Summary: Love lost in life is not always gone forever…

Genre(s): Romance

Character(s): Ritsu T., Mio A., Tsumugi K., Yui H., Azusa N.

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON!

Author's Notes: This is a sequel to my story 'I'll Always Be With You' therefore it is highly recommended you go back and read that story before reading this one, or you won't understand this story.

* I'll Always Be With You: Forever *

It was a peaceful Friday afternoon in Kyoto. The sun was covered up by a gray cloud cover as snow slowly trickled down and a biting winter wind blew through the area. An elderly woman made her way down the sidewalk, heading towards the local grocery store. Her feet crunched into the snow with every step she took. Her body was slightly stooped from withering age, yet she still held a sense of pride about her, and her movements were not slow or shuffled. Another biting wind blew by, whipping her waist length silver-grey hair through the air along with the snow.

The woman stepped through the entrance to the store as the doors slid open with a ding and she was glad to be out of the cold. She immediately headed to the pharmaceuticals aisle and took her time scanning down through the various bottles and boxes. She paused to cover up a powerful hacking cough which left her lungs feeling sore. Her ears perked up as she heard an amazed gasp behind her, and turned to find the source of the noise. Two teenaged girls stood at the end of the aisle, staring at her in disbelief.

"It can't be her, can it?" one of the girls asked the other, clearly thinking that the woman in question must be too old to hear her, but her hearing was as sharp as ever.

"I know it is!" the other girl replied excitedly as she grabbed her companions hand and quickly walked up to the elderly woman. "Um...excuse me..." she said timidly as the woman watched the pair approach.

"Yes?" the elderly woman responded kindly, her eyes twinkling with a gentleness only age brings.

"Are you...Mio Akiyama-san?" the girl continued, barely repressing the excited tremor in her voice. The elderly woman's face creased with a smile. She had only a few wrinkles to attest to her age.

"Yes, I am," Mio replied which elicited squeals of joy from the two girls.

"C-can we have your autograph?" the girl asked as she stuck a pen and paper out.

"It'd be my pleasure," Mio replied as she slowly and deliberately signed the paper, her quick swishes having been lost to her youth. The girl smiled excitedly and held the paper against her chest as her companion piped up.

"Akiyama-san? May I ask a question?" she asked respectfully as her companion floated off into her own blissful world. Mio kindly nodded and the girl continued. "Why don't you sing anymore? Is it because you..." the girl caught herself before she said what she intended. Mio was unfazed as she caught on.

"Because I'm old?" she asked with mirth in her voice as the girl blushed in embarrassment.

"I didn't mean-" the girl began to apologize but Mio kindly waved it off.

"No, no, I am old," Mio said as the girl blushed further. "It's not because I think I wouldn't be popular if I sang, just because I'm old, I know there's people who'd appreciate it," Mio continued. "But age isn't just a number or how you look. You get old, and you find that you aren't able to do the things you were once able to," she said as the girl who received her autograph came out of her blissful daze.

"But your music is so inspiring!" she protested. "It especially inspired us," she said more softly as she glanced at her companion, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tightly. Mio smiled as she witnessed the young subtle love before her.

"I'm glad to see my music is still being listened to, even by the young generation," Mio said, her subtle delight evident in her voice. "Savor the time you have together, you never know when something could happen..." she cautioned as her eyes filled with the ghosts of memories long past. The girls blushed further and both nodded.

"Thank you, Akiyama-san!" they said in unison before rushing off, hand in hand. Mio returned to the reason she came to the store in the first place. She picked a package of medicine off the counter, paid for it and left, slowly making her way back to her apartment complex.

* K-ON! *

Along the way she sometimes looked up at the sky. The encounter with the girls had reminded her of what she had lost so long ago.

'Ritsu...I know you're still watching me, and I still love you,' she thought as she paused and stared at the grey clouds for a moment. After her encounter with Ritsu's ghost so many years ago, she had continually hoped that she would appear again, but she never had. Still, the love she held for the long dead girl had never dimmed or faded, if anything it had grown stronger over the many decades. Mio was broken from her thoughts by a fit of coughing. She wheezed as the coughing subsided then continued her journey back home.

Mio entered her warm apartment, a simple one bedroom apartment that she had lived in ever since her singing career had ended. She had never married, her one true love always had and always would be Ritsu, and she would not betray her that way. Mio set the medicine down on the kitchen counter then went into the living room. She turned on a CD stereo system she had outfitted the room with and turned the volume down low.

Quiet After School Tea Time songs played throughout the room as she sat down in her comfortable recliner chair. Another fit of coughing broke Mio out of her relaxation, leaving her chest and lungs aching.

'I suppose this...this is it, huh?' Mio thought wryly as the ache in her chest throbbed. Mio sat up in her chair and grabbed the one picture frame displayed prominently on her coffee table. It was a picture from back in her high school days, all five girls were happily smiling at the camera.

'We were so young back then, so carefree,' Mio thought somberly as she gazed at herself in the picture, forever young. Mio's gaze shifted over the other members of the band, though she deliberately avoided one in particular, she always saved her for last.

'Who would've guessed they would've ever accepted each other?' Mio thought with a small smile as she gazed at Yui and Azusa in the picture, Yui slumped over Azusa as the younger girl glared at her. Azusa had finally come to accept the love that Yui had always so childishly displayed for her, and they had married shortly after Mio's encounter with Ritsu. Tsumugi had run off to Finland shortly after that and become a world famous pianist. A few tears plopped down onto the pane of glass separating her from the photograph as she allowed the girls to re-enter her memory.

It had only been five years since Yui had passed on. Azusa had been devastated and followed after her shortly after. Tsumugi, like Mio, had lived alone, and followed the other two girls into death a few years after them. Their funerals had been the first time she had seen any of the girls in years; they had all had their own lives, but they knew they'd always be connected by an inseparable bond.

Then Mio had been the only one left, it seemed to be her lot in life to endure where everyone she loved disappeared around her. Finally, Mio's eyes settled on the final girl in the picture: Ritsu. Mio grazed her fingers down the picture where Ritsu was, smiling and winking happily, her fingers held out in the peace sign. More tears fell down onto the picture as old emotions and memories cropped up in Mio's mind.

'I'm glad we could share a final moment together, Ritsu,' Mio thought as she set the picture back onto the coffee table. Another coughing fit left Mio's chest feeling heavy, her breath coming in short bursts now.

'I guess it's finally my time too, then,' she thought as she laid back in her chair. She stared at the ceiling as After School Tea Time songs continued to play in the background, she was surrounded by the memories of what meant the most to her: her music and her friends. Mio's eyes slowly closed as her chest slowly released its final breath.

* K-ON! *

Mio slowly opened her eyes and looked around her.

"W-what?" she stammered as she took in her surroundings. She was standing in the middle of the Light Music Clubroom at Sakuragaoka High School. She felt a cool breeze blow in through the opened windows and heard the happy chirping of birds. Mio looked at the windows, but the sunlight was so bright she could not see anything outside, not even the sky.

'H-how can I be here..?' she thought as she looked around the room, the old After School Tea Time instruments were set up where they always had been. A kettle of tea, along with several tea cups and plates were set up on the clubroom table.

"What is all this..?" Mio asked herself as she spun around, taking everything in. As Mio spun, she noticed something else too.

"My hair...it's..." she said in amazement as she fingered her now black locks. Then she looked at her hands and found no wrinkles, she touched her face and felt no aged creases.

"And why am I in my school uniform..?" Mio asked herself as she pulled at the hem of her skirt. Suddenly the murmur of voices broke Mio from her confusion. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard the distinctive sound of feet walking up the stairs. The voices grew louder until finally she saw shadows outside the door, and the door slowly opened.

"I-it...can't be," Mio said in disbelief as a teenage Tsumugi, Yui, and Azusa came through the door and smiled happily at her.

"Mio-chan!" Yui cried happily as she rushed over to Mio and hugged her.

"Mio-senpai!" Azusa cried as she too rushed up to Mio and gave her a hug beside Yui. Yui giggled mischievously as she grabbed Azusa and gave her a kiss on the lips then cuddled against her.

"Azu-nyan~, Azu-nyan~, where's my hug?" Yui teased as Mio blushed from both amazement at the situation and Yui and Azusa's behavior. Azusa giggled while Yui held her as Tsumugi walked up to Mio, more calm than the other two girls.

"M-Mugi...how can this be?" Mio asked in confusion as Tsumugi smiled knowingly at her.

"We've been waiting for you, Mio-chan," Tsumugi answered. "Someone in particular has been waiting much longer than us though," she continued as she swept her arm out to the still open door. Mio followed her gesture and spotted something that made her heart stop.

"R-Ritsu..?" Mio managed as the lively girl stood in the doorway, a large grin on her face. Ritsu slowly walked up to the girl then stood before her, still smiling broadly. "Ritsu..." Mio repeated as tears filled her eyes.

She embraced the shorter girl and held her tightly as their lips met for the first time in decades. Ritsu kissed back earnestly as tears of joy streaked down Mio's face.

After a moment, the girls parted and they simply stared into each others' eyes. Yui, Azusa, and Tsumugi all viewed the scene with joy on their faces as the two long separated lovers were reunited. Ritsu pulled Mio into a comforting embrace and laid her head against Mio's shoulder.

"Now I'll be with you. Forever…"

END

Author's Commentary: I got this out pretty quick, didn't I? I was actually inspired to write this as I replied to a review for 'I'll Always Be With You' and I just had to write it. This gives the original story a happy ending for those that were too depressed by the original story. All feedback is happily welcomed!