K-ON!: Shattered Dreams

Chapter 16: Bullet with Mio's Name

Everyone had been on edge, ever since Ritsu's leaving of the crew. Tsumugi could not even make the tea properly, Jun had been feeling uneasy all day, and Azusa, the most concerned of all, had left to find Ritsu before she did anything stupid. Yui could only look on at the grim atmosphere in the Hirasawa household. The events of what happened the day Ritsu left were still lingering in everyone's minds, including her own. Yui would do something to calm everyone, but she had been affected greatly after those events, so much so that she couldn't utter a word to anyone when she woke up the next day. Yui decided to head back upstairs after her breakfast, seeing as she didn't want to do anything today, not even train for today, as Azusa was out.

Night had fallen, but that grim atmosphere continued to linger on.

"Do you think... Yui's going to be okay?" Tsumugi asked, looking up at the staircase leading to the rooms with Jun.

"Mugi-senpai... even I don't know the answer to that question. I think it's safe to say, however, that Yui-senpai hasn't really recovered from her argument with Ritsu-senpai yesterday." The look of concern was etched onto Tsumugi's face.

"Yui..."

"Leave her alone for a while more, Mugi-senpai... she'll be back." Jun requested, guiding Tsumugi back to the living room.

Upstairs, however, was a different story altogether. Yui was lying down on her bed sideways, letting her hair spread on her pillow, looking at a photo of her and the band together and posing for a picture at the beach. It was bad enough that she lost Mio, but now she's on the verge of losing Ritsu. She set the picture back on the table and rolled around. The feeling in her stomach hadn't subsided since Ritsu left them. "What if..." Those were the only thing she could muster at this point. She couldn't even find it in her to think about what had happened. She let a small tingle of her electricity run through her fingers, still in that thinking mode.

It took a small interruption by her sister to break that little concentration, dispersing the lightning in her hand. "Onee-chan, are you all right?" Ui asked her sister, taking her place right next to her.

"Y-yeah... Ui-chan... I-I just need a break..." She tried covering her face with her pillow, as if to shut out anyone else now. "Ui-chan... I'd like to be left alone for a while... please."

"Onee-chan..." Concerned, she telepathically took the pillow right out of Yui's hands, taking it into her hands now. "Please, onee-chan... I know things may have just taken a turn for the worst... but you have to face it."

"I know, Ui-chan..." She turned to look at her. "It's just... I don't know what I'm supposed to do now." She got out from her bed quickly. "I mean... what kind of a leader am I if I can't keep Ricchan from killing herself?"

"It's not your fault, onee-chan. Ritsu-senpai can be very impulsive."

"I KNOW! BUT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE WHO HAS TO CONTROL HER IMPULSES!" She screamed, grabbing Ui by the collar and shaking her about. However, she realizes she's losing it and lets her go. "S-sorry..."

"I-it's all right, onee-chan." Ui said, slightly shaken by her sister's actions and words.

"Still... what am I supposed to do now? I mean... Ricchan's going to get killed... and it's gonna be all my fault." Yui whimpered, but she tried to keep her emotions in check.

"Onee-chan, relax." Ui comforted, patting her sister's head. "If you know Ritsu-senpai as much as we do... she won't die that easily." She wiped any tears trying to escape Yui's eyes, and then pulled her sister in to hug her. "You're a great leader, onee-chan. This team wouldn't have made it without you... this team wouldn't have people like Tsumugi-senpai and Jun if it weren't for you."

"Ui-chan..." Yui fully accepted her sister's embrace, returning the hug. Then she pulled away to look at her. "But now... I'm starting to wonder..." She lied back down on the bed with her sister. "I wonder if... Ricchan might be right? That maybe we've lost Mio and we'll never get that good old Mio-chan back..."

"Onee-chan, you shouldn't doubt yourself like that." Ui looked at her. "How many times have your intuitions been right?"

"...more than enough times that people might start confusing me and you... oh wait, that already happened." She giggled a bit.

"Hehe... yeah, you're right... but anyway... you know I believe in you, Onee-chan. No matter what anyone else thinks, I'll always believe in my sister." A certain warmth in Yui's heart seeped into her.

"U-ui-chan... thanks."

"Now... get out of here, and go save Ritsu-senpai." In a split second, Yui put her cap on, grabbed her battle fans, and then placed her hands on Ui's shoulders.

"You, stay here. I'm going... and thanks, Ui-chan." She left a farewell kiss on her sister's cheek, before hopping out of the window and out back into the city.

"You're welcome, onee-chan... and who said I'm staying?" She said to herself, leaving the room she was in. "I'll be helping you."



After running for as far as she could, with a giant hole in her knee and a very fatigued body, Tainaka Ritsu started regretting ever leaving the safety of the Hirasawa household. In the middle of nowhere with all her injuries, she stopped right at an alley, holding onto a garbage bin like she's going to puke into it. She's panting hard after all that running.

"G-gh... you know what, Ritsu? In the history of dumbest decisions you've ever made... this is definitely in the top 3." She said to herself, looking up into the sky. "But... as long as Yui continues staying that way... I've got no choice but to take matters into my own hands. Mio... you better get ready for me... I'm gonna be the bullet that rips your heart wide open."

However, in her monologue, she doesn't notice the curved blade of a scythe right at her neck. "Wow. That was way too easy."

"...Cheater, sneaking up behind someone like that... then again, this is coming from Nodoka, so I'm not surprised at all." Since she's already pinned down, it makes it easier for her assailant to just kick her in her already hurt leg. "AAAAAGH!"

"Don't mess with me, Ritsu. I'm moderately pissed off, and I don't need any lip from you."

"Ooh, is someone hitting that time of the year again?" That only earned her a trash can lid to the back of Ritsu's head. "GAH!" The shot made her hunch over the trash can she was leaning on. "T-tch..."

"I'm not in the mood for your stupid antics. The more I even think about it, the more I just want to rip you apart." Nodoka picked Ritsu up by her hair. "But no, Mio wants you perfectly clean when I bring you back to her." She started dragging her target by her hair across the ground, headed straight for Akiyama Towers, as usual.

"G-gh! Let go of me, you stupid...!"

"SHUT UP!" She immediately swings the back of Ritsu's head down onto the cold ground, knocking her temporarily senseless. "You're just an annoyance anyway." She continued dragging her target back to the Towers, all in plain sight of a certain psychic.

'There you are, Ritsu-senpai... now, to tell this to onee-chan...' She placed her fingers on both temples, attempting to use her power to relay the message to her sister. However, in the midst of sensing her sister, she sensed a large energy interference right behind her. She turned to look, but before she could get a view of who it was, she was immediately grabbed by the collar, by someone she's ALL too familiar with. "Gah! Y-you..."

"It wouldn't be fun if somebody spoiled the party now, would it?" Mio used her free hand to grab Ui by the throat, strangling her.

"A-agh... w-what... a-are you here to... k-kill me?"

"That wouldn't be fun either, Ui... so I just came here to give you a little message. Don't you dare pursue us. If you do, then Ritsu dies... understood?" She gave Ui a terrorizing look, one that would intimidate anyone, but as for Ui, it didn't really do its job well, but knowing the position she was in, she had no choice but to comply.

"G-gh... I-I got it..." Mio immediately let her go, albeit shoving her down roughly. As Mio turned around, Ui spoke. "Why didn't you kill me, Mio? I'm your enemy... and you had a perfect chance." Mio sighed and shook her head.

"If I killed all the main actors now, then it wouldn't be a fun production now, would it, Ui Hirasawa? Besides, I need your sister."

"This is all a game to you, isn't it, Mio? You think we'll just let you off like this?" Mio turned her head to look over her shoulder.

"It'd be boring if you didn't put up any resistance against me. And besides, I'm sure your sister is stupid enough to play the 'hero' role." Ui gasped slightly.

"You will NOT have my sister, Mio. She's a bullet with your name on it, but no one's going to pull that trigger just yet!" Immediately, she lifted what was on the roof with her telepathy, which were mostly air-conditioning units. The hooded princess smirked for a bit.

"Are you sure you can take me, Ui?" She had that terrorizing look on her again, this time nearly intimidating the psychic. Instead of pursuing the matter further, Ui dropped her weapons and stepped back. Even if she was the stronger of the 2 Hirasawas, there was no way she'd be able to defeat Mio. "Good girl. Now remember what I said, and no one gets hurt... I want to have 'fun' with my best friend." Mio kept walking until she hopped off the rooftop. Ui waited for that moment to contact her sister.

"...did you get all that, onee-chan?"

"Loud and clear, Ui-chan. So, Mio wants me, no?" She asked, looking up into the sky.

"Yeah... onee-chan, I know that tone when I hear it... don't get yourself killed, okay?" Ui advised.

"Don't worry, Ui-chan. Just tell the rest of the crew to prepare themselves." She cut off transmissions with her sister. "So if Mio wants me to be the main actress, then don't mind me making a pre-determined appearance then."