Rays of light shone incessantly onto the closed eyes of the pink-haired girl, her face scrunching up in annoyance as she rolled over to try and catch a couple more minutes, or preferably hours, of sleep, not wishing to deal with another day of disappointment.
Ever since the day she had met the teal-haired ray of sunshine, Luka had been nothing but miserable, kicking herself every day for having failed to ask for her Line ID. Instead, she had just freaked out and rushed into her house to hide in her room, crying for hours at how humiliated and stupid she felt for how she acted in front of someone who did not treat her as some kind of leech or a mental case.
There had been so many things she had wanted to say to Miku, to let her know how important their time together was, despite how short it was. Those words were now lost to time, never to be heard by anyone as she remained sequestered in her home. And now she was alone again, only her thoughts and her mother's silent judgment to accompany her.
Rolling onto her side, Luka propped up her upper body, her arms straining under her weight due to their lack of use. Since that day at the store, Luka had spent most of her days in bed, her thoughts and emotions wreaking havoc upon her mind as she spent hours crying, until eventually, sleep overtook her. Once the crying stopped, and the emotions ebbed, Luka was left with a cold emptiness in her chest, leaving her numb to the world.
Three days passed before her mother barged in and forced her to eat, the pinkette feebly resisting before letting herself be helped. The anger and worry in her mother's eyes had jolted something inside of the pink-haired girl, knocking her out of her spiral of self-loathing, if only temporarily. Luka knew it would return, it always did, but, for the moment, she could take solace with the peace inside her mind. Luka hated that she acted this way over a simple interaction with a girl, but in the end, it was her own inability to cope that led her down this path.
In all this time, Luka had still not returned to school, her backpack lying unused in the corner of her room as it gathered dust. Her brief foray into the outside world and meeting with Miku had proven to her that she was unable to fit in with society anymore, that she was too far gone. She knew that going to school would just be a waste of her time and she didn't want to give her mother any more false hope.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Luka stood up on shaky legs, placing a steadying hand on the nearby wall as a bout of lightheadedness caused her head to swim. Apparently, spending several days in bed left your body in a sorry state. Letting the vertigo fade, the pinkette grabbed a hold of her phone from her bedside desk, unplugging the charger before slipping the device into the pocket of her trusty hoodie.
Walking down the stairs, Luka paused at the final step as she heard the familiar sound of the TV echoing from the living room, meaning her mother was currently home. While usually afraid of confrontation with her mother, her actions over the last couple of days seemed to have caused a larger rift to form between the two of them.
Luka had refused to tell her mother what had happened, too lost in her own depression and self-loathing to properly reach out to her, to tell her what was wrong. This lack of communication and her mother's inability to relate to her own daughter has caused the two to be at odds pretty much every day. It was like a pair of strangers sharing a home.
Taking a deep breath, the pink-haired girl began heading directly toward the living room where her mother was. The only way to mend the rift was for her to take that first step.
"G-good morning, M-mom." Stepping into the room, the pinkette walked up behind the couch, her mother jolting slightly at her sudden appearance, the older woman turning her head to stare at her daughter in surprise. The look of shock only lasted for a second before it was replaced with the familiar withering stare Luka had become all too familiar with, ever since her mental state started deteriorating.
"Morning ended hours ago." Turning back to her show, her mother failed to notice the pained expression on her daughters face, Luka flinching at the harsh tone in her mother's voice. The anti-social girl felt terribly stupid at that moment. Of course a simple hello would not be enough to undo all the damage she had caused.
"There's no leftovers so you'll have to fend for yourself." Luka nodded her head reflexively, the action going unnoticed by the older woman as she continued to watch her program, oblivious to the pain she inadvertently inflicted upon her daughter.
The young shut-in was about to head to the kitchen to prepare herself a small meal, not having much of an apatite anymore, but a familiar voice coming from the TV caused her to freeze in place, her blue eyes widening in shock. Slowly turning around, Luka couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"M-Miku?"
There, surrounded by several national celebrities from all forms of entertainment, was a familiar teal-haired girl, the brilliance of her smile managing to shine even through the TV screen. She was wearing a super elaborate stage outfit, resembling some kind of circus leaders outfit just a lot more intricate and fancy, her long flowing hair sparkling majestically as the studio lights reflected off of it. A small diamond shape, like from a playing card, was painted on her cheek as a tiny top-hat sat atop her head, a scepter-like microphone clutched in her hand. Even amongst celebrities, the tealette managed to stand out.
"Hatsune Miku's newest single, entitled 'Bless Your Breath, drops this week and will be her first new song in almost a year, ever since her last chart-topping album took the nation by storm. Miku will be gearing up for a nation-wide concert tour in promotion of her newest album, which will be her fourth one in total. We are so glad you could join us today, Miku-chan!"
The world slowly faded away around her as Luka listened to the TV presenters introduction, her blue eyes fixated solely on the tealette on the screen, Miku giggling shyly at the elaborate introduction, the crowd cheering wildly for the young star.
'She…she's an idol?' The pink-haired girl couldn't believe what she was seeing as Miku expertly navigated the host's questions, joking and laughing with her fellow guests with practiced ease as if she belonged amongst them. A star amongst stars.
Fishing her phone from her pocket, fingers trembling as they navigated through the menu toward her music playlist, Luka's sucked in a deep breath as she saw a familiar name amongst her list of songs.
'Hatsune Miku - Karakuri Pierrot'
"N-no….it can't be." This whole time. This whole time she had had a connection with her and she didn't know it. She had spoken to a celebrity, walked home with her, was given a drink by her, and she had not recognized her. A celebrity, a social elite, had treated her with a kindness she had not known in years.
Luka's breaths started coming out in labored bursts as her mind reeled at the new revelation, the pink-haired girl taking a couple of steps away from the couch as her brain yelled at her to run and hide, to escape the stressful situation she found herself in. Her mother turned in her seat, shooting her an annoyed look, a hint of worry in her eyes.
"Luka? What is it?" Locking eyes with her mother, Luka didn't know what to do. She wanted to scream out, to tell her what happened that fated day when she had met Miku, a true idol, at the convenience store. But, in the end, would she believe her? The trust they had had with each other had slowly been eroded away, Luka believing the only reason she still loved her was because she was her mother and had to.
"I-It's nothing." Shaking her head, Luka averted her gaze, her fists clenched tightly as they nervously bunched up the edge of her sweater. What was the point? There was no way she'd believe her.
"Alright…" Staring at the pink-haired girl for a couple more seconds, Luka refusing to look at her, the older Megurine decided to give up and return to her show, chalking up the incident as another one of the things she couldn't understand about her daughter.
Looking back at the screen, watching as Miku let out a boisterous laugh that caused the pink-haired girl's heart to flutter, Luka wondered if she had gone back to the convenience store, would she have seen her again?
Several days had passed since the big revelation of Miku's identity and despite her want to see her again, Luka had not gone back to the store, remaining locked up in her room once again. Her heart and mind had screamed at her, waging war against each other on what to do, leaving her an indecisive mess for days.
Staring at her plain white ceiling, drawing imaginary lines along its surface, Luka once again fought an internal war with herself. She wanted to go, felt she needed to, just to confirm to it to herself, to finally let the whole thing go. But at the same time, the fear of getting hurt, that Miku did not want to see her again, which she believed to be inevitable, left her in her current predicament.
Surely their short time together had not impacted the teal-haired girl as much as it had her, the chipper idol no doubt having tons of friends, never mind the love of her numerous adoring fans. Luka herself had been a fan without even knowing it. There is no way someone like her, an exuberant ball of sunshine, would have seen anything noteworthy from a stuttering, depressed mess of a person like herself.
And yet, with all of her thoughts pointing to the negative, Luka lifted herself out of her bed, her steps steady and back straight, as she left her room with an unfamiliar feeling of determination.
Pain was nothing new to the young shut-in, sadness and hurt permeating every aspect of her life for the last couple of years. But now, with this slim chance of happiness within her grasp, no matter how fleeting, was she supposed to just let it go.
Slipping on her sandals, the spare set of keys tucked safely in her pocket, Luka glanced one last time at her empty home, giving herself one last chance to back out, to return to her room and let time slowly fade this hope into a distant memory. Gripping the door handle tightly, Luka swung the wooden door open roughly and stepped determinedly out into the world.
The sun once again cast its burning rays upon the young pinkette's shoulders, it's scorching heat hampering every one of the girl's steps. But this time, as sweat poured down her forehead, Luka was walking with an air of purpose, her blue eyes shining brightly as she slowly trudged up the steep hill.
Her chest was on fire as she made her way up the steep incline, her footsteps speeding up more and more the closer she got to her destination. Luka didn't know what was driving her forward like this, giving her energy she did not know she still had. Was a chance of happiness really such a strong motivating factor for her?
While she would usually deride herself for such foolhardy flights of fancy and pointless daydreams, Luka kept moving forward, the soles of her feet screaming in pain as the heat from the asphalt burnt the exposed skin underneath her sandals. Unzipping the front of her hoodie, her black undershirt clinging uncomfortably against her sweat-soaked skin, Luka broke out into a dead sprint as the top of the hill became visible, the stores sign slowly cresting over the edge.
What was she going to find? What if she's not there? What if she is? What would she say? All these questions bounced through her skull as she sprinted up the hill, her cheeks flush with heat as every intake of breath stung her chest. No matter what she found at the top, at least Luka would know she had tried to make her life better and that hopefully, one day, she could be happy again.
Arriving at the top of the hill, Luka gave herself a second to catch her breath, the pink-haired girl hunching over, gripping her knees tightly as she sucked in lungfuls of precious air. Large droplets of sweat fell onto the pavement below, her clothes pressing uncomfortably against her skin as she wiped her brow with the back of her sweater.
Lifting herself back into a standing position, the pink-haired girl panned her eyes across the front of the store, her blue orbs widening in surprise as tears began trickling down her cheeks.
Crouched in front of the store's entrance, her back resting against the side of the building, dressed in a simple pair of high-waisted shorts and midriff-baring blouse, was Hatsune Miku. A small pout was on her lips as the tealette stared down the road, her aquamarine eyes lazily scanning the horizon as if she was waiting for someone.
Swiveling her head back around, Miku perked up in surprise as she locked eyes with the panting pinkette, a brilliant smile overtaking her face as she hopped to her feet, running toward the stupefied shut-in with her twin-tails trailing behind her.
The pop idol came to halt before the pink-haired girl, Miku smiling up at Luka as she giggled merrily at the stunned look on the pinkette's face.
"You took your time getting here! I've been coming here every day hoping to see you."
Luka stood there stunned, mouth agape, as Miku admonished her, frowning playfully at her before breaking out into cheerful laughter. Despite the shock and surprise that was currently running through her mind, Luka couldn't help the feeling of joy that was bubbling up within her, the pink-haired shut-in smiling brightly as joyous laughter danced out of her chest as she wiped her tears.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting."
A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry for the long delay between chapters!
This is my own fault for starting an extra story while already having two on the go. It doesn't mean I forgot about it or care about this story any less than my other two, it's just once you get a rhythm going with two, it becomes hard to switch over to a third one. I'm still going to keep working on this and I managed to finish this one up in only a day so hopefully, I can get this ball rolling again. Sorry for it's shorter length but it's more of a transitional chapter and the next one will have more interaction between the pair.
Thank you to everyone who has given this story a shot and I hope you all stay safe out there. Have a wonderful day!