The New Band Mate

By TheBlackKid

Chapter 1 – Keeping a Promise

"Miss…Miss…"

"H-Huh? Wh-What?"

"So sorry to wake you, but we will be landing in Tokyo soon."

"O-Oh, really? *yawn* Okay. Thank you so much." I said to the flight attendant. I then went to stare outside the window. And saw the great night lights of the city in my view.

"*sigh* So this is it, huh? What she always wanted..."

While the plane begins to start landing, I guess I took take this time to introduce myself. My name is Miharu Neroni. I'm 17-years-old and can be easily recognized by my mildly long brown hair and light-brown eyes.

And as of right now…I'm currently on a plane about to land in Tokyo, Japan. Supposedly, my new home.

You see, I'm not exactly Japanese. More so half Japanese and half French. With my father being French and my mother being Japanese.

The latter…is no longer with us.

Yeah, my mother passed away a few months ago. She was really sick and there wasn't much of a cure to help her. So, she spent her remaining days with my dad and I.

On one of those days, she told me the one wish she wanted me to grant for her. It was to experience what life is like living in Japan, her home country.

At the time, I knew nothing of it besides through the stories she would tell me when she was younger. And not that they weren't any good, but they did leave me worried.

But, in the end, I agreed to making that wish come true. And so, a few months later, I packed most of my stuff and made the big move. I'm…I'm honestly scared about it. I've never been to Japan before nor do I know any Japanese. Just French and English.

And I highly doubt I'll find anyone who speaks any bit of French. And I'll be lucky if find a person who speaks English. Like at all.

This may sound like I didn't think this through. But my dad took care of everything for me (apparently). He already found me a place to live and a school to go to. How he managed to do so, I have no idea.

But it all works out in the end. Because now I get grant my mom's final wish. And experience what life in Japan is like without any worries.

…

At least…I hope there won't be any.

The plane soon landed. And with my one suitcase and one carry-on bag with me, I stepped out of the airport. And already felt a mix of amazement and out-of-place.

"W-Woah. S-So this is it…Mom's home country. It's so…big."

Right when I said that, I felt a cool breeze run past my legs.

"A-And cold, too."

It would make sense for it to be cold. With it being the end of September and all. Which made the fact that I came to this country only wearing a red & grey t-shirt underneath a light-orange short-sleeved hood jacket, black jean shorts, and a pair of white sneakers all the more stupid of me.

"Brr…I better hurry it up before I freeze to death out here. Where's this place Dad signed me up for?" I said as I looked at the notes that were previously an email sent by my dad. He had signed me up to be a permanent resident in a small hotel called…

…

Oh, God. I hope I can say this right…Buros…samu…heizu? I think. And it's in…

…

Oh, God. Not again…Shi...ga? I think. Everything here is in Japanese and I can't read any of it! How the hell am I gonna find this place?!

"Last call for Burossamuheizu Minshuku! LAST CALL!"

…

…

"Huh. That guy speaks English. And he has a bus going to this… Buros…samu…heizu place! What luck!" I cheered before rushing over to the bus. Showing the bus driver my ticket before getting on.

*sigh* At least I found someone who speaks English here…

The bus traveled WAY far from the airport. Farther than I thought it would be. But I got to see more of this place that Mom called home. It's a really cool place, not gonna lie. Granted, it's going to take a while for me to get used to seeing these weird-looking tall skyscrapers and not the tiny buildings of the small town of Sceaux.

*sigh* Day's not even over and I'm already homesick.

I had soon arrived at this Burossamuheizu place (slowly getting it right). And it looked really big from the outside. And on the inside, it looked…very Japanese-sy.

…

Not sure if that's a thing. But I'm going with it.

"Hello, travelers." Said a woman with black hair at a normal length and light-blue eyes. "Welcome to the Burossamuheizu Minshuku. I am your hostess, Yoriko-san. And my helpers and I will be taking care of you all."

Woah. So this woman speaks English, too. I'm really getting lucky with finding these people.

"Now, if you would all line up in an orderly fashion, my helpers will check you all in."

As the crowd of tourist made their way to the front desk in single-file lines, I was left alone at the very back of multiple lines at once. Not sure which one to go to.

"Uh…uh…"

"Oh. There you are, Miharu." The woman said as she walked up to me.

"You already know my name?"

"Don't you remember me? Yoriko Tamura. I was at the funeral."

"Huh?" It took me a minute to remember this fact. As there were…other things I was thinking about that day. But then it came to me. "O-Oh, yeah. I remember now. You're Mom's childhood friend, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. You know, I was just as sad as you were that day. Akiyo was so young. Never thought she would be gone so soon."

"Yeah. It was a shock to all of us." I said in a sad tone.

"Ah. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to upset you. Come on, I'll give you a quick tour."

"Oh. Okay, then. Thank you."

I followed Yoriko around the place as she showed me around. I was shown the dining hall, the rec center, the bath, and the garden that surrounds it. It all looked amazing. I'm still shocked that this is where I'm going to be living now. I feel so…elite. If that makes sense.

"And finally, here are the rooms. Since you'll be a permanent resident, your room will be in the back. Just to avoid confusion."

"I see."

Yoriko opened the door to my room and I was amazed at the site. It was small…yet big at the same time. Inside of it were a small mattress (called a futon here), a small table with pillows around it, a small dresser, a small flat screen TV, and this small grey box plugged into the wall.

"That's the heater. Trust me. In these coming months, you'll want that in here."

"Does it get that cold here in Japan?"

"Not below freezing. But it's still rather cold. You'll need a thick coat and maybe a scarf by the time end of November comes by."

"I see. Good to know."

So, I'll be experiencing mild coldness for the first time here. Interesting…

"So, that's everything. Let me know if you need anything. I'm here to help you out. For now, I'll let you unpack."

"Thank you, Yoriko." I said with a bow. I read that it's a sign of respect here. Don't want to be on anyone's bad side.

As I unpacked my clothes and stuff, one important item came into view. A picture of my mom. She looks a lot like me. The facial features, the length & color of our hair…it was all a perfect match.

And it just made me sad while looking at it.

"*sigh* Mom…I'm doing this for you. I hope you're happy."

"Um…excuse me."

"Gah!" I jumped up from the sudden scare. Then at the door, I saw a girl with short black hair and ruby-colored eyes. Based on her height, she was no doubt younger than me. Not sure by how much, though.

She was also wearing this T-shaped wrapped garment that was mostly black. But had hints of white and had pink flowers all over. And she also had this pink sash around her waist.

I had no idea what it was…but it did look cute on her.

"I-I am sorry. I-I did not mean to scare you. I-I just…" The girl then covered her face in shame. Most likely embarrassed of what she did.

"N-No, it's fine. I was just a little spooked, that's all." I said. Trying to ease her up a bit.

"Mikuru. What are you doing back here?" I heard Yoriko's voice as she came up to the girl.

"Ah. Sorry, Mother."

"Mother?" I asked.

"Oh, right. Miharu, this is my daughter. Mikuru Tamura. She's 14."

"Nice to meet you, Mikuru." I said with a bow.

"Ah. N-Nice to meet you too, Miharu-san." Mikuru said with a more frantic bow.

Miharu-san? Is that some kind of nickname?

"I bet you just wanted to meet her prematurely didn't you, sweetie?"

"I…I am sorry, Mother. I could not control myself. I will go help the guest." Mikuru then left to go back to work. Leaving me with her mother once more.

"Mikuru can be a little shy. But she's been really eager to meet you. She's always wanted someone around her age to look up to."

"You mean like an older sister?"

"Yeah, kinda like that. She is an only child."

"I see…"

"Anyway. I came to tell you that you'll eat with us after the guests eat their food. Just to make you feel more comfortable."

"Okay. Thank you for taking me in, Yoriko. Even if this seemed rather sudden…"

"Don't mention it, Miharu. It was always your mother's dream to show you around Japan. She really loved it here. And wanted to pass that love down to you."

"Well…that's why I decided to move here. To fulfill that one last wish of hers. Hopefully, she can rest in peace now."

"Yeah. Me too. I'll leave you alone for now. Dinner should be out in an hour."

"Alright. Thank you."

Yoriko closed the door to my room and I laid myself on the futon-thing right beside me. Thinking of this big decision that I made in order to honor my mom.

This was her dream. Her absolute desire. She always wanted to be back here. With me by her side. But now…

…

…

I grabbed the picture of my mom and held it to my heart as tight as I could. It was my way of hugging her…one last time.

"Mom…I'm going to do it. I'm going to experience life in Japan. Just like you wanted to."

This was said…with a single tear running down my face.

Author's Note: *Sorry for taking this story down the first time. I delayed it because I had too many other stories at the time. But it should be good now.*

After months of consideration, I've finally decided to enter the world of K-ON fanfiction. It shouldn't be hard, right? I mean…if I can write 8 ½ Yuru Yuri stories based on pure memory alone (the ½ being the crossover story with Lucky Star), then I shouldn't have a problem with this. I hope.

So, if you've read Yuru Yuri +1, then this story is very similar to that. If you haven't, it's definitely worth the read. One of my favorites that I've written.

Thanks for reading. Later.