A/N: HEY HO! I've been reviving my account and I've forgotten about how much I loved K-ON! I look forward to getting the story running again. Looks like there might be some romance after all. Maybe because I'm not sure yet hehe!
Yui and Ritsu. Whenever they were together, an unstoppable duo was formed which was sometimes unfortunate because those girls loved to cause trouble. It wasn't long ago that they met each other but their friendship said otherwise.
It was Monday, a school day. Out of the Light Music Club, only Mio, Ritsu and Yui knew about the episode that occurred the day before.
Mio had been feeling ready to face her friends again but once she stepped out of her house, the courage evaporated. She never was one to feel completely confident and if she did, it was because her friends had helped her. A quick flashback to when she had to recite her essay in fourth grade came to her head and Mio frowned. Why that, out of all the times and moments?
Looking around, the bassist was semi-hoping to bump into her childhood friend. They definitely did not leave off on a good note. Mio hadn't meant to cause so much trouble and sadness towards Ritsu; it was such a shock to see the shorter girl react as so. She didn't know Ritsu cared that much but it should've been obvious since they were together for a long time.
'Things have gotten out of control', she thought to herself, wondering how her encounter with Ritsu would be like later today. Some things had been said that she wish could be taken back but there was no such thing as reversing time. Apologizing wasn't going to be easy either and knowing Ritsu, she'd probably avoid hearing it in order to torture Mio.
There were no signs of the drummer out on the streets and there were two possibilities that the black-haired girl came up with. Ritsu could've either woken up early to purposely avoid her or accidentally slept in. The latter was of higher probability but Mio didn't know what to expect anymore.
And so, Mio Akiyama walked to school by herself. Once the school was in sight, the bassist became self-conscious and slightly lowered her head as she walked. Her gaze was kept to the ground to avoid making eye contact with anyone. Unfortunately, being deep in thought had caused for Mio to bump into another student.
"S-Sorry!" she exclaimed and mentally cursed herself. As she looked at the student, a wave of relief seemed to wash over her; Nodoka stood before her. "Oh Nodoka, I'm so glad to see you!"
"Is everything alright, Mio?" questioned the bespectacled girl, sensing a tone of distress from the other. She hadn't forgotten about the drama from last week and had been hoping that all was fixed during the weekend.
"Can we talk somewhere else?" pleaded the black-haired girl.
Once both were seated at Mio's desk, Nodoka gave her friend a concerned look. If everything had been alright, there wouldn't be a reason to talk discreetly about the matter.
"So what's going on?" asked Nodoka, not wanting to pry too much but wanting at the same time.
"Rather than making things better, our friendship looks like it's beginning to sink", said the other almost apologetically.
"Don't say that. You've been friends for such a long time. Would this situation truly end something that's lasted that long?"
"It shouldn't but I've ignored Ritsu for a while now and I can't help but feel it's my fault. I've said some things that I wish I can take back", sighed the black-haired girl. "She wouldn't even let me make it up to her and instead, hangs out with other people."
"So she's probably trying to repeat the same thing you've done", sighed Nodoka and smiled sadly. "I guess we can say it's all our faults."
"You? Oh no, it isn't your fault!" The bassist shook her head and waved her hands; the last thing she wanted was for Nodoka to get involved in a quarrel that didn't concern her.
"If you look at it, I was the one that kept you away from her. I should've been more sensitive towards your relationship with Ritsu and given her personality, I should've seen this coming."
Mio felt a hand on her own and looked at her friend, who smiled.
"Don't worry, everything will work out in the end... if you trust that your friendship was strong to begin with." That came off more bluntly than intended. Nodoka sure didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
They had been so busy talking that they didn't notice the stares from the girls that sat nearby. They seemed to be whispering to each other and looked back at the protagonists.
"Um... excuse us", began one of the girls.
Nodoka and Mio turned to look at them, realizing that their conversation could've been overheard. Looks like their problem could turn out to be a hot drama they were trying to avoid.
"Yes?" asked Nodoka, wondering what the other would want to say while Mio timidly sat there.
"We couldn't help but overhear what happened last week", responded the classmate sheepishly. Suddenly, her demeanor turned serious and almost fearful. "Is Houkago Tea Time going to break up?"
That's when some gasps came from the other girls in the class and they began to whisper among themselves, listening attentively as to what the response would be. Both Mio and Nodoka looked at each other; it was hard to keep personal problems to staying... well, personal.
"I..." began Mio and the others quickly silenced down. "... hope not. I love HTT and I-I want to continue playing for you all." She heavily blushed as some girls gushed at how sincere her feelings were. It wasn't safe yet to declare victory because, expecting the unexpected, the one person it all depended on was the leader herself.
"So you're uncertain? That means something else is going on", spoke another girl and everyone started murmuring to each other. Mio was taken aback by the reality that crashed down to her. What if the school finds it about their silly quarrel and start ganging up on each other? Then they'd need police to come supervise them and she could possibly become expelled. However, this was all overthinking, which Mio did a lot.
"Everyone, please settle down. Let HTT resolve this on their own, like they have with past problems", spoke Nodoka. She was on the student council after all and it was her job to prevent these kinds of things from spreading around.
"There's Yui!" exclaimed a girl and the class's attention was focused to the hall, where the guitarist was passing by. Her attention was caught by the mention of her name and she suddenly felt very popular upon seeing them point out to her.
'Maybe they want my autograph!' she thought to herself. Waving to her fellow second-year classmates and potentially fans, the brunette smiled. However, upon her greeting, the other girls started to bombard the guitarist with questions.
"Is it true that HTT is at risk of disbanding?"
"Did you known about last week's outburst here in class?"
"What's your opinion on this situation?"
"Why has HTT fallen?"
They were almost like reporters and paparazzis, trying to learn as much information as possible. However, one question resonated the most within Yui.
"Is it true that HTT is at risk of disbanding?"
It left her at shock and surprise; why would they disband? She loved being part of a band, especially HTT. Yui gazed at the girls, lost in thought, until she caught sight of Mio and Nodoka who had been looking at her. Nodoka had gotten up and was trying to settle everyone down meanwhile asking if Yui was alright. As soon as Mio's eyes meet the brunette's, the black-haired girl averted her eyes. That's when the guitarist deduced that this had something to do with yesterday's episode and so it made sense that the question about the band's existence was asked.
"Everyone..." began Yui. "I really can't answer you right now but I want to let you know that I'll do what I can to save the band." With that, Yui Hirasawa excused herself and ran off to her class. Since when did everything suddenly get out of control?
Ui had been walking by just in time to hear her sister's words. She didn't know all the details but what she did know was that the band was going through a rough time. 'Does Azusa know about this?' questioned the younger sister. She wanted to reach out to her older sister but the girl had left pretty quickly and there was no time. So Ui decided to warn Azusa.
"Azusa!" she said almost breathless, upon returning to her classroom.
"Are you okay, Ui?" questioned the twin-ponytailed guitarist. Ui looked around and leaned close to her friends to whisper
"What's going with HTT?" she asked quietly.
"What? Is there drama going on?" blurted out Jun, being reckless like usual.
"Shhh", shushed Ui. "I overheard Oneechan saying that she'll do whatever she can to save HTT."
Some girls looked at them, causing the trio to blush a bit at the unwanted attention they attracted.
"Let's talk during lunch", said Azusa and the others agreed.
At lunch time, the girls headed to the top of the school roof, huddled in a corner where no one would bother them.
"I haven't heard anything about this", wondered the second guitarist out loud.
"You're not up to speed with your bandmates", disapproved Jun as she shook her head. "Are you really part of the band?"
"B-Be quiet! Of course I am! Maybe this happened overnight or something", defended Azusa. The trio decided to eat their lunch in silence. Azusa couldn't help but think of the many possibilities as to why Yui would have to say such words in the first place. If no one was going to tell her then she had no other choice but to ask.
The afternoon bell had rung, ending the school day and bringing life back to the after school clubs. The band members each had mixed feelings about reaching the end of the day; some were eager to know what was going on while others dragged their feet to the club room. Azusa was the first to arrive at the room, not being able to contain her curiosity. She wasn't very pleased to find an empty room and feared that she was too late to save the band.
Her worries washed away when upon seeing the keyboardist enter with a smile on her face. "Good afternoon Azusa-chan", she greeted with her usual happiness. There no indications of drama from her, unless Mugi was good at hiding things.
"G-Good afternoon", replied Azusa, feeling a bit on guard. When Mugi began to prepare the afternoon tea, the twin ponytailed girl felt it safe to relax and take a seat.
The doors opened up again, revealing the lead guitarist. Now Azusa felt herself tense up again; Yui was the key to finding out what was wrong with the band.
"Good afternoon Yui-chan", smiled the blonde as she poured a cup of tea for the brunette.
"Hi Mugi-chan", replied the girl, wearing a smile. Walking over to the table, the guitarist could already taste the tea that she very much needed to soothe her. After blowing in the hot beverage, Yui took a small sip and sighed happily.
Throughout that time, Azusa had kept her eyes glued to her senpai. Something was definitely off because for once, Yui hadn't gone searching for her and also, she hadn't been noticed. Giving a small cough, the twin-ponytailed kouhai managed to get the attention.
"A-Azunyan!" exclaimed the brunette in fear as she flinched. She indeed hadn't noticed the girl sitting at the table so it was as if she appeared out of nowhere. "You scared me!"
"I was sitting here the entire time", sighed Azusa. She heard Mugi laughing softly while Yui rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Yui-senpai?"
"I'm sorry, Azunyan! I was just so eager to drink tea that I didn't even stop to look", apologized Yui.
"Is everything alright?" The smaller guitarist's questions left the older girls dazed almost. The brunette was more amazed at the fact that her kouhai knew something was happening while Mugi only displayed confusion. "Where's Ritsu-senpai?"
"Oh, she was absent from school today", answered the Kotobuki heiress. "I hope she's not sick or anything."
"Actually..." spoke Yui. The other two immediately turned their attention towards the speaker. "Ricchan is going through something right now."
"What? Why didn't she tell us?" asked Azusa. If what Ui had said was true then whatever was happening to Ritsu was definitely linked to the band.
"We should go see her right away", worried Mugi, as she set down the desserts.
"Ui heard what you said when you were out in the hall", began the raven-haired girl. "Why is there a need to 'save the band'? Yui-senpai, you have to tell us what's really going on", demanded Azusa.
The blonde blinked, taking in the words the younger girl had said. There was something big going on and she hadn't noticed it. "I want to help", she stated, wearing a serious expression. "I'll do whatever it takes to save HTT."
"Guys, wait. I —" began Yui before the door opened up again.
There in the doorway stood Mio.
A/N: Thank you for reading! I'll try to have a new chapter up by next week but I can't make any promises. There'll be some upcoming/irregular edits of the previous chapters to give the story more depth/details. Please leave reviews, thanks!