Once a Month

"Hey, Mio, you paying attention?"

Mio Akiyama looked up, across her salad, and into the eyes of the woman seated across the table from her.

"Sorry," she replied. "What were you saying, Ritsu?"

The woman, her old friend Ritsu Tainaka, grinned.

"We want to get together for your birthday," she said. "It's a big occasion, and you should celebrate it with your friends!"

Mio felt a flare of annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Ritsu, but I have exams to study for. I don't have time for things like that."

"Mio," Ritsu replied, the pitch of her voice rising. "C'mon, learn to have some fun, will ya?"

"I know how to have fun, Ritsu," Mio said, crossing her arms over her chest. She and Ritsu got together for lunch once a month, and Mio often felt like that was too often. There was a time that would've been unimaginable, but, that felt like a long time ago.

"I dunno about that," Ritsu replied. "I remember what it was like when we all started college. You were way more fun back then."

"It was just like high school," Mio said, after taking a breath. "Some of us have learned to grow up, Ritsu. You should do the same," she said, fixing her grey eyes on Ritsu. "If you did … why, you'd probably still be at university!"

"That was a low blow, Akiyama-san," Ritsu replied, after a few moments.

"Well, I'm sorry, but it's true," Mio said. She looked down at her salad, but she'd lost her appetite. She sighed … there was going to be another late-night run to a snack machine before cramming for exams in her future.

"Hey," Ritsu replied. "Look … some of us just aren't cut out for college life. And I'd say it's pretty 'grown up' to admit that. But … anyway," she said, exhaling sharply. "Back to your birthday. Please?"

"Ritsu," Mio said. "I've already told you…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ritsu waved her off. "I think you should hear me out, though."

Mio sighed. She just wanted to get back to her dorm, but she knew Ritsu lost none of her pushiness with the years. Her only hope was to listen to Ritsu recap whatever it was she'd said the first time. And then, maybe, she could finally blow her off and put this behind her.

"Okay, Ritsu," she said. "I'm paying attention."

"Okay," Ritsu replied. "Like I was saying before we got off the subject … Mugi and I were talking, and we think we should do something for your birthday."

Mio frowned. "Wait … you were talking to Mugi?"

"Well, duh," Ritsu replied. "Yes, she is studying abroad, in Finland, but we keep up."

Mio frowned. Honestly, she and Mugi didn't talk much, since Mugi was in a separate department. And they talked even less once Mugi signed up for that study abroad program.

"Anyway," Ritsu said. "We've already got Sachi on board, and she's gonna talk to Ayame and Akira. And you're not gonna believe who else is interested in coming."

"You guys talked to Sachi," Mio echoed, starting to regret not paying attention before.

"Yep," Ritsu replied. "But, as I was saying, did you know that Yui's gonna be in town?"

"Yui," Mio said, her expression blank.

"Oh come on! You have to remember Yui! You know … ditzy kid who used to play guitar with us?"

"I'm not that bad, Ritsu," Mio replied. "I know who Yui is … it's just that it's been over a year since I last heard from her."

Ritsu sighed. "Again, Akiyama-san, I keep up. It's something you should do too … c'mon, your friends miss you."

Mio pursed her lips, looking at Ritsu. Were they still her friends? Even now? She didn't really know. She did, however, know that she was feeling a sudden sense of shame.

"I don't know," she said. "I've gotta think about it."

"What's there to think about," Ritsu replied. "It's your birthday, and you deserve to take a break with all your old friends!"

"B-but these are important exams coming up," Mio said. She was ashamed, yes, but she was also feeling remarkably defiant.

"And one night of fun ain't gonna kill you," Ritsu replied. "And if you study too hard, you'll end up being an old maid with coke-bottle glasses!"

"Th-that's just not true, and you know it! Stupid Ritsu!" Mio said, kicking Ritsu's shin.

Ritsu grinned sheepishly, shrugging. "Hey, it was worth a shot. So c'mon, how about it?"

"I have to think about it," Mio replied, now thoroughly annoyed. "That's the best you're going to get."

Ritsu looked at her, her lips drawn into a pout.

"Fair enough," she said, after a couple of moments. "I'll call ya in a couple of days."

Mio took a potato chip, and ate it. And then, she took another. It was the story of her life, really. Junk food and studying … studying and junk food. She frowned at the pages of her open book. She was studying second-order differential equations, and they were making her head spin.

"Ugh," she said, rolling onto her back. Her stomach rumbled, protesting at her choice of meal. Numbers, variables, superscripts, differentials, and integrals all swam together in a squiggly mess.

Mio rolled onto her side, and saw a lonely black bag sitting in the corner of her room. It'd been a few months since she'd last seen her bass out of its bag. It'd been even longer than that since she'd last properly played it.

She frowned, thinking back. The last time she'd played was … well, it was about the time Ritsu told her that she'd decided to drop out of school. That was almost two years ago!

She rolled out of bed, and walked to the black bag, unzipping it. The warm red glow of three-color sunburst greeted her. She gently laid it down, and plucked a couple notes. They sounded just as crisp and in-tune as she remembered.

"Stupid Ritsu," she murmured, exhaling sharply and zipping the bass back up. "Stupid, stupid, Ritsu."

Mio opened her little closet, and set her bass inside. It was funny how she still couldn't manage to forgive Ritsu for deciding to drop out. She could forgive Yui for doing it, but not Ritsu. Never Ritsu.

She closed the closet door … there, now she wouldn't have to be reminded again, until the next time she and Ritsu got together. Her roommate wouldn't have that to complain about either.

Mio climbed back into bed, and opened her book once again. Break time was over, and there was studying to be done.

Mio's phone vibrated in her back pocket, causing her to sit up with a start. She pulled out her iPhone and frowned at the screen.

"Ritsu? It's early for her to be calling," she said. And then she remembered.

"Crap," she said. Honestly, she'd been hoping Ritsu would've gotten the hint, and realized that Mio wasn't really interested in a birthday get-together.

She put her phone in her book-bag. Maybe Ritsu would get the hint now. Besides, Mio reflected, feeling the stares of the people around her; she was in the library.

After a few moments, Mio's bag stopped buzzing. She breathed a quick sigh of relief, before turning her attention back to her notes.

"Hey Mio! It's Ritsu! I know you were hoping I'd forget, but … it ain't happening. Yui's got an awesome place in mind, and I've gotta tell you about it. So … gimme a call back, would ya?"

"Uh, hey, Ritsu," Mio said, holding her phone to her ear. "I'm fine, but I'm walking back from the cafeteria, so I've only got a couple of minutes. So what was this about Yui?"

Mio walked along the walkway, listening to her old friend talk. Suddenly, she stopped, the blood draining from her face.

"A-are you serious? A buh … b-bar? Yui wants us to meet at a bar?" Her heart started racing, and her mouth was suddenly dry. "You're k-kidding, right?"

"No way!" Ritsu's reply was loud enough for Mio to want to look around.

"W-why would I want to spend any time at all in a b-bar!" Mio said, gritting her teeth. Her free hand clenched into a fist, entirely on its own accord. "B-bars are for creeps, animals, and N-NEETs!"

A moment later, Mio blushed.

"I-I'm sorry, Ritsu … that was uncalled for, wasn't it?" She took a deep breath, clenching her free hand to her chest. "B-but of all places … why a bar? I-I didn't even know that Yui d-drank, or … or how she thought I'd like to drink!"

She started walking again, listening to Ritsu's voice.

"Oh … I see … a band she likes is playing there," Mio said, feeling a twinge of unexpected sadness. "I don't know," she added. "I really don't know, Ritsu … wouldn't it be … you know, weird?"

Ritsu's answer made Mio grit her teeth.

"Don't play dumb with me, Ritsu," she said. Sachi and her friends still had OnNaGumi going, and they'd be there. Yui thought it'd be a good place to go because a band she liked was going to be playing there … and Mugi would be there too, so it'd just be, like, a reminder of how they weren't a band.

How wouldn't it be awkward?

On the other hand, she had given the idea of birthday get-together some thought, in spite of herself. It might be nice to see Mugi and Yui again, at least. And Sachi's friends weren't so bad, were they?

She took a deep breath. Like so many of the other ideas Ritsu had talked her into over the years, she was certain she was about to regret this one.

"Okay, fine, Ritsu," she finally said. "I-I guess I'll go … I mean … if you guys already went through that much trouble. J-just don't expect me to have any d-drinks!"

She turned a corner, the dormitory wasn't much further.

"I don't need alcohol to have fun," she said, wrinkling her nose. "A-and besides, I still have exams to study for! Right … okay … you'll text me the address? Okay … I-I guess I'll see you guys there. Bye."

A minute later, Mio got inside the doorway and sank into one of the chairs in the lobby. What did she just agree to? She'd never been to a bar, or anything even remotely like that. Bars were for people like her old teacher Yamanaka-sensei, right? And … didn't that mean people like that would be there too?

She whimpered softly, feeling her heart racing. She wanted to call Ritsu right back and tell her it was a bad idea.

She had her phone out, staring at Ritsu's picture on the screen. She could do it … she could hit "Call."

Ritsu wouldn't accept that though, wouldn't she? Knowing her, she was probably already calling the entire damned world to tell them that Mio was going to be there.

"Stupid Ritsu," she muttered, putting her phone back into her pocket. "W-why do you insist on making everything so hard for me?"

Author's Notes:
- K-On! / けいおん!, is an original work by Kakifly. It was originally serialized in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara and Manga Time Kirara Carat. It was adapted for television by Kyoto Animation. All rights are reserved to Kakifly, Houbunsha, Kyoto Animation, and all licensees thereof. The author of this work is not affiliated with any of the above, and releases this story for non-commercial purposes only.
- Now that the legalese is out of the way: Welcome to my next K-ON! project Bandmates! As I mentioned at the end of my previous project, Left 4 Moe, this is going to be a "get the band back together" story.
- No, this story won't involve zombies.
- This story will also be nowhere near as long as Left 4 Moe, nor should it take as long to finish.
- This story takes place roughly three years after the K-ON! "College!" comics.
- Thanks for reading! Leave reviews!