Rondo|odnoR
Miku was someone who wanted, very badly, to go to the prestigious Crypton Academy. In fact, if asked point-blank what her life's dream was, she would say, in no uncertain terms, that her dream was to go to Crypton Academy. After all, the campus was beautiful, the teachers were excellent, the students polite and well-mannered, the clubs numerous and fun...and Luki Megurine, Miku's crush, went there.
There was only one problem - Miku was a girl, and Crypton Academy only accepted boys.
Such minor gender quibbles, however, didn't matter much to the determined and headstrong Miku, and she decided to, with her friend Rin's help, crossdress and thus attend Crypton Academy as a boy, while simultaneously, getting closer to Luki.
"What would be a good guy name for me, Rin?" Miku asked as she peered into the mirror. She had cut her hair short, and wasn't used to seeing herself with short hair yet.
"Um," said Rin. "Mikuo?"
"Yes! Perfect! Mikuo! You're a genius, Rin!"
"All I did was add an 'o' to the name."
"You'll be applying too, right?"
"I will?"
"Yeah, because Len is going and you two are pretty close."
"Len's going? Wait," Rin shook her head. "I think you're confused. Len is going to Yamaha High."
"The all-girls school?" Miku gaped at Rin. "Why? Crypton Academy is so perfect! Why would he want to go to Yamaha High, of all places? He'll have to crossdress too!"
"Len's good at the crossdressing thing. Remember Imitation Black?"
"Oh," said Miku. "Yeah. So what're your names going to be?"
Rin grinned and put a hand to her chest. "I'll be Rinto, and Len'll be Lenka. It's perfect!"
Miku stared at her friend, awed by her creativity and general prowess in coming up with false names. "Rin, you're a genius! There's no way anyone will possibly see through those!"
-o-o-o-
On the first day of school, Miku, pseudonym Mikuo, and Rin, pseudonym Rinto, walked through the gates of Crypton High, hearts aflutter with nervousness. Everywhere they looked, guys were there. There was not a girl in sight. Miku swallowed. It looked like this might be a little more difficult to pull off than she had originally thought. After all, what did guys even talk about, usually?
In class, Miku and Rin sat near the back, and during lunch, Miku excused herself to go to the bathroom. As she walked, however, she realized to her dawning horror that since Crypton was an all-boys school, she couldn't very well go to the girl's bathroom. Actually, was there even a girl's bathroom? Wait, did she have to use a urinal? Maybe she should have thought this through a little more. Did boys' bathrooms even have stalls?
Gulping, Miku cautiously pushed the door to the boys' bathroom open. It was completely empty, the urinals oddly pristine under the fluorescent lights of the bathroom. Miku made an immediate dash for a stall, flinging it open, before she saw that it was already occupied.
"Oh, crap," Miku croaked, because there was Megurine Luki, staring at her puzzledly, wearing a cap, and not wearing a shirt. Miku immediately looked away and tried not to stare too much at Luki's breasts-
Wait, what? Miku didn't dare to look back, but she was pretty sure that guys generally didn't have boobs. At least, not ones of that size.
"It looks like you discovered me," said Luki with a sigh, and he...or she? took off her cap, revealing long, billowing pink hair. "I'm actually a girl. Please keep this secret-"
"You're a girl?" Miku gasped.
"Yeah," said Luki, looking rather shame-faced. "My name's Luka. I ran in here to adjust my bindings but-"
Miku decided not to think too much about the sudden genderswap of her crush. Life goes on. One day you wake up and life is normal, and the next, you wake up and crossdress and find out that your crush is also crossdressing. C'est la vie. That's just the way life is. Simple as that.
"I'm a girl too!" Miku said. "It's okay, your secret is safe with me," Miku slapped a hand over her chest. "Actually, my friend Rin is also crossdressing too, as Rinto!"
"Oh," said Luka, looking visibly relieved. "Actually, I need to tell you that my friend USee is also a girl, named SeeU. And Gumo...Gumo's actually a girl named Gumi."
Over the next few hours, Miku and Luka discovered after comparing notes that in fact everyone who attended Crypton Academy was a girl pretending to be a boy.
Later on, they also found that Len's school, Yamaha High, was comprised solely of boys pretending to be girls.
Toast Run!
The alarm clock blared into Miku's ear, and Miku jolted up from bed and stared at it. The red digits read '8:00'.
"Eight o' clock..." Miku said, her mind fuzzily piecing together what exactly 'eight o clock' meant before it hit her with all the force of a bad taco. Her eyes sprang wide open and she hurriedly shoved off her sheets, almost falling out of bed as the sheets uncooperatively tangled with her legs. School started at eight o' five. Miku half-hopped over to the bathroom, speedily brushing her teeth and tossing on her school uniform before dashing madly downstairs, socks half-pulled on.
Her mother gave her an unimpressed look as Miku snatched up a piece of toast from the toaster. "Going to school?"
Miku nodded frantically as she jammed the toast into her mouth, barely registering the taste as she struggled to get her shoes on, her bag over her shoulder. Her heart was pumping with all the force of the engine of a sports car and she shot out of the door, shoes slapping the pavement as she made a mad dash for school.
"I'm late! I'm late!"
-o-o-o-
Indeed, all across the city, everyone was sprinting out of their homes, frantic and at the last second, all bemoaning themselves for allowing themselves to be so late. It was complete chaos as people ran into each other, a cacophony of flying pieces of toasts, the city collectively screaming "I'm late!".
"You know what we should do?" said Miki, panting around her mouthful of toast as she ran. Miku admired her skill at keeping the toast in her mouth while speaking. She herself had not yet achieved such a high level of toastmastery.
"Uhn?" grunted Miku.
"Have a competition," said Miki. "For toast running."
Miku stared at Miki, her eyes becoming as wide as saucers as she nimbly dodged a late salaryman. "Miki...that's perfect! Crap, I dropped my toast, hold on." Miku grabbed the falling piece of toast before it hit the ground, and resumed running, catching up to Miki quickly.
"Yeah, well, it's not all that," said Miki. "There can be tournament brackets, big cash prizes. I don't know, I think it can be really big. There are already underground toast running competitions, so-"
"Miki," said Miku, seriously. "You have me with you. I will, without a doubt, support your toast running enterprise. In fact, I want to be the Toast Running Master someday." She stopped to catch her toast again.
Miki stared at Miku for a few long moments before beginning to laugh. "You? The Toast Running Master? Impossible! You can't even hold the toast in your mouth while talking! Face it Miku, this is going to be serious. Only the best toast runners can make it. It's not for amateurs. You don't even compete in the underground toast running circuits!"
Miku stared at Miki as a fire of burning determination ignited in her heart. She wanted to prove Miki wrong; she wanted to make a name for herself in the toast running world too. "I will," she said. "Where do the underground toast runners meet?"
Miki rubbed a thumb across her nose. "Eh, the closest one meets in Shirakawa. But I'm warning you Miku, not everyone can make it. If you want to be seriously good at this, you're going to have to put in the training. Like summoning up that last minute desperation, the push of 'I'm late, I'm late', that pumping exhilaration flowing through your veins...even when you're not actually late. Not to mention, making the perfect piece of toast, perfect as a quick breakfast or lunch or snack."
"I can do it!" cried Miku. A pink blur shot past her, and Miku turned to look. "What the-"
"Wait," said Miki, eyes widening. "That's...that's Luka Megurine..."
"Oh, our teacher," said Miku.
"She's not just our teacher, she's the best toast runner in the circuit. I heard that all she does at night after she competes is to drink with her friends so that she could wake up in just a nick of time the next day to properly train for the underground competitions. She's way pro, Miku. I heard the bread she uses is of the famous Harimau brand, streamlined for the best possible results in toast running."
"Wow," said Miku as she stared at the afterimage the legendary circuit runner left.
"Yeah," said Miki. "Wow."
Waiting For Luka
"Hey, Miku!" said Rin as she ran up to her, and then she paused and looked down at her. "What's with your foot?"
"I think I walked too much," said Miku as she struggled with her shoe, seated before the school gate.
Rin glanced around. Crypton High was completely deserted save for Miku and Rin. "So this is where Luka wanted us to wait and meet her?"
"Yeah," said Miku. "I think it's today...wait in front of the school gate Friday night, she said, and here is the school gate, and here we are on Friday night, right?"
Rin looked at the gate suspiciously. "You sure she meant the front gate? Could be the back."
"I'm sure it's the front. What, are you saying we got it wrong?" Miku sounded personally offended by the very idea.
"She should be here," said Rin.
"Well," said Miku, reflectively, "she didn't say for sure that she would come."
"What if she doesn't come?" Rin threw up her arms. "We could be waiting for ages!"
"We'll just come back tomorrow," said Miku. "And the day after that, until she does!"
"Geez...so we'll just keep waiting for Luka?"
"Exactly."
Rin stuck her hands in her pockets and glanced around the empty landscape some more. The school, with no one else around, looked almost lonely against the orange sunset. "We waited yesterday too though, and she didn't show up."
"What are you talking about?" Miku laughed. "We didn't wait yesterday."
"Then what did we do yesterday?" said Rin.
"What...did we do yesterday?"
"Yeah, you know. What'd we do yesterday, if we didn't wait?"
"I..." Miku began, and paused, quickly shaking her head. "Look, we couldn't have waited yesterday. We had homework. This was the only possible time because it's before the weekend. Stop being confusing."
"Are you sure Luka said Friday night? If she came yesterday night and we weren't there, you know she definitely wouldn't come by this night," said Rin.
"Hey," said Miku. "I'm sure that Luka said Friday night. I save all her texts, okay? See?" Miku dug around in her pocket for her cellphone and flicked it open with a well-practiced snap of the wrist. Rin glanced over. The screen was dead.
"Way to go, Miku," she said.
Miku scowled at the phone and shoved it back into her pocket. "I just charged it this morning."
"So you're really not sure that Luka said today, then," said Rin, and with a sigh she plopped herself down on the ground. "You know what? I'm going to go take a nap until she comes by."
"You're going to sleep? Now?"
"Why not? There's nothing else to do," said Rin. Her eyes closed.
Miku stared at her before pacing back and forth in front of the school gate, glancing down the road, looking up at the sky. The silence was an almost physical presence, pressing in all around her.
Rin's breathing was even and slow when Miku stopped in front of her.
"Rin, wake up," said Miku.
There was no answer from the girl.
"Rin!" Miku leaned over and flicked Rin on the forehead, and Rin gave a start.
"Ow! Geez, Miku!" Rin covered up her forehead. "What's your problem? I was asleep! You never let me sleep!"
Miku grinned sheepishly. "I got lonely."
Rin rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "You know, I had a dream."
Miku groaned, the sound echoing in the barren landscape. "Oh no, not more dream talk."
"Hey, who can I tell my dreams to, if not you? You're like my dream diary!"
"Sure, you say that, but why don't you just keep an actual dream diary?"
Rin winced, placing a hand over her heart. "Miku...that hurts...come on, you're my best friend! Uh..." she thought. "How about we tell jokes? Did you hear the one about the American?"
Miku rolled her eyes. "Yeah."
"Tell it to me!"
"No, I don't feel like it," said Miku. "You already know it, so there's no need for me to say it."
Rin heaved a sigh. "Fine, fine. Geez, you're such a spoilsport. What do we do now?"
"Wait," said Miku.
"I know that, but what do we do while waiting?"
"I don't know, hang ourselves in front of the tree," said Miku, waving her hand over at the tree. Rin looked at it dubiously.
"Can that hold our weight? Doesn't look very sturdy."
"I don't know," said Miku. "I'm hungry."
Rin brightened up. "Oh really? Guess what I brought?"
"What did you bring?"
Rin grabbed her bag and rummaged around. "Just for you, I got some green onions. They're your favorite food, right? Here!" Rin handed the long vegetable to Miku, who took a bite out of it. At once, her face screwed up.
"This isn't a green onion," said Miku. "This is a leek."
"A leek?" Rin stared at it. "It looks like a green onion..."
"What? No it doesn't," said Miku. "Okay, you can eat green onions, also known as chives, negi, and so on, raw. But you need to cook leeks first. Furthermore, leeks are way bigger than green onions. They look like giant green onions."
"Geez, you're picky," Rin muttered. "I think I might have a green onion left...though, you've eaten all of them." Rin dug around in her pack some more before she produced a green onion and handed it to Miku, who took it, relief rapidly spreading on her face. She took a bite and closed her eyes, smiling.
"Now this is a green onion," said Miku.
"Take it easy, that's the last of them. How is it?"
"Good," said Miku. "It's a green onion. A green onion is a green onion."
Rin opened her mouth to say something, but she paused and looked to her left. From the shadows emerged a blonde-haired boy.
"Hey," he said, approaching Rin and Miku. "So Luka told me to tell you two that she won't be here today...but she'll definitely be coming tomorrow."
Rin and Miku glanced at each other before looking at the boy. "Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," said the boy.
Rin heaved a sigh. "Geez, all that waiting for nothing! That was pointless. Who are you, anyways?"
"I'm Luka's cousin from England. My name's Oliver," said the boy. "Want me to tell her anything before I go?"
"Uh...just tell her you saw us," said Miku, looking at Rin before looking back at Oliver. "You...did see us, right?"
Oliver gave them an odd look. "Of course I did. I'll tell her. Laters." With that, he left the way he came.
"Well," said Rin. "We don't have anything else to do here."
"It's alright," said Miku. "Things will be better tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Didn't you hear Oliver? Luka will be here tomorrow!"
"Oh, yeah, tomorrow...man. How long have we been friends, Miku?" said Rin, staring up at the sky.
"Uh...I guess around fourteen years or so."
"Remember that time I fished you out of the river when you were a kid?"
"I'm pretty sure that Len did that," said Miku.
"Hey! I did that!"
"Eh, well, you two look so much alike, you know," Miku said with a wry grin and a shrug.
"That's so cold, Miku!" Rin groaned, plopping herself down. "I'm cold."
Miku sat down next to her and glanced up at the moon. "Me too. Let's go home and continue waiting for Luka tomorrow."
"Sure," said Rin, but neither of them moved.
Luka's Painful Adolescence: My Classmate Can't Be This Tsun-multiple personality-princess-reality warping-sword drawing-dere!
"Did you hear about the new transfer student?" asked Lily, grinning as she leaned over the desk.
"No," said Luka. "What about her?"
Before Lily could answer, the teacher walked in, followed by a girl with long teal hair done up in twintails. Luka couldn't help but to stare - her face was delicate, with bright blue eyes and smooth, pale skin. She looked as fragile as a doll, her body slim and face serious as she gazed across the classroom. Luka's breath caught somewhere in her throat, and she swallowed, ignoring the grin Lily was giving her.
"Class," said the teacher, "this is Miku Hatsune."
Miku Hatsune, right on form, bowed shortly to the class, hands clasped primly together. She straightened up and began to speak, her voice bell-like and full of melody, a sweet spring breeze in the stuffy classroom. "Hello everyone," she said. "I hope I enjoy my time here at Yamaha High." She then turned her head to stare at Luka. Or at least, it looked like she was staring at Luka. Luka hoped not, because she felt very awkward and ungainly under Miku's laserlike gaze.
"Luka Megurine," said Miku, "I have come here to tell you that you are destined to save the universe from the dread forces of Revol."
-o-o-o-
"Damn it, you lucky git!" Gakupo groaned over lunch, glaring at Luka. "I can't believe this new girl's giving you all her attention. That is bullshit. Why not me?"
"It's not like I asked for it," Luka said, frowning. "Anyways, saving the universe from some evil organization I've never heard of? That's stupid."
"Right," said Gumi as she ate. "Miku might be beautiful, but I think she's not right in the head."
"Yeah, that has to be it," said Luka, but then she saw Miku. Her mouth went dry. Lily glanced at Luka, and then followed her gaze to see Miku. She smiled.
"You should ask her about your destiny," Lily said.
-o-o-o-
"So what's with all the destiny talk earlier?" said Luka.
Miku stared at her, perplexity written all over her face, before she began to scowl darkly. "What destiny talk? Are you stupid?"
"Huh? I don't...you said...I have witnesses!" Luka turned towards her friends. "Didn't Miku tell us that I had a secret destiny to save the world from Revol?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Gakupo.
Luka turned towards Miku, who was giving off a scary aura. Underneath her, blades of grass were shriveling. Luka held up her hands. "You really did tell me that!"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" And with that, Miku, without any further ado, plunged her hand inside Luka's chest and drew a sword from it. It felt very strange, and when she was done, Luka stumbled back, hand over her heart, gaping at Miku, who looked a lot calmer now.
"Sorry," said Miku. "I have multiple personalities. Two, to be exact."
Luka looked around and saw that they were no longer in the familiar environs of high school, but rather, a place where the sky was purple and the grass was blue. "Where are we?"
"We are on my homeworld," said Miku. "I'm the princess of the Palace of Eternity."
-o-o-o-
"You see...I like Luka, but...lately, she's been spending all her time with Miku," said Gumi, hands twisting nervously in her skirt. "I heard you were...that you could unravel things."
"For a price," said the blue-haired man.
Gumi hesitated for a second before nodding.
-o-o-o-
"Luka! Draw your sword!" Miku shouted, and Luka reached into her chest to draw the Sword of Eternity, balance wobbly as she faced off against the blue-haired Unraveller. Her eyes were fixed on the unconscious body of her childhood friend Gumi, questions running through her head. Where? When? Who? Why? How?
Luka decided to ask 'who' first. "Who are you?"
"He's the Unraveller," Miku cried over the wind that whipped the trees. "Kaito Shion. He used to be a vassal of my homeworld, but-" Miku got cut off when Kaito threw a ball of light at her. The next thing Luka saw was Miku slumping over, unconscious. She stared at her in horror before turning towards Kaito.
"Why'd you do that?" she yelled.
Kaito grinned. "I split her personality once, I could do it again. Your friend asked me to unravel your cute little relationship with our princess, Ms. Megurine."
"G-Gumi did?" Luka could hardly believe her ears. "Why would she..."
"Find out in the afterlife," said Kaito. "I can't allow your quest against Revol to go on, anyways, so this works out very nicely for me." He grabbed Gumi, thrust his hand inside her, and drew a sword. Luka winced, because it looked overly intimate and somewhat uncomfortable. Kaito flicked the blade, a beautiful sheen of glimmering light glinting at the tip of the sword, testing it.
"Ah," he mused. "A good, strong heart. Come at me, Ms. Megurine."
-o-o-o-
"Revol is only the beginning," Kaito whispered as Luka stood over him, blade at his throat. "After that...there's nothing but Fantasy."
"Fantasy?" Luka whispered, but Kaito's body was already disintegrating in shards of light, and Gumi was waking.
-o-o-o-
"Fantasy," said Lily, kneeling on the ground, her back to Luka. "I didn't want to tell you this, but...our school is built over an ancient shrine that seals the dread god Forever."
"Forever like 'eternity' forever?"
Lily ignored Luka and continued speaking. "I'm part of a long line of mikos that defend the shrine and make sure that Forever stays sealed...but with the collapse of the Unraveller Kaito...Fantasy is making its move sooner than expected. They want to unleash the dark god on the world. I...I need to teach you how to harness your other power."
"My other power?" Luka echoed.
"Yes," said Lily, standing up and turning to face Luka. Luka noticed with a twinge of alarm that Lily was dressed somewhat scantier than usual. She wondered if it would be rude to point this out. "You hold more the Sword of Eternity. Your soul also holds the Song of Ending."
Luka's mind felt as though it was about to explode with all these complicated new developments. "So I can also end things even though I hold the sword of Eternity? How do I unlock this power?"
"Well," said Lily as she walked closer to Luka, "that's simple enough." She knelt down before Luka and, to Luka's alarm, placed her hands on her shoulders.
"Wait," Luka stuttered. "Hold on, what is this?"
"Don't panic," said Lily, trailing a hand down the front of Luka's shirt, undoing buttons along the way.
Then, there was a scream, and Luka and Lily turned around to find the homeroom teacher, Meiko Sakine, standing by the now-open doorway.
-o-o-o-
"Why do only I have to have detention?" Luka complained as she sat in the completely empty classroom.
Meiko sniffed and turned away from Luka. "That's none of your concern. I will now begin my lecture on the properties of ethanol." She took out a book from the desk and began to read out loud from it. Luka sighed and put her head on the desk, only half-listening to Meiko's words.
Except...Luka's eyebrows furrowed. What Meiko was saying didn't sound like Japanese at all. Or English, for that matter. She looked up. Meiko was reading from a book that appeared to be bound in human skin, with strange and arcane words etched in it. Luka's eyes widened and she got up. The room around her was already beginning to distort.
"Miku!" she shouted, and Miku barreled into the classroom and ran over to Luka, twin-tails flying.
"Idiot!" Miku cried. "You interrupted my library committee time! What's happening?"
"Ms. Sakine's reading from an evil book," said Luka.
Miku gave an irritated snort and glanced over before her eyes widened and she backed away. "N-no way...how'd she get a hold of that? I can't detect any magic from her, so there's no way she could have known..."
"Known what?"
"That's the Book of Seven Crypts," said Miku. "Teacher's Edition."
"What does that do?"
"Forget what it does, we have to stop her!" Miku made a run towards Meiko, but then, a spiral of fire erupted underneath Meiko's feet, the classroom's front end crumpling like a used napkin as a gaping portal of blackness appeared. Miku stopped running, but the portal was sucking her, and Meiko, in.
"Wait...no! Miku!" Luka ran over towards them, hand outstretched, but the portal blinked out and Luka's fingers touched nothing but air. The rest of the classroom returned to normal, and Luka slumped down to her knees, eyes wide as she stared at the empty space before her.
Miku was gone.
-o-o-o-
Luka didn't bother to look up when the door slid open and the principal, Kiyoteru Hiyama, stepped in, hands behind his back as he surveyed the classroom. He sniffed the air, and his eyes widened.
"It is just as I have feared," he whispered. "Revol struck once more. Luka," he turned towards her "Only you, with your Sword of Eternity, can rescue your friend from the pocket dimension she is now trapped in."
"Where is she?" Luka whispered.
"She is in the Seven Crypts," Kiyoteru knelt down before Luka, who instinctively backed away. After what happened with Lily last time, she was none too eager to let another incident happen again. "Here is the Demonic Monocle, Luka. Use it with great caution. It helps you see what is unseen in that devilish world...but take care that it does not corrupt you too." He flourished a silver, unassuming monocle out of his breast pocket and handed it to Luka.
"Wh-what about the dread god Forever?" Luka said as she gingerly took the monocle. "The one underneath our school?"
"We need you and Miku to destroy that god once and for all," said Kiyoteru. "You must find her, bring her back, and use the Song of Ending with your Sword of Eternity. I will open a Dimension Gate. Find Miku and bring her back."
-o-o-o-
"You've done well to come here," said Miku, shrouded in shadow, back turned towards Luka.
"What's happening?" Luka shouted, her feet sinking in the half-organic land of the Seven Crypts.
"Do you know what power this place holds?" said Miku, back still turned. "Power enough to split the world."
Luka's eyes widened. "Wait, who are you? You aren't Miku..."
Miku started to laugh, low and unsettling, before she turned around, black hair flashing in what little light remained in the Seven Crypts, eyes a wild and insane red. "Oh, but I am!" She bowed mockingly towards Luka, chuckling madly. "My name is Miku. Miku Zatsune, at your service."
"Are you another split personality? I thought Miku only had two..." Luka trailed off once she remembered her fight against the Unraveller, so long ago. "No way...did the Unraveller Kaito...again..."
"You were always a sharp one," said Zatsune, and she leapt forward.
-o-o-o-
"Ugh..." Miku cracked open her eyes, and Luka immediately hugged her.
"You're back," Luka said, voice thick with tears.
"What happened?"
Luka withdrew, face grave. "Apparently the Unraveller Kaito split up your personality even more, into a dark side named Miku Zatsune."
"Miku...Zatsune?"
"Yeah," said Luka. "She was...scary. Anyways, we're back on Earth now. I have a lot to tell you. You know why I was in detention?"
"No."
Luka took a breath. "Apparently our school is built over the ruins of some shrine dedicated to sealing an evil god named Forever and I have the Song of Ending inside me and I need to use that with the Sword of Eternity with you in order to banish it once and for all, and Fantasy - or Revol, whatever - wants to unleash Forever to devastate the universe."
Miku blinked. "Who told you all this?"
"Uh, Lily," said Luka.
"...why are you blushing?"
"I'm blushing?" Luka felt her cheeks. They did feel a little red. "I'm not...no reason...it's just..." Luka trailed off. Miku seemed to be looking angrier and angrier by the second.
"You did something with her, didn't you?" Miku demanded, and then, to Luka's horror, her hair started to flicker between teal and black. "You're the worst! I hate you!"
"W-wait, Miku," Luka stammered, but it was too late. Miku Hatsune was gone, and in her place stood Miku Zatsune, again. Luka's heart sank. She was in no condition to fight her again.
"Jealousy is pretty powerful, isn't it?" Zatsune mused, glancing down at Luka. "Especially when it's her unstable tsun-tsun side being jealous. Good to be back, though."
"Can't you stay dead for a few moments longer?" Luka got up unsteadily to her feet. "We don't have the time for this. Revol wants to destroy the universe."
Zatsune laughed. "Revol? They're peanuts. Forever is nothing more than some trumped up idiot. Especially since you can use the Song of Ending."
"Uh...I can't," said Luka. "Lily said she was going to teach me, but I think she got side-tracked."
Zatsune stared at Luka. "Wait, so you were talking all that hotshot big talk about destroying Forever, and you can't even use the Song of Ending yet? Are you retarded?"
"Hey, I have a very busy life, I was rescuing Miku from the Seven Crypts and from you. And I got detention."
Zatsune sighed. "Fine. I'll teach you, since you defeated me. But don't take this the wrong way," she scowled at Luka. "I'm just doing this because you defeated me."
-o-o-o-
The sky was a pitch black, earth shaking and crumbling under Luka's feet as she ran with a dazed Miku towards the center of the vortex that held Forever.
"We have to stop it before it's too late!" Luka shouted, her words whipped away by the wind. The Sword of Eternity was already drawn.
"How do we do it?" Miku asked.
"The Song of Ending...I need to sing it with you, Miku," said Luka.
"Oh," said Miku. "What's it about?"
"Magnets," said Luka.
"So our song is a metaphorical magnet bringing Eternity and Ending together? Something deep about the meaning of the universe?"
"No, uh, it's about forbidden love and fire and magnets and burning passion. It's okay," said Luka. "We should already know the words. That's what Zatsune told me when she taught me."
"How did she teach you the song?" asked Miku. "I can't remember a thing."
Luka's face flushed and she cleared her throat. "Um, she just did...somehow...oh, we're at the Dimension Gate."
Miku peered into the swirling vortex.
"Are you ready?" said Luka, holding out a hand and putting on the protective goggles.
Miku nodded. "I'm ready."
They stepped into Gate, and disappeared.
-o-o-o-
"A feeble fire is lit at the edge of my heart," Miku sang, her voice sweet and clear in the plummeting blackness as Luka aimed the sword at Forever, "without my knowing, it spreads into burning passion."
The goggles were doing nothing, Luka realized, for the wet bullets Forever was spitting at them blackened her vision anyways.
"No, you're singing it wrong!" Luka shouted. "We need to sing it like this: Dakiyosete hoshii, tashikamete hoshii-"
"Damn it, this song has absolutely nothing to do with killing evil or stopping the land from darkness or saving the universe, why are we singing this?"
"I don't know, just sing!"
-o-o-o-
"Congratulations, Luka and Miku," said Kiyoteru. "You saved the universe."
"Wow, thanks," said Luka, smiling. She turned towards Miku. "Isn't this great, Miku?"
Miku nodded. "Yes, but...I need to go back to my homeworld now."
"What? No way!" Luka ran towards Miku and clasped her hands. "You can't just leave! Not after everything we did together...not after singing the Song of Ending together!"
Miku's blue eyes were staring down at the floor. "I...I know. But...but I have no choice. I'm the princess. I have to go back."
Luka looked down. Miku's words made sense, but how could Luka go back to everything after all that? "I just...I don't..."
"Just kidding!" said Miku, looking back up with a grin. "My dad the King said I could stay and have a completely normal high school life on Earth."
"Oh," said Luka, and then Miku's words hit her and her eyes widened. "Oh! Okay! Yeah! That's great!"
And from that day on, Miku and Luka lived a completely normal high school life, until the next world-destroying threat came along.
The song referenced in Luka's Painful Adolescence is Magnet, but I'm sure you all knew that XD Waiting for Luka is also heavily inspired by Waiting for Godot. If you managed to read through all that, congratulations! I hope your brain isn't too scrambled from the randomness. If you have the time, leave a review! XDD