Epilogue
With a little difficulty, Mio maintained a steady and clear mind, letting thoughts come and go one at a time. She had her eyes closed, but could hear the echoes of distant noises bounce through the vast interior of the cathedral. She could smell the rich, sweet scent of incense, the coldness of the massive stone blocks that made up the cathedral, and a faint hint of oil and sacred unguents from the caretaker-servitor. She adjusted her posture, and the pew, made of venerable, centuries-old wood, creaked under her. Mio stiffened, half-expecting a chastisement from another Sister. But there was only the quiet, the murmur of activity elsewhere, and reverently quiet hymns to the Emperor, piped through the angelic figures set high in the cathedral's vaults.
Mio heard another creak, more distant, that of a door. She heard voices, and recognized Ritsu's among them. Mio breathed in slowly, breathed out slowly, said a closing prayer, and opened her eyes. She stood and exited the cathedral at a relaxed and unhurried pace.
As Mio walked out of the cathedral, she saw Ritsu coming towards her. She was stiff and formal at first; then, when the click of a lock engaging sounded from one of the doors in the hallway, Ritsu's shoulders slumped, and she heaved a long, deep, obviously relieved sigh.
"How did it go?" Mio asked, falling into step with Ritsu.
Ritsu shrugged and fidgeted with her aquila necklace. "Pretty good. For starters, I'm alive and still a Sister Superior," she said, her voice low to dissuade any potential eavesdropping Emperor-botherers. "The fate of the Exorcist-drum-kit-arrangement is currently undecided, and I'll probably never get that set back. Thank the Emperor for roving-merchant-antique sales, am I right?"
"Any more penance?" Mio asked.
"Nope!" Ritsu said. "Patricia declared we are one hundred percent heresy-free. She made a few smart remarks about my combat skills, and put me up for mandatory drilling with Sakura." She scowled. "Not looking forward to that."
Mio hesitated a moment before giving Ritsu's shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "Ritsu, you survived a Chaos commander. You'll deal with Sister Sakura just fine."
The mention of their recent victory brought a gleam to Ritsu's eye. "Did you see the look on her face when we were officially credited for Bairnskein's death?" she said, grinning again.
Mio nodded. "Yes, I did."
"Absolutely worth all the suffering of drilling with her," Ritsu said.
"Did the Canoness say anything else?" Mio asked.
"Oh! Yes!" Ritsu exclaimed, and this time pulled Mio to one side. "Are you ready?" she whispered.
Mio glanced up and down the corridor. No one was in sight. "For what?" she asked.
"No, are you really ready for this?" Ritsu asked. "You gotta be ready for this surprise, it's big!"
Mio raised an eyebrow. "Ritsu, I'm getting worried."
Ritsu rolled her eyes. "Come on, Mio! You gotta play along for this one! It means a lot."
Mio sighed, leaned in, and whispered, "Okay, Ritsu, I'm ready. What's the big surprise?"
Ritsu glanced over her shoulders, looked back to Mio, cupped her hands to her mouth, and whispered so quietly that Mio barely heard, "Patricia gave After-scholam Tea Time the performance approval seal."
Mio felt her brow knit as she lined up the words, ran them through her head again, and came up with nothing. "Um…" she said, "…what's that mean?"
Ritsu stared at her. "Mio," she said, her voice rising, "that means we can set up and play in the convent, in the city, anywhere under Order law, and jam our hearts out! And Sister Sakura can tattle all she wants, she can't do anything about it! We've got it made!"
Mio uncovered her ears. Ritsu's triumphant shout was still echoing along the corridor. "Oh," she said. Mio recalled how long it had been since she'd played her bass, and how much longer it had been since she, Ritsu, Yui, Mugi, and Azusa had played together. "You mean, we're being encouraged to play now?"
"Uh huh," Ritsu said.
"The Canoness is encouraging us to play?" Mio said.
"Yup."
Mio nodded. "And we're going to tell the others, right?" she asked.
Ritsu grinned. "We're going to tell the others, celebrate with an extra-special round of dessert, and then fill this place with the joyful noise of the Emperor until evening mealtime."
Mio felt a surge of fuzzy warm nostalgia wash through her, bringing with it memories from the scholam, the afternoon sun streaming into the Light Music Club's room, and the joy and satisfaction of performing for their scholam.
"Just like old times," Mio murmured.
"Just like old times," Ritsu agreed.
***End***
Warhammer 40,000 is owned by Games Workshop, K-ON! is owned by Kyoto Animation. This is purely a fan story and intends no copyright infringement.