Pulling Hares Out Over Nothing

"I think we should put PekoMiko on hold," Pekora suggested out-of-the-blue. The other half of the duo snapped her head towards her, utterly dumbfounded at her brazen proposal.

W-what? Miko thought. Does she hate me after all? Ooh, I knew she'd get fed up with all of this. I should've just bluffed back then, even if I've more of a baby face than a poker face.

Miko begged, "Pekora, wait-" Pekora put up a finger to hush her.

"Now, before you go overthinking and blaming yourself again, it's not your fault. I just feel it's time to rethink our approach. What we're doing now doesn't seem to be working."

"Are you sure? What if we wait a bit long-" She stopped her again.

"Look at it this way, peko. It's been what? Over two peking months? January just started, and nobody has shown that much interest in you, right?"

Pekora's words held true. They were in the middle of an offcollab at Pekora's house to celebrate the New Year, for crying out loud! They might've gotten closer as friends, but they were not a step closer to solving this mystery of Miko's.

"Ah… no," Miko answered. "I thought for sure if we kept acting almost like a couple, then someone's gonna get jealous and swoop in during one of the group streams."

"Maybe it's because we keep acting like a tsundere pekouple. Like they peksume you're already taken." Perhaps releasing a song based on our rivalry wasn't the smartest move to make for this approach. Man, I just wanted her to stop stressing out so much, Pekora reflected.

"Fair point, but to make me seem available... We could fake a big argument between us like Korone and I did, but draw it out to give other members the chance to go after me."

"No, our fans will take it too seriously if we do that. For now, let's just lay off the pekollabs. It's fine if we're in a group, but let's try to not have ones where it's just us two."

"And what about just hanging out in general? Should we stop that as well?"

"I think we can still meet offstream like we usually do, but let's keep hush about each other. At least until you clear this mystery route of yours. Got it?"

"Yeah. I'll try and see if anyone else is down for collaborations, but you know how management is. Oh, that reminds me, I'm playing A Way Out with Korone in a few days."

"Really? Think it could-"

"No way," Miko replied frustratedly. "To me, she's just like you. Just a good friend."

"I see. Well, let's hope we'll get a lead soon enough."

Pekora didn't even have to wait a month for a lead to show up this time. In the last week of January, she found a VOD of Miko's latest collab stream: GTA V with Hoshimachi Suisei.

It made sense; after all, miComet announced their upcoming appearance in the next VILLS, and Suisei herself had been very interested in the game for some time now. Still, the bunny girl's upper ears couldn't help but twitch with anticipation as she clicked the video.

It took less than five minutes for Miko to bring up… areas where Suisei was found lacking, and it took all of the following second for the latter to slug Miko's character in the face.

. . . . .

"HA↗HA↘HA↗HA↘!" Pekora chortled, the sounds of blissful joy reverberating in all directions. In a flash, three hours had passed, with her having to take no less than 6 breaks to catch her breath. Her mom even had to check on her to see if she was still fine!

In between rapid, deep, gasps for air, she thought, I haven't laughed that much in a long time! Is this how people feel about PekoMiko?

Then, more critically, she ruminated, Still, Miko acts differently with her than with me, or even with Korone. She's almost… carefree. Same with Suisei. As if they couldn't be happier.

For two people that hadn't worked together often, the virtuan and the cometzen bounced off each other well. It seemed like Miko was one of the only ones who could tease her fellow genmate on practically anything and live to tell the tale. Sure, Suisei could and would attack her on the mildest offense, but the shrine maiden was more than ready to strike back just as hard!

The rabbitfolk muttered, "I haven't heard Miko talk about her yet. Could it be Suisei?"

. . . . .

"Not a chance! There's no way it could be her!" Miko denied as her hands slammed down into the armrests of the chair she sat in. Since they were in Pekora's room again, her palms sank into the soft cushiony material instead of making a loud *thud*.

"You won't even consider it? Like nothing about her makes your heart beat a bit faster?"

"Um, yeah, it does go faster. But this is 'psychopath Suisei' we're talking about! Don't you at least feel a little bit nervous whenever she gets excited over something?"

"You got me there," Pekora admitted. She quickly realized, But Miko didn't say she only thinks of her as a friend. Is that why she hasn't found her crush yet: because she misinterpreted her own love as fear? What is this reverse suspension bridge effect going on here?!

Miko snapped her fingers, derailing her friend's train of thought. "Oi! Usada! Y'got any other suggestions? I haven't been so lucky myself."

"Ah, no. Afraid not. I hope we'll have better luck in February."

Internally, Pekora decided, It might be better to first see if Sui-chan could return her feelings. I can't have Miko go straight to the lethal stage just to get shot down.

The first sign of interest was Suisei's profile card that Marine read out onstream. On it, the stellar idol wrote that the person she wanted to get closer to the most was Miko. The same bio also claimed that Miko was the 'pet' of the 0th generation, but that was a joke… right?

The second noteworthy event was Suisei's 3rd anniversary/birthday stream. Not only was the virtuan the first one to call in, supporting Pekora's theory that Suisei was the one, but they talked about wanting to hang out when they were both free. While Suisei did ask for a confession at the end, she also asked that from everyone else, so it was hard to tell if that meant anything.

True to their word, Miko and Suisei started spending time together, and the former began bringing the latter up often in her private conversations with Pekora.

. . . . .

Miko excitedly recounted, "So Sui-chan and I passed by this new takoyaki place the other day, and we thought, 'why not try it?' So we did and it's so goo-"

Pekora stopped her with an annoyed hush. "Miko. You're great and all, but all I hear from you lately is 'Sui-chan this, Sui-chan that'. Are you sure you're not in love with her?"

"I already told you I'm not! I just get scared whenever I'm around her, that's all!"

"And what of all your get-togethers, peko? Why go if you're that afraid of her?"

"Because Sui-chan's always wanting to hang out! She's the busier one, so it's easier to let her plan things. Plus, I gotta make sure she's taking care of herself."

"Hm? Wait a pekond, what do you mean by that last part?"She wondered, Is she sick?

"She seems fine, but she always uses the bathroom at least once when we're together."

"Every time? That's a strange habit for someone like her to have." Is this normal for her?

"I know, right?! And then she sometimes just stares right through me with a big dumb grin on her face, like she can see my heart and she's wondering how best to season it!"

Or pekaps she's just madly in love with you. Geez, no wonder you like those VNs. You'd make a perfect protagonist, Sakura, Pekora subconsciously suspected.

"Oh, and I think Suisei's gotten a bit paler since the last VILLS," Miko casually added.

"She probably spent the rest of her time indoors like us." But how do you peknotice that?

. . . . .

The final nail in the coffin was Pekora's own Super Mario Party stream in early May, where Suisei practically leapt at the opportunity to join them. When Pekora asked the two about 'the bonds of miComet' after the stream ended, she wasn't expecting the answer they gave at all.

"Pekome again? Business partners?!" Thank goodness for voice chat. Otherwise, they might've seen the bunny girl try to drive her palm through her skull.

The starry-eyed idol responded, "Yes, yes. Business partners. After all, we're always getting put together, so it'd be best to have our status reflect that. Isn't that right, Miko?"

"Yeah! Management's always going 'you two should do this, do that together', so it just kinda happened that we've gotten closer recently."

Pekora fell back into her chair and brooded, Are you peking kidding me?! What sort of 'friendzone' is this?! At this rate, they're both gonna die of old age before Miko realizes!

Then, a flash of wretched brilliance struck. The rabbitfolk asked, "Hey, Sui-chan. D-do you mind… do you mind coming over to my house one day? I need a few pointers on singing."

Gods, why did it have to end up like this, peko? She already had enough trouble dealing with Miko, who was pretty reserved offscreen. How was Pekora supposed to deal with an actual extrovert like Suisei? Still, I hope Suisei knows how to take a hint.

The girl in a plaid dress replied, "Sure thing, Pekora! You can count on me for anything!"

Miko inquired smugly, "Oh? Getting a bit jealous there, Pekora? Isn't Moona enou-"

Pekora screeched, "Shaddup, Sakura!" Can't you see I'm trying to help you here?

"You learn quick, Peko-chan! That's enough for today." Suisei clapped enthusiastically.

Pekora tried to steady her breath as she gulped down some water. All they did was run her through vocal exercises and strengthen her voice for the higher notes, yet they went through so many that her throat felt raw. Imagine what she'd have to go through for dance practices!

Pekora croaked out, "Hey, Sui-chan, you, you had to do this a lot too starting out, right?"

The cometzen nodded. "Yeah, absolutely! I sometimes practiced so much I could barely speak the next day!" The twin-tailed girl flinched, awestruck at her sheer determination.

"That dedicated to your dream, eh? Would you say… that you made it come true yet?"

Thoughtfully, she confessed, "With how far I've come since? Without a doubt."

"So your 'blue rose' finally bloomed then?" Expertly said. As is expekted of my genius!

"My what? I've never heard of those," The idol tilted her head, unsure of what she meant.

"Ah, blue roses don't actually exist." In the blink of an eye, Suisei's friendly demeanor vanished, replaced with a scowl on her face as she leaned towards the one who invited her.

She asked in a more menacing tone, "You saying my dream will never come true?"

On second thought, Pekora realized, now I understand why Miko confused her love for fear, especially with how often the shrine maiden provokes her!

She quickly backed away and flailed her hands defensively. "N-not at all! In fact, nowadays the flower represents someone achieving their dreams, doing the impeksible, even!"

"Oh, is that so?" If Pekora's heart beat any faster, she was sure it'd burst out of her chest!

"Yeah, yeah! You can look it up right now, actually!" Thankfully, a quick search on Google placated the Suicopath, who stepped back with a look of satisfaction.

"I see, I see! That does sound just like me! But I can think of a few others that it fits."

"Who comes to mind, peko?"

"Like there's Sora, Nene, Ollie… Even Miko would fit that description."

"Miko? Why her?" She really wasn't expecting her friend's name to pop up this way.

"It also wasn't easy for her to get this far, right? We share a mutual connection because of our struggles," Suisei revealed. The other girl could understand where she was coming from.

Pekora flashed a smug grin. "So what do you think of her? Outside of business, I mean."

"Ah, might I attend an 'idol meeting' real quick?" Suisei suddenly requested.

"Go ahead. It's upstairs and to the left." Pekora realized, You're avoiding the question…

Suisei didn't stay much longer after that, claiming she had to go back before Anemachi missed her too much. Her sudden rush to leave told the rabbitfolk everything she needed to hear.

Let's hope a flag gets raised soon. For both of their sakes, Pekora prayed. But something still feels off about this whole situation. Why is nothing happening? Why's it taking so long?

I don't get it. Suisei's usually so open, determined, headstrong. It's only natural for her to make the first move, so why is she hesitating and beating around the bush?

Is she afraid? Afraid of Miko rejecting her? I guess I can see why. After all, she's small-

Suddenly, her bedroom door burst open as the comet stomped back into her room.

"E-EEP! Pl-please don't kill me!" She reflexively curled up into a ball and looked away.

Meanwhile, Suisei scanned the room. "Have you seen my phone? I think I left it here."

The rabbitfolk's eyes landed on the aforementioned phone, left abandoned on the chair.

"Oh, there it is." The owner swiftly snatched it and left as soon as she reappeared, waving goodbye once more as she quietly closed the door behind her. "See you!"

Pekora exhaled deeply and whispered, "I hope I get through this pekordeal alive…"

A/N: I initially wanted this to be a much longer chapter with shifting character perspectives. However, I quickly decided to focus this chapter on Pekora's POV for the sake of consistency and flow, leaving the other POV for the next chapter. Hope I can get it out sooner! Things are only just getting started for poor Miko.
Speaking of Miko, I watched her latest karaoke stream and was pleasantly surprised to hear her sing 'Bluerose'! It's a good fit for her voice, but given that I started planning this story out around the middle of September, it's also a bit funny in hindsight.