Chapter 8

I am alive! I am alive. This story is alive. It is not abandoned!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and/or songs that appeared in this fic.


The clouds are dark as rain poured heavily on the grounds of school. The winds were harsh as it blows through every plain, trees, and buildings. Thunder rolled after the crackle of lightning hits the dark skies on the cloudy Saturday afternoon.

Amongst the heavy pitter-patters of the rainfall, hastened sloshed steps could be heard on the supposed empty road to and from the educational building. A splash of yellow amongst the grey atmosphere is seen running through the heavy rain.

She ran and ran no matter how the clothes on her body seem to stick on her skin. Her blue eyes seeming to glare through the road in her front as she began to soak, despite the hoodie she brought with her. Rin grits her teeth as anger and worry fill up her skin.

~0~

It had started with a phone call from Len that rainy afternoon.

She was just lounging in her room, just like the last few days of her life, hiding the redness on her cheeks or trying to stop her brain from pressing the replay button for the same purely accidental scene. Her blush had died down for the most part so the only reason why she is hiding is because she is afraid of the disgust that could have been on the greenette's face.

Of course, she would never believe that Gumi would be against anything homosexual, considering the way she reacted to Mayu and Lily, and Negitoro. In fact, she seemed rather pleased when she found out about Luka having a more-than-friends dynamic with Miku. However, Rin couldn't help but feel pessimistic.

So, here she was staring at nothing while thinking about everything that had happened ever since she joined the school. That is until she heard her phone vibrate at three in the afternoon. Displayed on the screen is the picture of her dorky brother with his dorky smile. She frowned, thinking that maybe she would get that brotherly 'how're you?' – a question that she just couldn't answer yet.

Hesitantly, she picked up the phone. "Len, I don't really need what you are going to say to me right now." She said, quickly. However, there was a sniffle at the other end of the phone but that was not the whole of it. It sounded more girly than her brother which is only possible if the person at the other side is actually a girl. "H-Hello?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Someone rasped at the other end, as if struggling for air. "Rin…" The blonde sat up, on alert. Blue eyes widened at the voice at the other end of the line, her eyebrows furrowing with worry.

"Gumi?" The blonde treasurer could not help but gasp as she heard more cries from the greenette. "Are you alright? Why are you crying?" she asked in panic, her earlier fear disappearing in an instant as it is being replaced with worry.

The short-haired blonde hears the greenette once again take in a breath of air, as if steadying herself. "Rin, I… I need to tell you something." Gumi said resolutely, despite the slight tremble in her voice. "I-I…"

"Gumi?" She asked once again, her lips turned to a frown at the slightest indication of hesitation.

"Rin, I… I can't…" She heard a small shuffle from the other line. "I c-can't." She barely heard. "No! Damn it, you are not going to make me do this! I won't do it!" She heard the greenette shout.

The blonde stared at her phone for a minute. "H-Hello..?" she asked once again but this time, it was neither static nor the background noise that greeted back.

"Hello, Rin." She heard a deep voice rumbling through her phone. The same voice that she had been despising ever since Luka's abduction. "I am afraid Gumi has other business to attend to." Kaito said. The formality in his voice made her anger rose above from within her, just like every time she saw him. "Excuse us." The line was cut, indicating the end of the discussion. She took the phone from her ear, locking it as she did so. Her face twisted in an angry scowl, thinking of what has happened. Within a second, she grabbed her hoodie and the keys of her room.

Blue eyes searched the lounge of the Crypton dormitory, looking for certain upperclassmen. She frantically searched through the spacious room, needing to somehow find any one from the hell hole that was the student council. "Where the hell are they?" She muttered under her breath.

Just then at the corner of her eye, she saw two familiar tall men – the other with a long purple hair and the other with a messy pink one. Gackupo was stomping angrily as he walked with Yuuma to the nearest couch. "Gumi should just cooperate!" She heard.

"Hey, senpai!" Rin shouted from across the hall, striding with a purpose. The two turned to her direction but they barely had any time to react when Rin reached for Gackupo's loose neck tie, pulling until her face is right in front of his scared face. "Where is Gumi, senpai?" she demanded.

~Miku's P.O.V.~

It was raining too hard for a certain tealette that day. The air was cold as it had been since the rainy season had started. Dark clouds seemed to have the whole campus occupied, preventing any normal student from doing their usual weekend activities in the school grounds. Normally, her mood would be the same as the atmosphere outside, but she cannot help but grin at one thing inside the room – her red-faced best friend, being teased to death as they try to get her to confess.

Don't get her wrong though. She loves her best friend but, with all due respect, she can't help but feel that this is retribution over the past couple weeks where Gumi had used her key to Miku's room to breach what is rightfully her privacy. She only learned about the snooping when they had that little heart-to-heart talk last night. It might have led to a few flying pillows and glares but it was nothing serious.

"Oh come on, Gumi! Is it hard to just tell her that 'Orange juice is juicier when it's from you'?" Meiko asked a mischievous gracing her lips as Kaito took the call and ended it seconds later. The brunette took obvious delight in torturing the greenette.

Meiko had been assigned to give the inevitable punishment from their betting game because even though it was an elaborate plan to get Gumi to do something unthinkable, it was still a bet that the honorable greenette lost to. Normally, it would have been Lily giving the punishment. However, the long-haired blonde, along with Mayu, had to make a run for the department store for the Christmas event.

"Meiko-senpai, no, I can't do that..!" Gumi shouts as the red on her cheeks starts to spread to her neck. Miku smirked because if there was one thing that Gumi is not, it would be innocent. The girl has her head in the gutter. Meiko probably sensed this quality from the greenette. "That sentence is wrong in so many ways!"

"What do you mean?" The brunette tried to feigned innocence but everyone in the room – Kaito, Gumi, Len, Yukari, and IA knew what was about to happen. "I was only saying that the orange juice that she could squeeze would be tastier that the regular ones!" Meiko argued, tilting her head to the side. "Huh. Well, I suppose you can choose one from this list." She handed the greenette a piece of paper.

Hesitant and cautious, the VSC treasurer took the seemingly harmless paper. Green eyes widened as she read what was written. She visibly became awkward as she coughed and pulled the collar of her blouse, seeming to feel a bit hot. Miku had an inkling of what was written in that piece of paper. She gave her best friend a sympathetic smile as they shared a look.

Taking another breath of air, Gumi found it in her to look at the paper again, obviously thinking there was a way to make it less embarrassing. But, Miku supposes that the greenette failed as she, still red on her cheeks, crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it at the brunette. "No! These are tons worse! Can you just… maybe give me something normal to do?" she says, her eyes ready to shed tears.

Meiko grinned. "It is not my fault that Lily needs to go to the mall for props. It is also not my fault that she gave me dare-rights. Now, choose." She said as she picked the ball of paper. "The sentence or the things written in this paper?"

The whole teasing atmosphere rang silent as the door to the SC room slammed open, revealing a very angry yet soaked blonde. "What are you doing to Gumi?!" Her voice accusing and her eyes glaring at the people before her.

~Gumi's P.O.V.~

Everything seemed to stop as the greenette heard Rin's voice echoing the room. Everything seemed to disappear as green eyes locked on the blonde treasurer. She had forgotten about her dare. She had forgotten the heat on her cheeks just seconds ago. She had forgotten about the embarrassment that the kiss they shared brought. All that registered in her brain right now is the thought that Rin's here.

Relief coursed through her body despite noticing the blazing anger of the blonde. She wanted to say something – anything but Gumi stood speechless, her mouth agape, unbelieving of the scene in front of her. "She's really here."

Rin's blue eyes, worriedly, looked over her side as if checking if there was any indication of harm or injury. The greenette's breath hitched as blue eyes connected with hers. They were electric as they always had been, a spark of mischief gleaming despite the worry they exude. Seeing no harm, glassy blue eyes smiled a bit. The blonde's shoulders relaxed the slightest bit, even though the rest of Rin's body seemed to have stiffened. She tilted her head to look elsewhere but Rin directed her eyes towards her once again, as if shy, as if hesitating.

The VSC treasurer's lips trembled at the sight. Wordlessly, she took hastened steps to close the distance between them. She took the other girl's cold hand and pulled the blonde close to her, wanting to make sure that she was here. Her arms immediately wrapped around the blonde's neck, her fingers gently brushing through the short tresses as she did so.

She burrowed herself at Rin's neck, as she felt her tears began to swell. She inhaled taking in every sensation that she could before she must face the consequence what had happened between the two of them. "Hey." She murmured.

Slowly, she felt the other girl's arms around her, returning her hug. She felt the blonde release a relieved sigh, the warm breath of her companion tickling her neck. "Hey." The blonde whispered.

For a moment, everything just stood still. For a moment, it stopped. The worry, ache, and sadness of the situation seemed to have just vanished upon knowing that Rin's alright... "Hey, Gumi." Green eyes shot open as she registered whose voice called for her. It was Meiko. "I dare you to stop moving."

~Third Person P.O.V.~

The room became enveloped with Rin's high-pitched protests as soon as she realized that she will be stuck in the arms of a certain greenette. Hot breath suddenly touched her neck. "Oh, shit." The thumping of her heart became more prominent in her ears as she hears Gumi. "Rin...?"

The shorter treasurer felt a shiver run down her spine as she put her hands on the arms that surround her neck, grabbing it as she tried to pry those away from her. "L-Let go of me, Gumi!"

"I am so sorry for this, Rin!" Gumi said, apologetically, not moving as she said so. The blonde found herself struggling a bit helplessly as she found no strength in her to fight Gumi. Or Gumi hugging her. Hugging her.

Warmth began crawling to her face neck and ears as she began to register something that she will not allow herself to register, right now. She struggled with much more fervor, panicking over something that made her feel like she was crossing a boundary. "H-Help me…!" she said in whisper.

Gumi did not budge despite her efforts. "N-No, please." She pleaded. "You have to stay here. We have to talk about Luka!"

Rin froze at the mention of her best friend. "What do you mean?"

Yukari stood a bit straighter, preparing herself for anything scalding that would come from Rin's mouth. "Every secret that had been concealed from the meet and greet has been disclosed to everyone in this room, except for you and Miku."

"Oh, let me guess, you have plenty more secrets under that." The CSC treasure said sarcastically. "I shouldn't be shocked, really. Maybe Miku would disappear this time!"

"Calm down, nee-san." Len tried to console his sister.

"No, Len! If you really were debriefed, then it should come clear that they are the reason why Luka is in the hands of those monsters!" Angry blue eyes looked at every guilty party in the room, seeing them looking away from her. "Yeah, that's right! Look guilty all you want but-"

"RIN!" Miku's voice rang through the room, cutting off whatever things Rin had thought of. Teal eyes met the blonde's eyes seeming to plead for silence. "I know that they have a fault but that does not mean that it is the whole story."

The blonde treasurer bit her lip, distaste crawling through her mouth. It is obvious that she does not want to acknowledge that. She had to blame someone to stop feeling guilty of not protecting her best friend. She looked away, guilt washing over her.

Then, she felt Gumi's arms tighten around her neck, giving a comforting embrace rather than a stiff, solid one. She buried her head on the greenette's shoulder, tightening her arms around the other girl, seeking comfort. "It will be alright…"

After a while, Rin nodded. "I am okay now. I'll hear what those boneheads have to say." Meiko lifted the dare as soon as she saw Rin relax. At the command, Gumi awkwardly dropped her arms to the side as she gave Rin a small smile.

The blonde found herself returning the smile. Rin took the greenette's hand, silently reassuring both of their own predicament. Reassuring them, that they are both alright.

Miku found herself standing up, offering her seat to the CSC treasurer which the blonde accepted, too tired from both the rain and emotional strain she had to endure. Gumi made her drop the hoodie, in exchange for her jacket and a fluffy towel that she always brought with her. Len, meanwhile, stood up to get some cup noodles for his sister.

Once everyone was settled and Rin was warm from the jacket and the cup noodles, Yukari found herself standing in front of her student council members. "I-I… we are truly sorry for everything. It was a lapse of judgement on our part."

Rin scoffed while Miku frowned unable to take anymore delay. "Just please… Go straight to the point." Miku said. "I just… I just want to get Luka back."

IA nodded, letting herself continue the debriefing.

~Luka's P.O.V.~

The sun was nowhere to be found despite the happiness that resided in the living room. Laughter from her step-parents echoed through the empty mansion as Piko gave one senseless joke after another. Perhaps, the sun was hiding to mimic her own withdrawn state however she cannot show her own dissatisfaction. So, instead of frowning, she found herself smiling and laughing, pretending to like what she hears; pretending that her fiancé is her world.

No, she cannot pretend. She must like this. She needed to like all this. She must make herself love this man who is destined to be called her significant other, the love of her life. She must. She must, even though she can't.

"Luka…" Piko called out for her. She turned her head towards the albino, her head tilting as she did so. "I…" There seemed to be shame in his voice which earned the attention of her step-parents. "I know that… I took something away from you during that day."

The pinkette's eyes turned glassy at the mention of the meet and greet. She wanted to cry. She really did but she cannot show that to her parents. Instead, she found herself hiding a chuckle with her hand, hiding her sadness with a smile. "That's sweet of you, Piko. But, I do not know what you are implying." She gave him a small fond smile.

Piko's cheeks turned to a shade of red, coughing into his fist as he did. "W-Well, nevertheless, I wish to give you one last chance to say a proper good bye to your friends back at Euphony."

Mrs. Megurine found herself shocked, giving a look towards her husband before turning back to their guest. "Really? Isn't that nice, Luka?" She gave a smile towards Luka – one that the pinkette knew translates to 'what did you do?'.

"Yes!" Piko said. "I have been talking to a friend lately. It made me realize that I have been…" Piko frowned. "I am sorry." He said. He reached for her hand, hesitantly, as if she would reject her. "Please, forgive me." He said with pleading eyes.

Luka was baffled. Nowhere in their relationship did Piko apologize to her. He only gloated of his accomplishments and talked about himself. He even prided in the belief that he knew what was best for her and would mostly control her actions. Her mouth went completely agape, but she felt her step-mother's stare at her, so she tried to produce the correct answer. "Th-there's nothing to forgive, Piko, but if it gives you peace of mind, I forgive you." She said with the most empathetic tone that she can muster.

Piko gave her wide smile. "Thank you." He squeezed her hand in gratitude. Luka breathed a sigh of relief while her mother just smiled at her fiancé's answer. "However," he smiled proudly as he let go of her hand to get something form his pocket. It was his wallet. He pulled a folded of piece of glossy paper from it. "I still plan on making it up." He handed it to her.

With a smile on her face, Luka took the piece of paper and unfolded it. Ocean blue eyes widened at what is written. 'The Dark in the Snow's White - Euphony's winter ball featuring several performances of Euphony students'. Under the text, she saw details of the dress code. "Thank you." She whispered, slightly in awe.

"Well," He grinned as he straightened his back. "You'll be my wife soon anyway so best to allow at least this kind of freedom. You know what they say. 'Once you get tied up, you can't do everything you want.' After all, I do plan to have some kids and you have to stay at home take care of them." He says, shooting her wink.

"Yes." She says, a bit lackluster. In truth, she wanted to do so much more with her life – maybe make a career and then cause a change in the world. That was one of the reasons why she ran away. But circumstances change, there is nothing to be done against her parents. They had her chained as a puppet to a play that she did not want to participate in.

Piko took her hand once again, kissing the back of her hand, giving her a loving smile. Luka only tightened her grip on Piko's hand, smiling like she was supposed to; like marrying Piko was everything to her. For a moment, they just stared at each other.

The pinkette felt nothing despite the loving gaze that was directed at her. She did not feel the flutter in her stomach nor did she experience her heart beating fast - the things that is always described in those books. She felt empty smiling back at him – like the puppet everyone deemed her to be. Whatever feeling of content she could find with her fiancé, she is sure wouldn't find out after all… How can one fill an already full cup?

"We'll be together forever, will we?" he said with a smile. Luka whispered her only answer. 'Yes'.

~Third Person P.O.V.~

Leaning against the wall right beside the door, the tealette found herself unable to force her eyes away from her hands, finding it hard to believe that she had so much influence on the pinkette. "I… I really could have stopped her from leaving?" she asks herself. They had told her that she was one of Luka's reasons why she had chosen to run away to pursue her dreams.

Rin only clutched on the newly brewed coffee as she listened to the whole story. The little blonde knew how big of an influence Miku had been to her best friend ever since that time they met again during their 3rd year junior high school. She noticed the change in her as they spent time together during one particular talk during their free period. She saw the fire in her best friend's ocean blue eyes; the same fire she saw every time she held a musical score or even the first time she tasted takoyaki. However, good that it is, she knew that this fact is also bad for Luka. "Yeah. That is all true." She murmured.

Miku's teal eyes turned to Rin as she heard the blonde agree. They shared a small smile before looking back to AI and Yukari. "So, what are we going to do about it? Do you guys have a plan?"

Yukari crossed her arms. "Roshi found out from an inside source that Piko had already re-established their relationship as fiancé and fiancée. He plans to announce their marriage during the the grand ball that Piko's family will arrange in a few months' time. It seems like Piko wanted to hire dance instructors so that everything will be perfect. He also decided to stay away from Luka before the intended date of the wedding day – something about a tradition in his family."

"This is where we come in." IA said. "One of us has to infiltrate the Megurine household as a dance instructor that Piko hired and have complete communication with Luka as we try to bust her out. Of course, the one assigned to infiltrate would be needing daily training from different professional dance and acting instructors just so that there is certainty."

Rin frowned at that. "You mean we are going to forcibly get her out?" She saw Yukari nod. "No. We won't be able to get her out in time."

IA tilted her head to the side. "Why so?"

The blonde took a sip from her drink before speaking. "That girl will do everything for her step-parents and trust me, it won't be easy try to get her to do anything against them. Not when I know that she has reverted back to the helpless girl that she was." She took a deep breath. "We have to let her make her own choice just like she did before. Only this time, there is no Miku."

The greenette, who has been sitting beside Rin, said. "We have to convince her to run away."

"Yes."

Miku found herself raising her hand. "I'll do it." Everyone pair of eyes stared at her. "I'll infiltrate them."

"No." Kaito said. "I will not allow you." The blue-head found himself in a spotlight.

"Oh?" Miku crossed her arms as she leveled her glare towards her older brother. "I did not realize that you or even this council has a choice in the matter." She straightened her back as she turned to Yukari and IA. "When do I start?"

The two shared a look before nodding to the demand of the tealette. "After finals." Yukari said. "And since, we are here for full disclosure-"

"Speaking of full disclosure, where are the others?" Rin asked, head turning to the empty seats.

"Cul and Iroha caught wind of a shit storm that was brewing inside the school since Luka's missing status just a while ago. They are investigating that now." Meiko, provided. "Yuuma, and Gackupo went back to the dorm to draw plans of the Megurine household's floor plan. It seems that Yuuma cannot draw."

"Meanwhile, Mayu and Lily went to buy some of the materials that will be used for the winter showcase." Len said. "It is actually happening a week right after midterms so everyone is working their buts off to balance their number while trying to study."

"The other already know of everything that we are saying, right now. Of course, we will update them of recent changes, later." IA said. "That and the other thing that Roshi promised would happen. She said she'll make Luka come to the showcase."

Not even a second later, Yukari felt her phone vibrate from her pocket. "And there it is. We have a confirmation. How she could manage to do that is beyond me." She says as she took out her phone to type out a reply. "She kept on saying that it does not matter." A frown took over her face at the thought. "Anyway, these are the established plans."

~Iroha's P.O.V.~

The two of them found themselves bundled up inside a closet. Thankfully, they were small so there was space for movement. They kept quiet as they try to hear what ever was being discussed by a small group of people from the CSC dorm.

So far, they found that at least one of them has received money from Piko for giving Luka's location. While it made her want to get out of the closet to give them a piece of her mind, Iroha made sure to stay quiet, only going as far as gripping her hand tighter. "They were the ones who snitched on Luka!" Iroha felt herself getting angrier.

"Iroha, focus!" Cul told her as she shot her a worried glance. The cat-person could only act shocked that the other disciplinary officer could communicate to her through her own telepathic wave. It had happened before but it does not fail to surprise her. She is still wondering how the red-head was able to communicate to her through thoughts. Usually, it would be the other way around. "We have to know what they are planning next!" Cul stared at the closed doors of the cabinet as if she can see through it.

Iroha sighed, inaudibly. She closed her eyes, trying to hear anything from the other side. "Piko, told us to go initiate part 2." Someone said.

Another person sighed. "Okay… I still don't like where this is going. The Student Council had been doing well with the school." She hears someone shuffle at the other side as if fidgeting. "I don't think we should."

"Oh, come on!" Someone else groaned. "We have no choice! Now that we have done the inevitable, we need to do this!"

"Indeed. We must destroy the current council. After that, all our debts would be paid." Only silenced followed that. "We'll proceed with the plan after winter break. Make sure to prepare everything, even ourselves, to go against them. That's all, I guess…"

Iroha heard chairs screeching. "They are leaving." She said to Cul, who only nodded. They waited a few more minutes before, cautiously stepping out of the closet. "They're planning to destroy the council?" she asked at the empty storage room.


That is it for chapter 8! I have 9 at the ready but I won't be posting it until I finished another chapter.

Luka: Roshi could not manage anything. Please do not forgive her.

H-Hey!

Luka: You have no say in the matter. You kept everything stagnant when you had the time to edit and add chapters.

... T_T *cries in a corner*

Luka: *looking around the room* Did... Miku go somewhere?

I... uh... I don't know. It is rather odd...

Luka: Oh...

Did you tell her that you were going to visit?

Luka: Of course, we have been texting non-stop. Huh. Now that I think of it, she did say something about dinner.

Dinner..? O.O Is it a date?

Luka: *blushes* I-I... *clears throat* No. She didn't say...

O.O