Summary: Some people are destined for each other from the moment they meet...

Genre(s): Romance/Friendship

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

Pairing(s): Ritsu x Mio

Story Type: One-shot

Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON!

* Memories *

It was a bright, sunny day at Sakuragaoka Elementary School. The young school children were happily running around and excited for the beginning of their second year of elementary school. One particular girl, her short brunette hair held up by a yellow headband, was dominating the attention of her classmates. She was a social creature and quickly garnered the attention and admiration of her fellow young classmates, boy and girl alike.

"Ritsu-san, you want to be a drummer when you're older?" one impressed boy asked. Ritsu Tainaka nodded her head in delight, absolutely soaking up the attention she was receiving.

"That's so cool!" the boy replied in awe. Ritsu grinned proudly.

"Oh, it's nothing really..." she replied, faking humility to garner further admiration.

The teacher entered the room and broke up the students' chatter, sending them scurrying off to their assigned desks. Ritsu lethargically propped her head up on her hand as the female teacher droned on.

'Right when I was about to really get their attention, too,' Ritsu mentally grumbled as she prepared to take her daily in-class nap. However, something the teacher said caught Ritsu's attention, causing her to perk up.

"Class, we have a new student joining us today," the teacher said as she turned and gestured towards the open doorway. "Come on, sweetie, don't be shy," she coaxed. A few moments later, a young black haired girl came slowly walking into the room, her eyes averted down to the floor and a small blush on her cheeks.

"Class, this is Mio Akiyama-san," the teacher introduced as Mio seemed to tense up at the teacher's side. There was a moment of silence as nobody spoke. As time passed, Mio looked as if she were about to start crying. For Ritsu, though, time had seemed to come to a stop the moment that Mio had walked through the door.

'She's so...pretty,' Ritsu thought as she found herself staring intensely at the young black haired girl. 'A-and tall!' she thought as she mentally measured Mio's height. The teacher, wanting to move on with class, looked around the room for an empty desk.

"Mio-chan, why don't you go sit next to Ritsu-chan?" she said sweetly, to which Mio barely nodded in response, and quickly made her way over to the desk. Ritsu followed Mio with her gaze as she made her way over, though the shy girl deliberately kept her gaze averted and wordlessly sat at the desk next to Ritsu. Ritsu, unaware of her actions, continued to stare at Mio even after she sat down.

'She's so cute...' Ritsu thought as Mio sat at her desk, head down, cheeks flushed. Eventually, Mio felt Ritsu's gaze on the side of her head. She slowly and timidly looked to the side and caught the brunette's gaze. The two girls stared at each other for a moment before Mio's blush intensified and she jerked her head back to its former position.

"OK, class, let's begin the lesson..." the teacher broke the silence and went to the chalkboard. Ritsu did not hear a word of the lesson, however. Instead of her usual nap, her mind was completely pre-occupied with her new classmate.

'She seems so shy...I should be her friend!' Ritsu resolved, finding a new reason to want class to end soon.

When class was over, the room was immediately filled with the chatter of the young students. However, Ritsu did not take her usual spotlight as center of the classroom; instead she decided to approach Mio.

"Hey!" Ritsu said to Mio as she got up from her desk and stood beside Mio's. Mio did not respond or even look up, causing Ritsu to pause awkwardly for a moment.

"I'm Ritsu!" she continued in hopes of drawing the shy girl out. Mio seemed to register that someone was talking to her, and looked up at the grinning, boisterous girl.

"M-Mio..." Mio replied quietly as she gazed up at Ritsu timidly.

"Nice to meet you, Mio! We should be friends!" Ritsu declared excitedly rather than asked. Mio was taken aback and simply stared up at Ritsu as her blush flared up again.

"You...want to be...f-friends?" Mio asked softly as her wide eyes shimmered.

"Of course!" Ritsu replied as she stuck her hand out in friendship. Mio started slightly as if Ritsu had flung her hand out in an attack. Ritsu quirked her head slightly as Mio's eyes glassed over with tears from the sudden shock. After a moment of silence, Mio slowly reached her hand out and clasped Ritsu's.

"Alright!" Ritsu cried happily as she shook Mio's hand vigorously, startling the shy girl even more. "You know, you're really pretty, Mio," Ritsu commented once she released Mio's hand. Mio's breath hitched loudly and she blushed intensely as her head jerked back to its downward position once again.

"R-really?" Mio asked so quietly that Ritsu had to strain to hear her.

"Yeah!" Ritsu replied with a grin. Mio slowly looked back up at Ritsu.

"T-thanks..." she replied as she gave a small smile causing the lively girl to grin even wider.

'Already making progress!' she thought happily.

"Hey, since it's the break, you wanna go to the playground?" Ritsu asked excitedly.

"Sure..." Mio replied, though not as shyly as before.

"Let's go then!" Ritsu cried as she grabbed Mio's hand and pulled the surprised girl up from her seat and ran out of the classroom with her in tow.

"W-wait..! R-Ritsu-san!" Mio protested softly as Ritsu headed down the hallway, Mio's hand still firmly clasped in hers. Ritsu ignored the shy girl until she pushed open the door to the playground and stopped on the doorstep, letting Mio's hand go.

"Call me 'Ritsu', Mio!" Ritsu said with her ever present grin. Mio blushed hotly and opened her mouth as if to speak, but the words did not come out.

"A-alright...R-R-Rit...su..." Mio struggled but finally managed to get the syllables together. Ritsu happily slapped Mio on the back, which caused her to stumble forward in surprise. The brunette made her way out onto the playground with Mio walking just behind her. The other children who were out playing noticed the arrival of their usual spotlight star and began to crowd around her, also taking interest in the new student.

"Hey, Ritsu-san!" one boy greeted.

"She's the new transfer student, isn't she?" one curious girl asked as she pointed at Mio, who was doing her best to hide behind Ritsu. As other students began to voice their curiosity, Mio tried to shy away from the group and back towards the school, but Ritsu killed that hope instantly.

"Yeah! This is Mio!" Ritsu said happily as she stepped aside to let Mio be in full view. Mio froze in fear as the curious students converged on her.

"Wow, she's so tall," one boy commented.

"Her hair is so pretty," a girl said as she touched one of Mio's long locks. The entire time, Mio was getting more and more physically upset, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she began to hyperventilate and tried to distance herself from the rest of the children.

"R-Ritsu..." Mio called out, her voice trembling with fear. Ritsu saw Mio's distress and pushed through the group of children that were badgering Mio with questions, grabbed the distressed girl's hand, and broke out of the crowd, dashing away to the far side of the playground with Mio. When the pair had reached a safe distance, Mio fell to her knees and began to sob quietly.

"I'm sorry, Mio..." Ritsu said, guilt thick in her voice.

'It's my fault she's upset...' she thought as guilt racked her brain. When Mio continued to sob, Ritsu decided that she had to make her feel better. Mio gasped in surprise when she felt Ritsu pull her up and embrace her. After a moment, Mio tentatively wrapped her arms around Ritsu and hugged back. When the two parted, Ritsu was once again grinning happily.

"Feeling ok now?" Ritsu asked hopefully. Mio sniffed a few times but nodded.

"Good!" Ritsu said as she grabbed Mio's hand again and began pulling her towards the slide. "Let's play then!"

Mio slowly smiled as she gazed at Ritsu's comforting smile.

* K-ON! *

The end-of-class bell rang out, signifying the end of the school day at Sakuragaoka Middle School.

"Hey, Mio!" Ritsu greeted after class as she ran up to her best friend.

"Hey, Ritsu" Mio replied, a tinge of softness in her voice. The pair walked out into the crowded hallway together, Mio taking special care to distance herself from the surrounding people, and stay close by Ritsu's side.

"Wanna come sleep over and study for the test tomorrow, Mio?" Ritsu asked with a big grin as she stretched her arms up over her head.

"Sure, sounds like fun," Mio replied simply as she blushed lightly and smiled. Ritsu absently glanced around and noticed a few other girls staring at Mio with light blushes on their cheeks. Ritsu glared at the girls, feeling a tightening in her stomach. She glanced over at Mio and saw that she had noticed the stares as well. Mio had her head down, though Ritsu could see the embarrassed blush glowing on her cheeks.

"C'mon, let's go," Ritsu said quickly to break the tension as she grabbed Mio's hand and ran out of the school with her.

Both girls entered the Tainaka household together, with Ritsu laughing at a joke she had cracked, and Mio giggling lightly herself. The two raced up the stairs and into Ritsu's room, throwing down their school bags and getting their notebooks and textbooks out.

"Can I copy your homework? Please, Mio?" Ritsu begged as she spied Mio's neatly done homework versus her sloppy, half-done homework.

"Sheesh, Ritsu, we're not in elementary school anymore," Mio replied in exasperation as she, contrary to her words, slid her notebook over for Ritsu to read.

"Thank you, oh gracious Akiyama-sama!" Ritsu replied as she clapped her hands together and bowed in mock humility then began scribbling away, causing Mio to blush lightly at the lively girl's antics.

'She's really changed a lot since back then,' Ritsu thought as she copied Mio's homework. 'But she still only really opens up to me,' she mentally continued as she casually glanced up at the black haired girl and a small smile spread across her face. 'It's like she's a completely different person with me...' Ritsu finished copying Mio's homework then slid the notebook back.

"Thanks, Mio!" Ritsu said in gratitude.

"Well, that's what best friends are for," Mio replied as her light blush returned.

'I wonder how it's not burned into her cheeks by now...' Ritsu thought as she stared at Mio's cute blush. An idea hatched in Ritsu's mind and she decided to put it into action immediately.

"Hey, Mio, remember the day we met?" Ritsu said casually which caused Mio to halt her writing in her notebook. Her head shot up as a blush shone brightly on her cheeks.

"D-don't remind me..." she begged as her voice shook slightly. Ritsu grinned evilly as she had no intention of stopping.

"You were so shy; remember how all our classmates crowded around you because you were so tall and pretty?" Ritsu continued as she smirked evilly. Mio's cheeks flared up a few more degrees as clenched her eyes shut and she covered her ears in an attempt to block out Ritsu's words. Ritsu grinned triumphantly as she had achieved her goal.

'She's so cute when she's blushing...' Ritsu thought happily as she gazed at the intense redness in Mio's cheeks. When Mio no longer heard Ritsu talking, she slowly cracked her eyes open then took her hands off her ears.

"W-what?" Mio asked nervously as Ritsu stared and stared.

"Oh! N-nothing," Ritsu said as she snapped out of her daze. Mio shrugged off the strange behavior, and her earlier tormenting.

"Well, we need to study," she said promptly as she began to write in her notebook again, with Ritsu soon joining her, peaking over and copying Mio's work yet again.

After several hours of studying, the girls decided to go to bed. Ritsu smiled in amusement as Mio opted to change in the bathroom, still too shy to change around Ritsu.

"Cute pajamas," Ritsu commented slyly as Mio returned, simply to elicit another blush from the shy girl. Mio punched Ritsu lightly in the arm as she put on a brave, trying-not-to-look-embarrassed face and passed by Ritsu to the futon that had been laid out for her.

"Ow! What was that for?" Ritsu whined as she flicked the light off then flopped down onto her bed. Silence prevailed over the room as Ritsu laid and stared at the ceiling. However, soon Ritsu began to hear muffled whimpering. She looked down to the floor and saw Mio shaking with the covers pulled up over her face.

'She's still afraid of the dark?' Ritsu thought in surprise, though her mental voice sounded slightly amused.

"Mio," Ritsu called out softly which caused the shaking mass of covers to jerk slightly then lower as Mio peered up at Ritsu.

"You can sleep with me-" Ritsu said, but before she could even finish, Mio dashed out from beneath her covers and up into the bed with Ritsu, snuggling tightly up against the brunette girl's side. Ritsu smiled as she wrapped an arm loosely around Mio which caused her to slowly stop shaking. After a few moments, Ritsu peered over at Mio, who had fallen asleep surprisingly fast, snoring lightly.

'I hope we're always together, Mio,' Ritsu thought as she smiled then settled in and fell into a peaceful sleep.

* K-ON! *

"Ritsu..." Ritsu snorted in her sleep and turned over, away from the intruding noise. "Ritsu..!" Ritsu snuggled further into her covers but did not wake.

"Ritsu!"

Ritsu bolted up in bed, her hair a frazzled mess. She slowly blinked then peered up at the looming presence of Mio beside her bed.

"Ritsu! Get up! We're going to be late for our first day of high school!" Mio said irately as she tore the covers from Ritsu's body, causing the girl to shudder as she was exposed to the sudden temperature change.

"Alright, alright, got it, got it..." Ritsu said slowly before falling back onto her pillow.

"Ritsu!"

Ritsu and Mio rushed down the sidewalk just outside of Sakuragaoka High School.

"I told you we'd be late!" Mio yelled back at Ritsu. The brunette grinned stupidly, the only defense she could muster.

The two girls luckily made it inside before the Student Welcoming Ceremony began and found their assigned seats.

'Whew, made it...' Ritsu thought as she let out a sigh and covertly grinned back at Mio, who was sitting two rows behind her. Mio simply rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the speaker.

'First year of high school...feels like it's been a lot longer than it has been,' Ritsu thought as she reminisced about the years she and Mio had spent together.

Once the ceremony was over, the new students were dismissed to their new classes. Ritsu propped her head up on her elbow at her desk as she listened to her new teacher drone on, getting the introductory things out of the way.

'Really? Could it be any more boring?' Ritsu groaned in her mind. ''least I got a good view.' Ritsu grinned as her position gave her a perfect vantage to stare over at Mio, who was doing her best to stay attentive, though Ritsu could see the shyness just below the surface at being surrounded by unfamiliar faces.

'She really has come a long way though...' Ritsu thought as she changed positions, laying her head down on her folded arms. 'It used to be that she only truly came out around me, but now she's so much bolder, or rather less shy around new people,' Ritsu thought as her stomach tightened. 'What if she makes new friends..? And stops spending time with me..?'

Ritsu's heart began to ache in a way she had felt a few times before, but not so intensely. She rubbed her chest as her happy expression turned down into a frown.

* K-ON! *

"Tainaka-san! Am I boring you?" Sawako asked as she noticed Ritsu's mental absence from her third year class. When Ritsu did not respond, Sawako walked over to her desk and slammed her textbook down onto it, causing Ritsu to jump as her mind returned to her body. Most of the class began to giggle and Ritsu simply grinned sheepishly, causing Mio to roll her eyes in exasperation.

"You really need to pay attention more, we're already in our last year," Mio admonished as she and Ritsu walked side-by-side towards the third floor staircase.

"But, Mio, you know my plan for college!" she replied excitedly as she produced her 'answers pencil' and smiled broadly. Mio sighed and shook her head again then ascended the staircase alongside Ritsu.

"Ricchan! Mio-chan!" Yui called out happily as she bounced in her chair at the Light Music Clubroom table. The two girls took their usual seats and began conversing with their fellow band mates as Tsumugi served them tea. At one point during the table talk, Ritsu found that she had lost interest and found her gaze sticking to Mio as the taller girl talked freely to both Yui and Azusa.

'She really has come out of her shell now,' Ritsu thought as she smiled slightly. 'Yet we're still best friends, I remember how I worried she'd leave me...' Ritsu thought, rubbing her chest as that old familiar ache entered her heart. Her features softened at the sound of Mio's sweet laughter from some antic Yui pulled with Azusa.

'I wonder how things would've been if I had realized sooner..?' she thought as her gaze fell from Mio's laughing to her soft blush. 'If I had realized what the way I feel meant, back then...'

The girls conversed, and attempted to build up the will to practice, until the sun was nothing but an orange sliver set against the horizon.

"We should go, we need to study for our entrance exams," Mio said as she stood, taking up her mantle as the strict academic reminder. Yui and Ritsu groaned in unison until Mio glared sharply at the boisterous girl.

"Eheh...I guess we should...your house, right, Mio?" Ritsu said as her voice hitched up out of mock fear. Mio huffed and grabbed her schoolbag, heading to the clubroom door. Ritsu jumped out of her chair and grabbed her own bag, falling into stride alongside Mio.

"Bye, Mio-senpai! Ritsu-senpai!" Azusa called out as Yui was too busy stuffing her face with the remnants of the day's sweets to offer her farewells.

"Why do we need to study, again?" Ritsu whined as she and Mio entered the Akiyama residence.

"Because, you need to be prepared for the exams," Mio replied simply as she led the way up to her room.

"Why just me?" Ritsu cried in mock hurt as she pretended to cry into her sleeve for a moment. Mio simply ignored her and entered her room, followed quickly by the silly brunette.

The girls immediately began studying, well, Mio studied and Ritsu copied her work.

'This brings back memories...' Ritsu thought as the memory of that night five years ago entered her mind, causing her to blush lightly as she remembered how Mio had slept next to her.

'If only she still did that, but I guess it was just normal to me back then, or was it?' Ritsu thought as she pondered if she had consciously felt that way about Mio back then.

"What?" Mio broke Ritsu's thoughts and she found the taller girl staring at her strangely.

"What what?" Ritsu repeated jokingly.

"You were just staring at me and blushing," Mio explained.

"Oh..." Ritsu replied as she trailed off into silence.

'Maybe I should tell her..?' Ritsu contemplated. 'I've wanted to tell her for awhile...now is a good chance...'

"I was just thinking of the night we studied for that test in middle school," Ritsu explained. "Remember how you were so scared of the dark that you had to sleep next to me?" she continued, a laugh rising in her throat.

"D-don't remind me of that!" Mio cried as she shuddered from the memory.

'She's just as cute as ever...' Ritsu thought as she blushed and smiled.

"You know...I really liked that, you sleeping next to me," Ritsu continued as she gulped down her nervousness over what she was about to say. Mio seemed to not hear her and scribbled away in her notebook. Ritsu gulped again and decided to soldier on. "And...I really like you, too."

Mio's head jerked up at this and she stared at Ritsu for a moment.

"What?" she asked, dumbfounded. Ritsu, for the first time that she could remember, was shaking with nervousness and had a serious look on her face.

'What am I doing? I could ruin our friendship...what if I'm just being silly? What if it's just normal to feel like this?' Ritsu thought as doubt over not thinking out her decision flooded her mind.

"I said...I really like you, Mio," Ritsu repeated, her voice trembling. She gulped hard again, her throat feeling incredibly dry.

"W-well, o-of course you do, we're best friends, we always have been," Mio replied as she tried to ignore the fact that it was obviously more than that.

"No, Mio, I like you...I always have, ever since the day we first met," Ritsu confessed, nearly a lifetime of pent up feelings preparing to spill out. "The day I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, and you were so cutely shy, I wanted to be your friend and make you happy," she continued as Mio remained in a stunned silence.

"I never realized how I felt all those years, but just these past few years I've finally come to understand that I've..." Ritsu halted in her gushing confession for a moment as she summed up the courage to change her relationship with Mio forever. "A-always...l-loved you," Ritsu confessed softly as she gazed into Mio's frozen eyes for any sign of a response. A long silence followed as neither girl spoke, causing Ritsu to begin sweating from nervousness.

"Mio..?" Ritsu said softly to get the black haired girl's attention. 'I need to snap her out of it...' Ritsu decided as she scooted closer to Mio. When Mio did not make any move to stop her, Ritsu slowly pulled Mio into a gentle embrace and held her. After a moment, Ritsu felt her respond, bringing her arms up to hug Ritsu back. Ritsu felt a dampness on her shoulder and pulled back to see a shimmering trail of tears flowing down Mio's cheeks.

"Mio are you-" Ritsu began but Mio silenced her.

"I...I always knew," Mio choked out breathlessly. "Somewhere, deep down, I always knew how you felt...I guess I just never thought anything would come of it," Mio continued as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"Do you mean..?" Ritsu asked softly, hoping beyond hope for the answer she desired.

"Yes," Mio replied simply. "We've always been together, since we were just children, and you've always been there for me," Mio said softly. "And…I don't want that to change..." she continued as she embraced Ritsu again.

"I want to always be with you, no matter what..." Mio whispered against Ritsu's shoulder. Ritsu hugged Mio tightly as a blissful smile spread across her face.

END

Author's Commentary: It was so nice writing a Ritsu/Mio story again! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. All feedback is happily welcomed!