me being a foreigner, I didn't know any Japanese. So, it just took a while."
"See, Sumire?" Mugi said to her extremely young maid. "Miharu's not that bad of a person. So, please end this one-sided grudge against her."
"Ojōsama…W-Well, fine." Sumire crossed her arms and looked away from us. "It's not like I have to start liking her right away. For now, I accept your apology, Miharu-ojōsama."
"Um…Thanks, Sumire." I said.
"I sense a tsundere…"
"I-I am NOT a tsundere!" Sumire then yelled at Jun with a light blush on her face.
"What's a tsundere?" I asked Mugi.
"It's…complicated."
Well, that didn't help at all…
"Hey, guys." Ui called out to us. "This bus over here will take us to the hotel. It even passes the venue where the music festival is held."
"I saved us some seats! Come on!" Yui yelled out from inside the bus.
"Alright. Let's go…"
"Dibs on the front seat!" Jun yelled as she ran towards the bus. Pushing Ritsu out of the way in the process.
"H-Hey! No way, Jun! I get the front seat!"
"I already got it!" Yui teased with an added bonus of sticking her tongue out at the two.
"What?! No way!"
"The three of them are like children…" Mio said with a facepalm.
"Well, I'm already used to it with Onee-chan…" Ui said with a sweatdrop.
"We're in for one hell of a vacation…" Azusa said with a combination of both.
"So. Ready to go, Miharu?" Mugi asked me.
"Yep. Let's enjoy ourselves in Okukuwawa, baby!"
"Seriously?"
"Nah. I'm just screwing with you. I knew how to say it the whole time."
"Do you want me to finger-flick you again?"
"Pl-Please, don't. It hurts like hell." I said with a little nervousness inside me.
Mugi then just giggled at me before grabbing my hand and rushing me along with her to the bus.
"You are a strange sister, Miharu." She said with a smile.
I'll take that as a compliment…
Author's Note: The girls have arrived in Okinawa. Their 10-day vacation has finally begun. Now they'll experience the island life as they prepare for the music festival.
9 more chapters until the story ends. And from the next chapter onwards, I'm going to do something…a little bold. It may be bold, but it will definitely prove that I don't follow the regular story guidelines of this site. The timelines, the character personalities, the amount of original characters, the ships, all of that crap. It's all ridiculous as hell.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Later.