瑠宇
~
"I have homeroom in the morning. Then back-to-back classes from the first to the third period. At lunch, I take the anemic girl home. During the fifth period, I check around campus for anyone who's cutting classes. After school, I instruct the wind band, which has a concert soon." Sawako rambled her troubles onto us.
"And that's how you end up like this," Yui concluded.
"Yes." Sawako lowered her head.
"You really are on your feet all day." Mio sympathized.
"Why don't you wear massaging sandals?" Yui suggests.
"I can't!" Sawako declines. "I'm trying to appear elegant to the freshmen."
"I think you might be overreacting," I say.
"Maybe we should tell them about your days in the Light Music Club," Ritsu suggested. "'In reality, I used to be like this!'" Ritsu pulled out a picture of a rather... different-looking Sawako.
"I can see the resemblance," I say; I look at the picture and then to Sawako.
"No!" Sawako swipes the picture from Ritsu. "You don't understand, do you? Any carelessness at school will lead to disaster. If that past of mine is uncovered... They'll become delinquents, like how I used to be. I won't be able to get them to listen to me anymore."
"You're taking it too far," Azusa says, unimpressed.
A buzzing coming from Sawako's pocket interrupts us.
"E-Excuse me," Sawako takes the phone out of her pocket.
"You're going to answer it?" Ritsu says.
"H-Hello?" Sawako answers her phone. "Shoot!" Her sudden proclamation grabs everyone's attention. "Wh-Why are you calling me now?" Sawako turns back to us. "I-I'll be right back!" She stands up and leaves the room.
"Very suspicious." Azusa points out.
"'Wh-Why are you calling me now?!'" Ritsu mocks, causing everyone to chuckle.
"By the way, this morning..." Mugi interjected
~
"You saw something like that?" Mio asked Mugi. We all started to make our way home as Mugi had told us what she saw beforehand.
"She got a ride to school this morning, and they fought before the car left," Ritsu summarized. "And then she was surprised by a call after school. The prime suspect would be Sawa-chan's..." We all gasped at Ritsu's deductive skills.
"No way!" Azusa exclaimed in surprise.
"Her mother?!" Despite being wrong, Yui seemed so confident in her answer.
"Yui, stop thinking." Azusa sighed.
"How come?" Yui questioned.
"She's not a child." Azusa made clear.
"S-Speaking of her..." Mio drew our attention to the person in question.
"There's Sawa-chan!" Yui shouted.
"Look how suspicious she's acting," Ritsu says. We all hid behind a nearby tree.
"This isn't her normal route home," Mio told us.
"Oh, you sound like a detective!" Yui says.
"Why are we hiding?" I ask.
"Let's follow her." Ritsu ignored me.
"Hey!" Azusa stopped Ritsu from getting any closer to Sawako. "Should we really do this? What if she sees us?"
"She turned left!" Mugi says eagerly. "Hurry!"
"Mugi's the most enthusiastic!" Azusa is surprised.
"What about Y/N?" Azusa changes the subject.
"What about me?" I say, perplexed. "And why am I always a bargaining chip?"
"Don't you need to go home?"
"Ever since Yui ran past my house — at night... in the rain... — I haven't been told to come home early as much as I used to. I think Futaba sees me as a sort of guardian for Yui."
"When did Yui run past your house in the rain..?" Mio raises her eyebrow.
"Wait, where did Mugi go?" Yui asks.
"Ack!" Azusa yells. "She's still chasing her!" We dash down the street in an attempt to catch up with Mugi.
~
"The target's in sight," Ritsu says. We had taken refuge behind a pillar next to a nearby store. "Yui, keep watch mostly to the right. Mugi, keep watch without getting seen by Sawa-chan."
"Roger!" Yui and Mugi obey.
"Sounds like a stakeout," Mio mumbles; their childish games were unamusing to her.
"Oh yeah, Mio, here." Yui hands Mio bread and a beverage.
"They're serious!"
"She's really watching her surroundings!" Eventually, Azusa seems hooked like the rest.
"I guess even Azusa finds Sawako's love life interesting," I say.
"Yeah..." Yui follows Sawako's movements.
"So is she really..." Azusa hesitates to finish her sentence.
"She did say that she was getting lonely living by herself," Mugi says.
"She must be going through a lot." Mio's empathy confuses us. "N-No, I'm not involved or anything!"
"Well, she's a good-looking girl," Ritsu said. "So I wouldn't be surprised if she had both male and female fans."
"That's true." Azusa agrees.
"Wh-Why is this topic going in that direction?!" Mio starts to turn red.
"Congratulations, Mio!" Yui praises.
"Stop making stuff up!" Mio's attempts to defuse the situation fails.
"As someone who has no romantic feelings for Mio (and vice-versa), I can say this: I agree with Ritsu. I do think you're good-looking."
"You too?!" Mio looks at Mugi, who had been silent the whole time. "Stop staring!" I-I'm not interested in any of that! Actually, the club is like my boyfriend right now." We all applaud Mio for being so open. However, Mio is aggravated by this; she thumps Ritsu on the head.
"Ouch!" Ritsu squealed. "Why only me?"
"Sorry, I'm late!" An unfamiliar voice draws your attention back to Sawako.
"I've told you not to call me at school," Sawako responds to a woman who emerges from behind the building.
"Huh? It's a woman." Yui says.
"Bummer," Azusa mutters. 'Bummer'?
"A woman..." Mugi's eyebrows furrow.
"Don't think about it too much," Ritsu tells her.
~
We watched as Sawako and the mysterious woman entered a nearby restaurant.
"We ended up following her here." Mio finishes my thought.
"It's like a TV show." Yui is clearly enjoying this.
"That wench. She'll have to 'fess up today!" Ritsu mocked.
"She'll hear us!" Azusa shushes.
"Excuse me..." The receptionist says.
"Y-Yes!" We all say, startled.
"Six of you?"
"Yes!" We answer. We walk through the restaurant towards the table behind Sawako.
"Can we have this table?" Ritsu sat down without waiting for an answer.
"We came before we changed out of our uniform," Yui says.
We all scrambled onto the small table's seats.
"Mugi, lower your head!" Mio orders.
"Azunyan, scoot over more." Yui stops herself from falling off the edge.
"Stay on your side!" Azusa says.
"Should I get another table?" I suggest, clutching the chair so I wouldn't fall. Before I get an answer, I watch as Giita falls towards me. Yui and I both attempt to catch it. We butt heads. But we push through the pain, scrambling under the table.
"That was too close." Yui breathes heavily.
"You okay?" I ask.
"That's your spot now," Ritsu says.
"What?!"
"I don't like it here." Yui whines.
"I-I'm just gonna grab the table next to us." I crawl out from under the table. I sit down at the table behind Mio and Mugi.
"Yui, you can sit next to him," Ritsu directed. Yui does just that.
"Hey, she's..."
"Excuse me..." Yui is interrupted by a waitress. "Are you ready to order?"
"Six hot teas." Ritsu requests.
"The drink bar is over there." She points us across the room. Ritsu lifts a menu.
"Then, I'll have this chocolate cake."
"You're eating? Not fair!" Yui complains.
"We have no choice," Ritsu says.
"I'll have pumpkin pudding à la mode." Azusa orders as well.
"They have such wonderful sounding stuff?" I'm handed a menu and look through the options.
"I'll have cream anmitsu," Mugi says.
"I wanted that!" Yui wailed.
"You can order the same thing," Mio says.
"No way, not when there's so much more to choose from!"
"I'll have a chocolate crêpe," I ask and Yui the menu.
"Um... Um..." Yui's eyes land on a strawberry parfait. "Th-This... one..."
"She's completely forgotten the reason we came here," Azusa says, unimpressed.
"We're all paying for what we're eating," Ritsu says.
"What? Really?"
"Of course we are."
"Well, then..."
"Hurry up and decide." Azusa starts to get agitated. "She might see us!"
"Y/N?" A voice calls. "I knew it! Y/N!" I look to find Taichi walking towards our table.
"'Y/N'?" We overhear Sawako's voice. We slump down into the seat so she can't see us.
"Uhh..." Taichi looks at us. "What are you doing?" I grab Taichi by the collar and lower his head.
"Must have been someone else." Sawako turns her head back to the woman. We breathe a sigh of relief.
"What is going on?" Taichi whispers. "And who are these girls?"
"Oh, right. Everyone, this is my friend from school, Taichi. Taichi, this is Yui, Mio, Mugi, Azusa and Ritsu." They all wave.
"Are these the girls from the Light Music Club?" I nod. "Well, nice to meet you. So, who are you hiding from?"
"Their teacher."
"Oh... Why?"
"Because she's suspicious," Yui explains.
"Oh... Why?" Taichi repeats.
"We thought she had a boyfriend." Ritsu answers.
"...Not to be a buzzkill or anything, but shouldn't your teacher's boyfriend not be your concern?"
"That's what I was saying!" Azusa sides with Taichi.
"But weren't you just as enthusiastic?" Mio asked. Azusa's face ran red in response.
Another waitress came up to the table with our orders. "Oh, hello, sir. Would you like to order something as well?" He takes the menu handed to him by the waitress and scans through it.
"Nothing too big..." He mutters. "I'll just have a small portion of fries."
"Coming right up, sir."
"So, you're all part of a light music club?" Taichi strikes up a conversation. "What instruments does everyone play?"
"Well, I'm on drums," Ritsu started.
"I'm the backup guitarist." Azusa followed.
"I'm lead guitarist and vocalist," Yui says in between bites of her...
"Wait, that's my chocolate crêpe!"
"I didn't get the chance to order because Taichi came over."
"But that doesn't mean... Oh, never mind."
"I'm on bass and backup vocalist," Mio looks in Mugi's direction. "Mugi..." Mugi isn't paying attention to anything we're saying. Her eyes are glued to Sawako and her friend. "Mugi plays the keyboard."
"Is she..?" Taichi points to her.
"She's fine," Ritsu says. "She just finds girl-on-girl action interesting." Taichi, unsure how to react, sits in confusion.
~
After our meals, we retreated outside of the restaurant to continue following Sawako. Taichi came with to 'see the conclusion.'
"So we never found out who Sawako was talking with," Mio says to Mugi.
"No, we didn't," Mugi replies, disappointed.
"I know her," Yui says.
"Do you recognize her?" Mio asks.
"Yeah. She was in the old photo with Sawa-chan."
"Old..." Mio begins to think. "You mean Death Devil?"
"Yes, I'm Kristina." This Kristina girl's sudden appearance behind us causes Mio to freeze.
"Mio?" Taichi looks at me.
"She's easily spooked," I tell him.
"Sorry, was that too big a shock?" Kristina says.
"No, it's an everyday occurrence," Ritsu reassures.
"Oh."
"You're the Light Music Club from Sakura High, right?" Kristina asked us. "Last time I checked, Sakura High was an all-girls school."
"Oh, we're from a different school," I say.
"I've never met these girls in my life," Taichi added.
"I want to talk to you as an alumna of the Light Music Club." Kristina gets to the point. "Who's the president?"
"M-Mio is." Ritsu stutters, intimidated by Kristina.
"Don't run away." Azusa shames her.
"How about we get off the ground and talk somewhere else?" Kristina suggests. "I know a food cart that we can go to."
"You know what? You... one, two, three, four... seven can go without me," Taichi stands and brushes the dirt off his knees. "As much as I want to be anywhere else, I have homework to do. Fun!" He said sarcastically. "It was nice meeting you all, though." Taichi waves as he crosses the street. We wave back.
"So where is this food cart?" Azusa asks Kristina.
"Follow me," We do as she says, pursuing her.
"Wait!" Mugi's sudden shout causes us all to freeze. "What will we do about Mio?"
"Ritsu?" We all stare at Mio's childhood friend.
"Just carry her."
~
"You're using some pretty slick stuff." Kristina compliments. Yui had passed Giita to her and Kristina had begun playing. "It's been so long."
"Y-You're so good," Mio says.
"You might be better than Sawako." Azusa continued.
"Thank you." Kristinia smiled. "Sawako and I were trying to outdo each other on the guitar."
"I see," Yui says.
"Oh, don't hold back. Order whatever you want." Kristina gets the chef's attention. "Hey, give them another round of juice."
"Okay, Nori." He replies.
"'Nori'?" Yui repeats.
"Oh, sorry, my name is Norimi."
"You're not from overseas?" Yui asks, shocked by this realization.
"Of course not," Ritsu says.
"But..."
"Kristina is her stage name," I tell her.
"Sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner." Norimi giggles. "Come on, if you see anything you like, go ahead and tell him."
"She's a nice person." Yui and Ritsu say in unison.
"What makes you think she wasn't?" I question.
"Well, she scared Mio stiff." Ritsu retorted.
"Fair point."
"Y/N, was it?" Norimi starts. "What made you come along with a Light Music Club that you're not a part of? Do you play any instruments?"
"I play-"
"Y/N is a part of the Light Music Club!" Yui interrupts. "He's just not a part of our school."
"I play-" I try to answer Norimi once more, but I am interrupted once again, this time by Mio.
"I'm inclined to agree. With how much you've helped us, I'd say you're an official member."
"I play-"
"Just send a club application my way and I'll make you an official member," Ritsu smirks.
"I play guitar as well, but it's mainly acoustic." I finally get my sentence out. "And the reason I joined?" I look towards the other girls. "I like the atmosphere."
"You can't have a good band if your members don't get along," Norimi says.
"So, you wanted to talk to us?" Mio brings up.
"Well... It's really not a big deal..." Norimi grabs everyone's attention. "but Sawako is getting married soon."
"EH?!" We all stare at her, mouths gaping open. Hell, even I'm shocked.
"I was joking."
"You were?" Ritsu takes a breath.
"A previous Light Music Club member is getting married soon, and she asked us to play during the second round of the reception." Norimi sighs. "But Sawako's the only one who isn't willing to."
"That's because she's hiding the fact that she used to be in the Light Music Club."
As I take a sip of the orange juice that Norimi had ordered for us, I noticed Yui was staring intently at her. She had her eyes glued to Norimi's smooth strumming and quick chord changes. She didn't look away. I also spotted that Yui's hands were tightly clenching her skirt. Is she intimidated?
"Sorry I kept playing this." Norimi had finally taken notice of Yui watching her intensely. She hands Yui back her guitar. "Here."
"Oh, it's okay," Yui replies. She strums her guitar; a strange look was plastered on her face.
"Sorry, did I mess something up?" Norimi apologized.
"No, you didn't do anything." Yui consoled her. However, she still doesn't continue playing. Both Norimi and I look concerned.
In an attempt to encourage her, I place my hand on her shoulder in reassurance. Yui turns to me in confusion. I smile. She hesitantly smiles back. That was all she needed. Yui began to play her guitar. I turn to Norimi and see her smiling. She gives me a wink. What does that mean?
After we all finish our meals, we exit the food stall.
"So try convincing Sawako for us," Norimi asks.
"She's pretty stubborn though." Ritsu sounds unsure.
"Don't give up before you try."
"If you can't convince her..." Norimi stops herself to think.
"If we can't..." Mio wonders what she was going to say.
"I'll put you through special training," Norimi said smugly.
"W-wait," I grab her attention. "Do I have to do this 'training'?"
"You're a member of the Light Music Club, are you not?" I sigh.
~
The next day, we met up in the Light Music Club room to brainstorm ideas on how we would convince Sawako.
"Hey, everyone." I sit down on one of the spare seats. "Does anyone have any ideas?"
"About that," Mio starts. "We were planning to call this thing off."
"Why? What did I miss?" I ask.
"Sawako tried so hard to build up her popularity at school," Azusa explained. "And it wouldn't be right for us to take that away from her."
"So we called Norimi up," Ritsu says. "We were planning to meet up with her again to explain this after you got here."
"So that's why nobody is drinking tea." I realize. "I still stand by what I said yesterday. Sawako won't be hated if people found it she was in Death Devil."
"I know... But better safe than sorry." Mio says.
"Shall we go?" Mugi says.
"I see." We had just finished explaining to Norimi why weren't going through with her request.
"I'm sorry." Mio apologized.
"So she's still liked by others," Norimi chuckles.
"Yes," Mio confirms.
"S-So, about this special training," Ritsu says.
"Oh, that?" Norimi laughs. "I was just kidding! Of course I was serious." Her quick change of tone causes us all to worry. She laughs again, amused at our reaction. "I just need your help."
"...With what?" I ask, partially afraid to hear the answer.
"I take Sawako has dressed you lot up before?" Norimi says.
"Yes." They all answer.
"No?" I'm confused. "Why does Sawako dress you up?"
"No idea." They all answer.
"I think it's like her fetish," Ritsu says.
"She was like that back when we were in high school," Norimi explains.
"Since when does Sawako dress everyone up?" I'm truly confused.
"Remember when Ritsu showed us those videos of our school performances?" Yui says. "And how we were dressed up as maids and in those poofy yukata?"
"Ahh," The pieces begin fitting together. "She's not going to make me dress up in strange clothing, right?"
"Maybe," Mugi says honestly.
"Let's get back on track," Mio says.
"Oh right," It seems even Norimi forgot what she was doing. "We'll be dressing you up to make you look like real Death Devil members."
"That's a strange punishment," Azusa says.
"It's not a punishment. We're going to convince Sawako to play at this wedding. We'll dress you up to look like you're a part of Death Devil. Then YOU will play at this wedding. You're going to look a lot cuter than the original Death Devil. Sawako will see this and give in, performing at the wedding."
"And me?"
"Would you like to perform as well?"
"I-"
"Yes, he would!" Yui makes my decision for me. I sigh.
"Great! In that case, here." Norimi hands us all a CD. "That CD's got all of our original songs. I want you to learn the song 'Love' for the wedding."
"W-We're playing a Death Devil song?" Mio looks anxious.
"What's wrong with Mio?" I ask Ritsu.
"Death Devil's music scares her." She replies.
"Oh."
"Just learn that song for the wedding and you should be fine," Norimi says.
"And if we mess up?" Azusa asks.
"It may cause Sawako to snap faster. I'm counting on you guys." Norimi takes off down the street with a wave.
~
"Giita!" Yui screams as her precious guitar is taken from her. Who knows how Giita will look when he is returned to Yui. We were in the staff room of the wedding venue, getting ready for the concert. Our clothes were already done, all that was left was the makeup. Everybody was dressed to match the punk rock
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