A/N: Finally, I'm back after a two year hiatus! I am deeply sorry for those who were anticipating for the update of my other stories, I don't think I can continue it anymore. The reasons are: I forgot how the plot goes, I lost interest in it, and life gets in the way. But anyway, I've come up with this story that I'm surely positive that I can finish before or during November. (No promises, though.) If you've found any grammatical mistakes or errors, please don't hesitate to point it out, I don't mind. Okay, 'nuff said! See y'all at the A/N in the end. Enjoy! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own K-On or any of the characters associated with it, but the story belongs to me. Cover art belongs to fukutarou.
Warning: Rated T due to some swearing.
Chapter 1: Warm and Cozy?
It is a cold winter night inside the premises of Japan Women's University. The winter air, accompanied by snow, blew rather harshly outside, creating a strong whirring sound that is very much audible and enough for a person to wake up from deep slumber. Most of the students are now asleep, while others are trying their best to cuddle up in their blankets, hoping to fend off the cold.
Inside the room of a certain drummer, a member of Houkago Tea Time to be exact, a tawny-haired girl who is lying on the bed just woke up after a loud gust of chilly air hit her room windows forcefully.
Tainaka Ritsu groggily rubbed her eyes off to shake off the remains of her drowsiness. She looked around her room to find that everything is pitch black. The drummer clumsily reached for the lamp's button to illuminate the dark confines of the room.
After she turned it on, the tawny-haired girl covered her eyes to avoid being blinded by the sudden light.
By the time her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she got up, yawned, and stretched her arms high in the air to become fully awake.
The first thing that hit her senses hard is that she needs to take her nature call. And so, the brunette went to the bathroom to alleviate her needs. Soon after, Ritsu checked herself out in the bathroom mirror. Currently clad in pajamas, headband-less and her light brown hair sticking out everywhere, she got a hair brush and fixed it as quickly as possible.
The brunette got out of the bathroom, then, she heard a grumble.
It stunned her abruptly, but after a few seconds, she realized that the source came from her stomach.
"Oh great, I'm hungry. I wonder what I have in the fridge?" The brunette mumbled to herself, trekking her way towards the fridge, opening it to find...
...Nothing.
The girl sighed exasperatedly.
'Why the hell didn't I buy anything earlier to fill up the fridge? Geez, I truly am an idiot.' Ritsu sighed again and began scratching her head in annoyance.
After her little hunger-induced tantrum, the brunette went back to her room to get dressed up for a short trip to the nearest supermarket.
A few minutes later, the drummer is now fully cloaked in winter attire to fight the cold, excluding her headband, because the frigid temperature will just freeze her poor forehead off. After checking everything that she needs to bring; wallet, scarf, room keys, and her orange backpack, she is now good to go.
Ritsu opened the door, got out, and locked the room.
'I wonder if everyone's asleep right now?' The drummer thought as she silenced her steps towards the stairs.
As if right on cue, she heard loud snoring coming from the one and only Hirasawa Yui's room.
The drummer sweatdropped and chuckled.
As soon as the brunette got down to the first floor of the dormitory, she opened to entrance door, only to be greeted by the intensity of the cold wind. Ritsu shivered a little and braved the wind to get outside.
The brunette is awestrucked at current scenery befalling her; everything is covered in frosty white snow, the never-ending snowfall chilling the atmosphere. Some of the ground is covered with the warm patch of orange lights coming from the street posts.
Not wanting to dwindle any further, the brunette started shuffling her feet towards the nearest market.
The crunching of snow under her feet is what keeps Ritsu's thoughts away from her increasing hunger and the rumbling of her stomach. To lighten up her journey, she hummed the tune of Fuyu no Hi, but as she did so, the girl blushed a bit.
Now that drummer thought of it, the lyrics are really cheesy, but she paid no mind to it right now.
Thirty minutes have passed by, she finally arrived at her destination and hastily went inside to get what she needs.
The tawny-haired girl quickly went to the foods section to buy some snacks, drinks, and some chocolate powder so she can make a warm chocolate drink tonight.
By the time she got what she needs, Ritsu went to the counter to check out the items.
After the clerk scanned everything, she said, "That'll be three hundred fifty yen."
Ritsu rummaged through her coat's pockets to find the wallet and took out five hundred yen and handed it over. The clerk happily took the bill and gave the charge in return. "Thank you and come again."
The drummer nodded and took the plastic containing the edibles and stuffed it inside her bag. She got outside again and briskly made her way back to the dormitory.
After a few minutes passed by, the wind is now blowing more intense, making it harder for the girl to step any further. But, the brunette is stubborn, so she kept her pace.
But, no matter how hard she tried, her headstrong pace is now starting to dwindle down along the harsh billow of air. As if forcing Ritsu to stop, the chilly wind unleashed a strong galestorm towards her.
Realizing the abrupt change of weather, the drummer came to this conclusion, "Damn, I didn't know that a snowstorm's gonna happen tonight!" The brunette shielded her face with her arms from the intimidating gust of air.
'I need to look for an alleyway to escape from this stupid snowstorm!' Ritsu huffed and puffed as she went back down the path that leads back to the grocery store, the force of the wind pushing her movements faster. As of now, she is the only person occupying the streets, meaning, most of the people knew of the approaching bad weather.
'Crap, I should've listened to the weather news channel earlier. But, why the hell didn't the store clerk inform me earlier? That lady must've been busy working that she didn't even know.' Ritsu thought infervently.
As the brunette passed by the grocery store, she went down the path further, looking for an alleyway that will somehow lead her back to the dormitory. The atmosphere is getting more frigid and is pushing farther away from the zero temperature.
Ritsu continued to run to save her own life, until...
...Not too far away, the girl spotted an alley opening that will save her from the impending danger of freezing to death in the snowstorm.
The tawny-haired girl grunted and swiftly dashed through the alleyway to avoid another sheer force of the wind.
The snowstorm whirred horrendously once again by the time the drummer got inside the alley. "Phew, that was close!" She exclaimed.
With the thoughts of freezing to death seemingly going away, the girl placed her hands on her knees and panted hard.
After a few minutes of taking a breather, Ritsu recomposed herself by dusting off the snow on her gray winter coat and readjusting her light blue scarf that somehow managed to untangle itself from her neck.
Even under the current circumstances she's in, her stomach grumbling didn't subside. That was when she remembered that she hadn't ate anything, yet. And so, the drummer went a bit further into the snow-coated alleyway and took a seat to consume some of the food that she'd bought earlier.
"I'll take some potato veggies straws, for now." Ritsu mumbled to herself as she propped open a small container full of veggie straws that can fill up her stomach a pinch. As the drummer munched away the goodies, she also opened a milk coffee in a can to satiate her taste buds. The tawny-haired girl took her time to eat as she looked back at the alleyway opening to see that the blizzard kept raging on.
While chewing the snacks, the girl chuckled humorlessly at herself because her she is now, surviving the harsh winter night far away from the dorm, her comfort zone.
If her friends ever saw her here, slumping down the cold, hard ground, they'll think she's a damn hobo begging for alms, and the small container of the veggie sticks will serve as the container for her imaginary alms.
'I wonder what they're doing right now?' Ritsu pondered to herself as she thought of her friends and band members that are at the dorm right now, sleeping the night away without giving a care in the world. 'Damn, now I'm getting jealous! I just want to go back to my own room and sleep, but I can't right now.'
A sudden realization hit her head.
'I don't think Mio can sleep tonight 'cause of the weather and 'cause she's also a scaredy cat. Haha!' The drummer chuckled heartily until the weight of her current situation brought her down to reality.
Ritsu grabbed her phone from her pocket to check the time, it stated: 1:17 am.
She sighed.
Biting onto the last piece of snack, Ritsu crumpled and chucked away the snack's wrapper inside her bag, along with the coffee in a can she had just finished.
The drummer stood up and dusted herself off once again, and then inspected her surroundings to check if there are any suspicious people watching her from the shadows.
Fortunately, after thoroughly inspecting the place, there are no people present along the alley, so she's fine.
The tawny-haired girl shivered a bit because of the constant drop of the temperature, so she dug her face further into her scarf, her long golden locks obscuring her features, and placed her hands back in her pocket. *
She decided to explore the other end of the passageway. So, slowly but carefully, started trudging her footsteps along the pathway to the other side. The path is very spacious, so she can move as freely as she wanted to.
Scrunch, shuffle, crunch.
After a few minutes of walking the path, the girl could've sworn that she saw something bright at the end of the alley.
Ritsu squinted her eyes further to deduce the glowing object. She got closer and closer, until she heard loud laughter coming from the bright and warm source.
The brunette gasped inwardly at her own newfound discovery.
The source of light is coming from the oil barrel that is containing the fire itself, warming a few people that are seating nearby. Further than that, the path ends there because it is secluded by the back side of the buildings.
"Dude, we should've went back to our crib, it's warmer back there!" A man with unruly black hair shouted as he tried his best to wrap his body as smallest as possible near the heat source.
Another guy, with his hair dyed red, laughed at the black haired man's antics. "What, are you dumb? We can't just go back with this goddamn snowstorm freezing our asses off." The red-haired man who said that is leaning on the building wall with his hands wrapped behind his head.
Lastly, another man who hasn't spoken yet just stared on and guffawed at the statement.
"What the hell are you guys laughing at?!" The black-haired guy shouted again at his companions.
The drummer focused her vision onto some objects that are strewn haphazardly on the ground.
But, before she can even see it clearly, the red-haired man noticed her presence and glared heartlessly at her.
"Hey boy, what're you doing here? This is our turf!" The red-haired thug spoke bitterly. He got off his leaning position, faced the drummer, and proceeded to stand tall. His height is overshadowing the brunette's own figure.
Ritsu plastered on her emotionless face and thought, 'Did he just call me a "boy"? So, I really am unrecognizable without my headband on.'
The black-haired rogue who was complaining about earlier stood as well and glared daggers at the intruder. "Yo, get out or you wouldn't wanna face trouble."
'Psh, says the one who was chickening out because of the weather earlier.' The girl thought as she laughed inwardly, their menacing statures never bothering her.
The unspoken man, with blond hair, is the last one to stand up. Ritsu eyed him, inspecting his height and his body build. The blond has a lanky body structure, despite his tall height.
"Aren't you gonna speak up, or are you a coward not to say anything?" The blond thug spoke up, his voice is rough and raspy that is caused by his silence earlier.
"I could say to you the same thing." Ritsu finally spoke as well, her voice doesn't have the usual high-tone pitch that she frequently uses when she speaks freely with her friends; her tone is plain and monotonous.
The blond frowned angrily and picked up his baseball bat, "Are you trying to piss me off? Get the fuck off of our place or else you'll get it!" The rogue held the bat in his right hand at slammed it hard onto his left palm.
The brunette thought of her options, 'Well, since I can't get back to my dorm 'cause of the blizzard, I might as well make myself as cozy as possible at their oil drum fireplace, but I can't do it because they're being asses to me right now.'
"So, aren't ya gonna get out, or what?" The black-haired man spoke, his patience is starting to wear thin.
'There's only one way to settle all this crap.' The drummer grinned wickedly, her eyes are unreadable and her face wore a dark aura that is creepy enough to unnerve the raven-haired thug.
"I wanna make myself cozy with that fire of yours. So, can I?" Ritsu glared at the man and readjusted her scarf to get a better field of vision.
"Well, if that's what you want, you're gonna have to get through us first!" The raven-haired thug grabbed his knife from his pocket and pointed it towards their trespasser, while the other two held onto their baseball bats that once occupied the pavement.
'Alright, so the guy has a knife, while those two have their bats. I think I can handle them just fine.' The drummer readied her stance and positioned herself so that she can get a preemptive strike on one of them.
The black-haired man waited no further and decided to lunge first, his fierce scream becoming more and more intense as he ran towards her.
'Tonight's gonna be a long, long night.' The brunette grinned and shifted her stance to prepare for the sudden attack.
A/N: Alright! That sums up the first chapter of the story. I know that it's too early to make a winter fic, but who cares? I don't wanna go through Nightmare before Christmas. (November before December lol)
Side note, if some of you noticed, I placed an asterisk (*) after that specific sentence. The reason behind it is when I was writing that part, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5 suddenly shook our house for a minute. My God, the way I got dizzy after that lol. I even threw me off the mood to continue typing that night, so I resumed it the other day.
Oh boy, next's chapter's gonna be epic, so stay tuned!
Also, if you've found any grammatical mistakes or errors, please don't hesitate to point it out, I don't mind.
Lastly, be sure to follow/review, it helps me out a lot and I highly appreciate it. B)