A/N: Sorta inevitable that a story where EVERY chapter has a song/band title would eventually get a chapter that's a songfic, right? Well, this and the first chapter were the main reasons I challenged myself to do the entire month, so I wanted to make sure this one felt extra special. After all, I still remember the tears I shed when I first saw Porter Robinson's MV.

Shelter (Retired Members)

Imagine a perfectly normal day just like any other. On another day of browsing Youtube, a woman dressed head-to-toe in her favorite three-striped brand looks through her front page, her recommended videos, and her subscriptions, all while listening to an anime music video from 2016 for that dose of nostalgia. Really, what she wants most is to see how the rest of hololive was doing. She assumes it was business as usual, whatever that meant for the agency. After all, it took maybe a week after Kiryu Coco's graduation for things to mostly return to a state of normalcy, whatever that meant for an idol group consisting of such eccentric talents. But when the dragon's graduation was first announced, it was like the end of the world for most fans.

I could never find the right way to tell you

Have you noticed I've been gone?

And yet, the world keeps turning, with or without her. The woman sees collabs, milestone celebrations, and birthdays galore showered by tears of joy and tears of laughter alike. She even peeps on how hololive's Project: Hope was doing, and boy, did she grow some gorgeous grass when the nephilim's demon side kept showing itself. But she's not the type of girl to stay idle for long. It wasn't in her blood.

`Cause I left behind the home that you made me

But I will carry it along

Just because she graduated from hololive didn't mean that she moved on from her passions. Oh no, she's still gotta be doing what she loves, using the past experiences and memories she made as the Dragon of hololive to enrich her present projects and to plan for those in the future.

Still, the past is in the past, and it would be wise for all to keep who she was separate from who she is now. But that still begs the question: how many people come in for the Yakusa, and how many come because they just enjoy her? There is always such a blurry line.

When I'm older, I'll be silent beside you

I know words won't be enough

Occasionally, she passes by her roommate as the latter was streaming. The woman knows how easy it would be to let out a noise every now and again and tell people that she was still alive, but she knew better. She knows they would joke about how they could 'still hear her voice' and that she would get a call from her former employers scolding her like they did in the past, sure. But most of all, she knows that that's not what Kanata would want. The angel already faced enough haters telling her that she was 'riding on a dragon's coattails', and long before the tenshi reached 1 million subscribers, neither girl was interested in entertaining a thought like that for a second longer.

Of course, sharing embarrassing stories about C-chan to the world was still fair game, but that's what roommates are for! Although they are former coworkers, they are still the closest of friends first, so neither girl minded asking the other for help behind the scenes, where no camera would record their conversations. However, whatever actions they end up taking would speak volumes in their endeavors.

And they won't need to know our names or our faces

But they will carry on for us

She logs onto Reddit, looking at the new memes and shitposts that constantly spew forth from that little corner of the Internet. Although she externally screams at all of the shitty Japanese that remains a constant factor of many memes, she also has a hearty laugh wondering what Haachama would think of them. Yet in the sea of posts, a single question with a 'Discussion' flair catches her eye.

It's from a new victim of the rabbit hole, who asks 'where to begin'. Some quickly respond with the ones they thought would be best for newcomers or the ones they personally liked the most, leaving her satisfied. Others ask for OP's preferences, like in genres of video games or music, or suggest the newbie to start with random clips to get a feel for themselves. All in all, the thread is a testament to how all-encompassing the rabbit hole was, bringing people of so many tastes and passions together without heavily conflicting with one another.

She reflects, As long as the fans have each others' backs, hololive's never gonna truly die. Even after I graduated, they're still one big happy family.

. . . . .

To nobody but herself, the woman starts the last leg of the song, having sung the rest while remaining unaware of the opened door behind her. "Oh, it's a long way forward, trust in me~" She stops when she hears an angelic voice continue the outro, albeit in unpracticed English.

"I'll give them shelter, like you've done for me~," sings the approaching Kanata. She brushes her finger against the woman's cheek and wipes away the few tears the tall girl didn't realize she was shedding.

The pitch perfect tenshi carries on, "And I know I'm not alone, you'll be watching over us. Until~..." As the song fades out, the two stay in place, the woman looking up to the angel that stands under a radiant halo emanating from the light bulb overhead.

Once the song comes to a stop, the woman rushes onto her knees and squeezes Kanata as hard as she could, nuzzling her head in her hair. Kanata lightly reciprocates the hug as both girls giggle in glee. They basked in the comfort of each other's warmth, unwilling to let go.

Outside, their neighbor waits for them, but after seeing the teetee before her, she decides that 'now' is a good time to leave them be and decide on what to cook for dinner. It won't be long before her sister gets hungry, after all.