AN: Wow, this chapter turned out a lot longer than I expected. Oh well. It took me a long time to revise the ending, but now I think I'm satisfied with how this turned out to be. Hope you enjoy.
Ciao. c:
Luka's eyes flittered open, her body jolting a bit in bed as she heard the door to her bedroom crash open. She let out a sigh, already knowing who it was. There was a throbbing sensation resonating throughout her skull, most likely the result of the hangover that the pink-haired woman was experiencing. As a sign of "I'm hungover and do not want to get up at this moment, try again later", Luka buried half of her face into the fluffy pillow that she was holding in her arms.
But being the way Lily is, the blonde continued to persist in her efforts, and decided that pulling the blankets off of Luka was an ideal way to wake her up.
"Rise and shine, you piece of—umf!" Lily was cut off as the pink-haired woman sent a pillow flying in the air, meeting contact with the blonde's face. Lily was then sent on a one-way course to the floor.
Luka Megurine was, by all means of appearances, refined, intelligent, collected, and the epitome of a lady by every definition. Everyone who knew her thought very highly of her and her amiable personality and feminine charm just so happened to seal the deal. But for those who truly knew the pink-haired woman would add a few more extra notes to the list. Luka was also lazy, unmotivated, prone to be a bit too violent (especially if it came to her roommate and friend, Lily), a bit of a drinker, and among other things that would surely surprise anyone not close to her.
"You couldn't have woken me up like a normal person." The pink-haired woman's tone made the statement seem more of an assertion than a question. Without waiting for Lily to reply, Luka gave a hefty sigh as she massaged her temples as she sat up. Her lips curled into a frown as she noted how terribly dry her mouth was. Maybe I shouldn't have drunk that much last night. The woman tried to think back, but all she remembered was chugging drink after drink; anything before or afterwards was either blurry or lurking in the darkest depths of her memory.
"Ugh, why do you throw so hard? I swear you can kill someone with this thing!" Lily was now sitting on the floor with Luka's pillow, her naturally messy hair even more mussed than usual.
Luka raised an eyebrow, an amused smile crawling its way up to split her face. "It's a shame that you weren't my first victim then."
It was the blonde's turn to frown. "Wow, way to be harsh."
The other ran her fingers through her pink hair, trying her best to untangle any knots she came across; eventually the task became too much work for her to handle without the use of a brush and she stopped, allowing her arm to flop back down. Her cerulean eyes drifted over to the alarm clock that rested on her drawer, across from her bed. The garish, red, neon light blared the time quite clearly for Luka: 6:45 in the morning.
Wait, 6:45?
"Holy crap Lily, I'm going to be late!" Luka's eyes widened with shock as panic began to settle underneath her skin. "Why didn't you tell me that I slept through my alarm? Hell, why didn't you wake me earlier?" She shook her head, throwing off the sheets off of her body; she would have to fight through her migraine this time. Quickly she made her way to her drawer, throwing open each shelf and picking out random pieces of clothing that appealed to her eye. Once she was done, she instantly grabbed the towel that was sitting idly on the top of the drawer. It seems that she would have to skip out on breakfast…again.
"Well, the thing is, I slept through the alarm too." Lily rubbed her neck and laughed almost nervously, causing the pink-haired woman to glare at her vehemently. The blonde responded said glare with an upturn of a brow and a crooked frown. "Hey, even though I'm a light sleeper, even I would sleep like a rock after what happened last night."
Luka softened her stare at the blonde and padded her way to the bathroom with her bare feet, an unspoken agreement with her roommate. "You're lucky you take night classes" was all she called out to Lily before locking the door behind her.
-x-
"Oh thank God, I made it on time," Luka mumbled, dropping her fee into the small box next to the driver. Tiredly (and almost annoyingly), she glanced up at the driver, who was a stout, balding man. But like his shape, his personality was big as well. Meeting her gaze, the man gave a hearty grin, something that Luka just could not stop herself from returning.
"Barely made it on time again, eh, Luka-san?" His laugh was loud and rambunctious, something that startled the pink-haired woman and some of the other passengers sitting near the front. "What was it this time? Studying, drama, relationship problems? Or maybe it was partying?" He gave her a bit of a side-eyed look, one that simply said, "I guessed it right, didn't I?"
Luka decided to go for an ambiguous approach and laughed, walking to her seat. "It's a good morning to you too, Kudo-san." Another laugh rang out through the vehicle before the bus lurched forward, going toward its next destination.
Settling into her seat, Luka gave a quick sigh before taking out the pocketbook that she had been reading yesterday. It had a complex plot, one that Luka herself was unsure of. The characters were a bit over-the-top, the scenes a bit hard to follow, but every now and then she always managed to get a few chuckles and smiles. Soon the bus had gone through two of its stops (with Kudo greeting each of the regulars with his laugh), and she was beginning to feel the effects of her migraine coming back. Bookmarking her page and setting the book aside, she opened up her purse and began rummaging through the items. So far she only managed to find her wallet, the book that she took notes in for college, a packet of gum, some long forgotten cough drops, a small bottle of water, but no pain killers.
"Ah, dammit, must have forgotten it on the tabletop," Luka clasped her purse closed picking up her novel and flipping to the page where she had left off. On instinct, she tucked in her chin a bit, trying to bury her nose in her scarf. Unfortunately, her scarf was not present around her neck, which caused her to close her eyes and sigh for the umpteenth time that morning. "And it looks like I have left behind my scarf again as well."
Just then, bus screeched to a stop, and the doors opened. The sound prompted Luka open her eyes just a bit, a bright teal immediately catching her eye.
"Well if it isn't Miku-chan! Good morning to you! Working hard as ever, I see!"
Oh, I forgot that she took the same bus as me. Luka looked up to see the smiling teenager, dropping her fee into the plastic box.
"Good morning Kudo-san. I didn't see you yesterday." Miku pointed out, something that the pink-haired woman had just now realized. Perhaps he had a fever?
"Ah, so you noticed!" Kudo gave one of his trademark laughs. "I was out with a fever, so I had to take the day off." He explained, speaking out Luka's thoughts exactly (well, almost). "But here I am, feeling top of the morning!" Another hearty guffaw came from the driver, to which Miku gave a feeble giggle before setting off to her designated seat near the back.
Then, for a moment, they shared eye contact.
It was a brief, fleeting second, but they did. Luka felt a prickling sensation in her chest, most likely because she was caught staring, and gave a quick upturn of her lips in quiet greeting. Miku's eyes grew wide (which was something that the pink-haired woman found awfully endearing) before turning an intense shade of red, similar to the color of the scarf around her neck. Shyly, she gave a small wave before rushing off. Luka could not help the growing smile on her face as she went back to reading, absentmindedly noting that her migraine was now ebbing away. It seems that the medicine has decided to work again. Hopefully it lasts me through class.
The bus rumbled on, and so did five more minutes. It took roughly an hour to get to college via bus, but the time could have been cut in half, maybe even more, if Luka had the audacity to ask her blonde friend to drive her. Luka only asked Lily when she knew that she would not be able to catch the bus on time, and she would always dread even setting a toe inside Lily's car; "atrocious" was an understatement when it came to describing the blonde's driving.
Deciding to check what time it was, Luka reached into her pocket to get out her phone. Pressing the lone button on the touchscreen device, the screen lit up. On top, large numbers told out the time.
7:41.
Ah, I'm kind of early. She realized, about to shove her phone back into her pocket. Suddenly, the device vibrated in her hand, prompting Luka to look at the text she just received. It was from Lily.
"You forgot to bring the painkillers with you."
"Oh and your scarf."
"Could have been timelier with your responses," Luka mumbled to herself, typing a quick "I know" before putting her phone back.
"U-uh, is it okay if I sat here?" A quiet, familiar voice compelled the pink-haired woman to look up. Luka smiled and scooted to the side, taking the spot next to the window.
"Of course, Hatsune-san," she watched as the younger teal-haired woman sat down, placing her handbag on her lap. "But isn't your usual seat somewhere over there?" Luka gestured behind her.
For a moment, Miku's expression morphed into one of panic before giving a nervous (and guilty-looking) smile. "A-ah, well, you see, someone took my spot, so I decided to sit here…" Her cheeks turned a subtle red.
It's kind of adorable how easily red she turns whenever I talk to her, Luka amusedly thought, closing her novel again. But she's a rather lousy liar, isn't she?
"Oh, you forgot your scarf again today," Miku commented. By the way she spoke it was as if she was merely thinking aloud.
Regardless, Luka still smiled, happy to have an amiable conversation with someone. "I did. I probably forgot it on the table before I left." Even though I specifically told Lily to put it in my bag after I showered.
The younger woman hummed her response before looking off into space, as if she was thinking about something.
After a while they settled into a comfortable silence, the rumble of the bus the only thing they could hear. But Luka decided that conversation seemed much more appealing, so she nudged the teenager's shoulder with her elbow. This successfully captured Miku's attention, and Luka smiled.
"What career do you want to pursue once you get out of high school?"
Miku hummed in thought, her eyes drifting over to the side as she shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I've always wanted to be an author of some sort because I love writing stories, but now I'm leaning towards something…musical."
The pink-haired woman smiled a bit, her curiosity very much piqued at the mention of music. Luka was always a fond lover of music, even when she was a child. She enjoyed discussing the topic, especially with people who shared the same interest and passion as her. In short, music was her life.
"Are you involved musically in school?"
Miku nodded, smiling a bit bigger than usual. "I'm in my school's choir. I joined only last year, but a lot of people say that I'm the best singer in the entire group." She gave a nervous, shaky laugh. "But I think they were just being nice…"
Luka shook her head. "I don't think they are. I can tell that your voice is very delicate by the way you speak, so I suppose it's only natural that it would sound good if you ever sang. Many people like a very soft, delicate, and charming voice which is something that you obviously have."
"T-thank you, it's really quite an honor to come from someone studying music. Although I think Rin just likes blowing things completely out of proportion…" She trailed off, her voice ending on a very quiet note as she sunk her chin into her scarf.
The pink-haired woman chuckled. "It's nothing really. I would love for you to sing for me one day, though." The bus slowed, and Luka knew that it was finally reaching her stop. Gathering her things, she gave a quick smile in Miku's direction. "Looks like I have to get off now. I hope I'll see you this afternoon, Hatsune-san."
"Miku."
Luka gave a questioning gaze in the younger woman's direction.
"Y-you can call me Miku. Since you called me by my first name last night when you…" Her cheeks turned into a very deep red, obviously recalling the events of the previous night.
The pink-haired woman smiled softly before walking out into the aisle. "Then you can call me Luka. I'll see you soon then, Miku." They gave quiet waves to one another as Luka got off the bus, Kudo's loud laugh trailing behind her as the bus went on to its next stop.
Luka sighed, her breath coming out as a white puff. Better get going before I'm late. Briskly, she walked towards her college, acknowledging several people that walked past with her a smile or a wave. Somewhere along the halfway mark (she knew that it was halfway because the café she worked at was in the middle of her route to college), she noticed a girl walking with a red scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face. Although her hair was black and her eyes were brown, she had an uncanny resemblance with Miku. Luka greeted the girl with a smile, and once they had passed each other, the pink-haired woman found herself thinking back to last night.
Even if I do have a tendency to flirt around with people, it was still rather bold of me to do what I did. A cold breeze blew past, chilling Luka's bare neck. She shivered and pulled the collar of her coat up even more. And I just met her too. What in the world possessed me to do what I did? She sighed again, feeling rather confused with herself. Well she didn't seem to mind once I left, or when she mentioned it on the bus.
…But I didn't necessarily mind it either. Her reaction was kind of cute. She chuckled to herself as the image of Miku's red face popped into her mind. Although, if someone had caught us—especially if it was one of her parents—it would be a different story.
Luka turned a corner, and walked through the college gate, being welcomed with the sight of a snow covered campus. A small smile crept up onto her face.
Regardless, it did feel right. Miku is an interesting girl, after all.
