Hear My Song!
Chapter VI
Miracles and Railroads
"Okay, that's all!"
Gumi stretched, happy that it was finally over. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Luka passing by outside the room.
"Good work, everyone!" Gumi shouted and opened the door, causing Luka to turn around. After a very confused look, Luka covered her mouth and started laughing so hard that her whole face was red.
"You don't have to laugh that hard…" Gumi said, looking a bit annoyed.
True, the costume she was wearing was that of a somewhat odd shrine priestess called Rumei, a game character, but it wasn't that funny.
Some time ago…
"Cheers on your first single with Krypton!" Luka lifted her glass and waited for the other two girls to follow suit. Miku was so wasted that she was having problems keeping her glass straight and Gumi's top was sliding off her shoulders, a weird yet very satisfied expression on her face.
"The…how many…how often…are you gonna…urgh…" Miku couldn't think clearly anymore.
With a loud thud, Gumi hit the ground, fast asleep. Miku was barely hanging on, unable to even sit up straight.
It was the evening of the day Gumi's first single "Bad Apple!" had gone on sale. It was a hit. It hadn't made the top spot in the charts (which was held by a new song from Gakupo) but she did manage to place in the top five. A few days later Miku's first single "Love Is War" would go on sale, the same day as Luka and Miku's new and already much discussed and disputed duet, "Magnet."
Krypton was launching a full assault at the music media with their newly acquired talents. Luka's new single "Just Be Friends" was scheduled to come out a few days after "Magnet." It was all a very well-designed PR stunt.
Luka had invited them over to stay at her place. Well, Miku could stay and Gumi could just go the few steps back home, and they could party in celebration. They had been out to a disco first, but after Luka caused yet another accident simply by existing, they had returned to her apartment.
"I'm going…bed…let…sleep…" Miku managed to crawl the few meters to the bedroom and helped herself into Luka's bed. The songstress was not quite as wasted as Miku, but she drunk enough to get the keen idea to empty the remaining bottle of whatever that was she had found in her storeroom.
A few minutes later, another loud thud signaled that Luka was now sleeping peacefully next to Gumi, passed out and smiling.
~~~ Hear My Song! ~~~
The night passed, and with the morning came the sun, a new day, and tremendous hangovers.
"This must be what being hit by a car feels like," Gumi covered her eyes with her hands. She was still lying in Luka's living room, unable to escape from the iron grasp of the pink-haired lesbian.
"Morning…" Miku had managed to walk over from the bedroom, leaning against the wall the whole way for support. She eyed her lover for a moment, then finally chose to ignore her.
"We both have green hair and are cute, according to her, so I guess she mistook you for me," she said to Gumi. "She once drank enough to mistake a lamppost for me, so yeah…" Miku walked over to the kitchen and tried to fill a glass with water. She needed three attempts to do so.
Miku rubbed her cheeks and moaned. "Why do I always let her do this…"
Her head felt like it was filled with a beehive or a dozen. She was slowly getting used to drinking, and while the evening was always fun, the morning after was terrible.
Gumi, slowly coming back from the realm of clouded thoughts and hangovers, somehow managed to free herself from Luka and got up. That she was half undressed wasn't that big of an issue to her. Both Miku and Luka had seen her naked before, and considering what they had already gone through…
"I think…that's my top." Gumi picked up a piece of cloth that smelled like whiskey and decided against wearing it again. She had a terrible taste in her mouth. Miku, still standing in the kitchen, picked up another glass and handed it to the pretty yet hungover girl who was slowly walking over to her.
"Thanks." Gumi gratefully held the glass and took a sip.
Miku searched through the drawers and took out some sliced bread, handing a piece over to Gumi and getting one for herself. Luka was still peacefully passed out on the floor, but she would be up soon enough.
"Is partying with Luka always like this?" Gumi asked, nibbling on her bread. It tasted quite bad and she didn't really want to eat it, but she knew it would help.
"Most of the time. I tried stopping her a few times, but there's just no way. Well, aside from the morning after, it is pretty fun…" Miku remembered the last night, at least most of it.
They had played strip poker after a few drinks. Miku was absolutely terrible at the game, and Gumi was not much better. Luka seemed to have a godly hand all the time. At some point, a good dozen cards slipped out of Luka's sleeve and the other girls picked up their clothes and stripped Luka to her underwear.
Afterward her memories were a little blurry, but she remembered that they'd plundered Luka's closet and dressed each other up in ridiculous outfits. That's right, there was a pile of clothes in the bedroom that Miku had wondered about.
"Whoa…it's already ten-twenty. And it's Sunday. I need to do my homework. Gumi, you should go home before she wakes up. She's…well, just go home before she wakes up, okay?" Miku said, laying one hand on Gumi's shoulder. She still only walking around in a skirt and bra.
Miku knew that there was a good fifty-fifty chance that Luka would wake up either way too energetic and without a hangover, or she'd wake up with a hangover. Both made her pretty unbearable. It would also come down to Miku cleaning up this mess together with Luka later. The woman would never clean up without Miku telling her so.
"I'll borrow one of Luka's tops…have you seen my shoes?" Gumi looked around the room, but it sort of looked like a bomb had gone off in there. There were a lot of empty bottles on the table and the floor, cards everywhere, and some clothes.
"They'll show up. You're next door, right? Just go barefoot." Miku couldn't be bothered to search for anything now. The fact that she had forgotten about her homework yet again, thanks to Luka, was pretty bad. Thank God summer vacation was coming up soon. Miku needed the extra time for her work at Krypton, and not having to worry about school was a good thing as well.
Gumi moaned and turned her head and shoulders, only to bend over and sigh. It wasn't the first time she'd been hungover after a party, but partying with Luka was especially wild. She could have sworn that there was something important she had forgotten to tell Miku and Luka…
"I'll call you later, Miku," Gumi said, and wandered in the direction of the bedroom. She picked up a simple pink top and left the apartment. Her hair was worse than any bed hair and she probably really needed a shower. Thank God it was just down with the lift and up the stairs to her own apartment.
"I'll clean up later…" Miku said to herself. She stepped over Luka and went into the bathroom. A shower was in order first. At least she had planned ahead and taken her homework and a change of clothes from home. Neru and Haku were not very happy that Miku sometimes stayed at Luka's place since that meant warmed-up food, but they were slowly growing used to it.
Miku got rid of the smelly clothes, which she threw in the laundry bin. Then Miku went into the shower and switched the hot water on. She felt alive again. Luka was a lot of fun, but Miku really could do without the hangovers.
It was barely five minutes until the door slowly opened and a very tired-looking Luka showed up. After throwing her clothes into the laundry without any regard for the fact Miku was already in the shower, Luka pulled open the shower door and stepped inside.
"You couldn't have waited until I was done?" Miku wasn't annoyed, just a little tired.
"I feel terrible. I really wanted a hot shower," Luka said, and turned up the water a little before leaning against the wall side of the cabin. She felt a little nauseous. She let her head hang and stayed like that for a few minutes, only to be surprised when Miku felt her forehead and looked a bit worried.
"Don't worry, just hung over…I feel like I should be sorry for something, too, but I can't remember what," Luka added. She looked up, opening her mouth wide to swallow some hot water.
"You cheated at strip poker and probably stripped Gumi in your sleep. Nothing we haven't seen before. Gumi wasn't surprised, either." Miku turned the heat up. Steam rose from the shower and Miku felt a little revitalized. She turned around and looked back, waiting for Luka to take the invitation.
Luka smiled softly and wrapped her arms around Miku's waist, pulling her towards herself. The green-haired girl leaned against her as the hot water sprinkled down on them.
"I was really happy when you protected me last night," Miku said, running her fingers over Luka's arms. Luka had probably forgotten about it, considering how smashed she already was at the time, but nevertheless…
Miku had stayed at the bar while Luka and Gumi went dancing. Miku had spent two hours on the dance floor with Luka and was simply out of stamina. The pink-haired party tiger had seemingly endless stamina for these things. While there, a very handsome but annoying guy kept hitting on Miku. He just wouldn't leave, and he grabbed Miku's arm when she started ignoring him. Luka had just come back with Gumi.
The guy noticed a hand on his shoulder and a very dangerous voice saying, "Hey, you."
Luka spoke in English, and when the guy turned around, her eyes were damn scary in the dim light of the bar.
"I suggest you stop hitting on my girl," Luka blatantly said. Gumi was right behind her and sat down next to Miku, who watched Luka, fascinated.
"What—your girl? What, you're a lesbian? Wow, disgusting," the guy said and stood up, towering almost a whole head taller than Luka. He was blond and although not really muscular, he was pretty toned.
Luka twitched for a second when he said "disgusting" and as soon as he was standing, she executed a brutal kick that landed directly in the man's weakest spot. Miku watched with big eyes as Luka proceeded to mess up the guy.
Pulling his hair as the security guards were already on their way, Luka whispered a few words in his ear. "If you know what's good for you, you'll never come near my love again, or I'll make sure you'll never, ever, be able to get 'it' up, understand?" She was still speaking English, and her eyes were just small slits. There was a very dangerous aura about her.
The guy just whimpered, despite being taller and probably stronger than Luka and nodded, holding his crotch in pain. Luka dropped him and pulled both Miku and Gumi away by their arms, and all three of them fled from the security guards who were pulling through the masses.
"I won't let anyone hit on you," Luka said and kissed Miku's neck. "You're my love, after all."
Miku leaned back little more on Luka, smiling happily. "You're so sweet," she said, giggling. "Are you really Luka Megurine? Did I bring a lookalike home with me?" Miku teased.
She faced retaliation immediately. Luka poked her cheek and tightened her arms around Miku's waist. "Don't ruin the moment, you!" She leaned her chin on Miku's shoulder and pressed her body harder against Miku's, making the younger girl blush a little.
She could feel Luka's breasts pressing against her back, and the woman's hands slowly moved up to her chest. Miku really wasn't in the mood for sex now, so she pulled free from Luka's embrace and turned around, facing her lover.
"Let's save that for later." Miku grinned and laid both her arms around Luka's neck before passionately kissing her. They could each still taste the alcohol and broke the kiss after a few seconds.
"Sort of…eww…" Miku said, and stuck out her tongue.
"Good call…" Luka replied and did the same.
~~~ Hear My Song! ~~~
Miku had just finished her homework. It was past two in the afternoon now. Her stomach growled. They had eaten some bread and cheese after the shower and Luka had actually proceeded to clean up, giving Miku some time to do her homework. It took Luka over two hours to finish cleaning because she kept showing up in the living room to see Miku, who complained about not being able to concentrate.
"You get your vacation at the end of next week, right?" Luka was lazily lying around next to the table Miku had been doing her homework on. "Want to take a trip somewhere?"
"We have work to do. Your schedule for the next two weeks is so full that I'm starting to wonder when you'll eat and sleep," Miku said with a look that could have sobered up Luka any time.
"Damn…I want to go on a vacation. To the beach. Or the mountains…scratch the mountains, too much walking." Luka rolled over on the floor and then sat up, looking at Miku. "Let's escape together and flee to the beach!"
Miku rolled up one of her notebooks and hit Luka on the forehead with it. "Don't be silly. We can still go on a trip later. My vacation is longer than one week. I dropped my part-time job, too, since I'm earning some money from Krypton now." She started to put away her books and notebooks. "We have an interview tomorrow at TV Tokyo. You need to work on your new single, too." Miku reminded Luka of her duties, which was Luka's least favorite part of life. Duties. But well, it couldn't be helped. She'd really gotten too relaxed after she'd met Miku. Luka wanted to spend all her time with her.
"I really don't know what I should write about." Luka let herself fall to the floor and sighed. "Maybe a dark song. Haven't had one like that in a while…"
As if on command, Miku's cell phone rang. It was Gumi. From the background noise, Gumi was outside somewhere. "What's up, Gumi?" Miku was curious about what the girl was up to. They had become really good friends in the end, despite Luka's stunt.
"I'm on my way to the agency. They called me because they have some big news, or so they said. I wonder what it is. It didn't sound bad. Maybe they already want me to make another song?" Gumi sounded really excited. Miku could literally imagine her hopping from one foot on another, unable to stand still.
"Maybe it's the PV they talked about. Your single really shot up high," Miku said and leaned back. Luka rolled over to listen in and Miku held the phone between them to let Luka listen.
"I've never done a PV before. Is it hard work?" Gumi was curious.
Luka had done several promotional videos before, so she answered. "It's tiring, but it's a huge publicity boost. They must really trust your abilities if they're already calling for a PV," Luka said.
"You're still together? You two really are inseparable. My train is here, I'll call you later." Gumi shut the connection down.
"Oh, I have mail." Miku only just noticed when she was about to flip the phone closed. It was from Neru. It consisted of a lot of emoticons and some text.
Come home. I hate warmed up food.
"Typical…" Miku deleted the message and put the phone away. "Let's go to the park."
Miku was a little sick of being indoors all the time, and she really didn't have anything to do. Maybe Gumi would have some exciting news later.
"Let's drop by Kaito's shop before we go. I want ice cream. Somehow." Luka slowly got up and made her way to the bedroom. "Any idea of what I should wear? Maybe I'll go with twin tails today. Partner look!" she shouted from the other room. Miku could hear her lover laughing over that idea.
"Good idea, do it! I'll wear the same thing you do then!" Miku said on a whim, and immediately regretted it. She could feel the malicious aura from the bedroom flowing over.
Luka came back wearing a short skirt and sleeveless top, both black. It was really warm outside, so it was fitting, but the skirt was a bit short and with Luka's chest size, that top was…
She handed the clothes over to Miku—an identical set of the ones she wore. Luka smiled and waited for Miku to take them, who handed Luka two hair ties in return. It took Luka some effort to bind her long pink hair into somewhat symmetrical twin tails. In the end, Miku helped her after she dressed up. Luka had bought her some sandals about a week ago, so she would wear those.
"Do you have your key?" Miku asked when they were on the doorstep. Luka checked her handbag and nodded.
"Purse?" Another nod. Miku had the of habit making Luka check for those things so she didn't leave them behind. It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened.
Going by car didn't take long and Luka parked right at the border of the park that wasn't far from Kaito's ice cream shop. Miku could feel a few people staring at her and Luka. Well, probably mostly Luka. She had an amazing rack in that outfit, Miku thought.
They found the shop closed, with a note on the door:
Back in a few hours.
Coincidentally, they also found Meiko's shop closed with a similar note. It was a nice, warm day, so it was understandable if Meiko had closed up for the time being—but Kaito could have done some real business today.
But it couldn't be helped. The two girls headed to the park. Miku was long used to people looking at two girls walking together like a couple, and she grabbed Luka's hand after a few steps. The trees were rustling in the breeze, and it really felt like summer.
"I always thought it was a pain that so many girls grew out their hair and dyed it pink to imitate me. But it's actually rather handy. No one would guess I'm the real Luka." The songstress grinned and pulled Miku a little closer, who happily followed and grabbed Luka's arm.
"I guess everything has its good points. Well, most things," Miku corrected herself, and enjoyed the breeze going through her hair. "I'm really happy I didn't freak out and dump you back when we first went out." Miku remembered that evening with mixed feelings. Being with Luka had changed her. But it had changed Luka too.
"You cannot believe how nervous I was. I really, really liked you but I knew the chances were slim," Luka said, not speaking as loudly as before to avoid being heard. Her voice undeniably gave away that she was the real Luka.
"You looked as calm as a rock on the outside, though. I had a million thoughts in my head." Miku was a little surprised that Luka had admitted to being nervous.
"I was so worried that you might dump me that I felt like emptying the whole bottle of wine."
"You don't have to be nervous to do that, though," Miku said and got a horrified look from Luka.
"Hey!" Luka complained and watched Miku giggle and grin at her. "You're really…" She shook her head and had to laugh as well.
"Miku. Let's do that." Luka pointed to the lake in the middle of the park while laughing. Several paddle boats were on it. When they looked back, they saw that they had just passed a sign and the pier that rented said boats.
"Sure, I always wanted to get in one." Miku looked thoughtfully around and pointed to a small stand that was selling crepes and similar things. "Let's eat them on the lake."
Luka's stomach agreed and growled. Miku had to hold back her laughter and Luka actually blushed a little bit in embarrassment. She handed over some money to Miku and left for the pier. She had already rented a boat for two hours when Miku came back.
The boat was small and white, with two seats and an open back where people could sit and relax. Luka simply jumped on board, in a very unladylike manner. Miku refused to do that and Luka helped her on board as if she were a gentleman.
They took off from the pier. Luka took the first turn to pedal and Miku enjoyed the breeze a little. They were in the middle of the lake when Luka's stamina ran out and the boat came to a standstill. Both of them retreated to the back and started eating their crepes, quietly enjoying the lake and the summer air. They were both still a little hungover, so they didn't talk much. But they knew each other so well by now that that wasn't really necessary for them anymore.
"Hey…isn't that Kaito and Meiko?" Miku pointed at a paddle boat that was floating by in the distance. In the back was a woman with short brown hair who wore jean shorts and a blazing red top. She was accompanied by a blue-haired man wearing a white shirt and ordinary blue jeans.
"Yeah. I guess he's finally making some progress after they went to the hot springs together," Luka said, and picked a piece from her crepe, holding it in front of Miku. "Say ahhh," Luka joked, and Miku actually followed up, opening her mouth and letting Luka feed her for a bit until they both started laughing.
Not so far away…
Their two acquaintances in the other boat were enjoying themselves as well. "You sure it's okay to simply close your shop like that? I could have gone on alone," Meiko said, leaning back. She dipped her hand into the cold water and played with the slight current created by the boat.
"I'll miss out on some business, but going out with you is more important," Kaito said, and opened up a large cooler he had brought along. He took out an ice cream cone. "Here."
Meiko took the cone and started to lick the ice cream. She was slowly getting more used to his bluntness…or should she call it honesty? Either way, it was just an act of deciding how she worded things when she spoke to him. She thought about friend-zoning him, but that would be a waste. Up close, Kaito was quite a good-looking man.
"I wish I had some sake." Meiko was sometimes a little thoughtless.
"You can't get drunk in broad daylight. The police would arrest you," Kaito said, earning an annoyed look from Meiko. He was trying to somehow get a hold on his habit of simply blurting out whatever he was thinking. He wasn't making a lot of progress, however.
"I heard business at your place is quite bad these days. What's wrong?" Kaito had helped himself to an ice cream cone himself and sat next to Meiko, which tilted the boat a little to one side.
"The government has issued a new tax on alcohol and there are also the strict regulations about selling stuff to minors. Selling booze is becoming a shitty job," Meiko complained. She leaned against Kaito, who put some strength into sitting up straight.
"Want to work at my place as a waitress? I could use one —it's ridiculous how stressful it gets at peak times. And I really want to see you in a waitress uniform." Kaito knew he would probably get whacked for that, but well, it was true. Meiko would look awesome in a waitress outfit.
But instead Meiko took it as a compliment and looked down at herself. "A waitress, huh…I guess I could do that…"
She took a big bite of ice cream, which made her shiver. But she moved too much, lost her balance, and toppled backwards.
Kaito grabbed her hand in a hurry and braced himself against the boat's rail. Meiko was only a few centimeters above the water's surface, hanging there, as Kaito pulled with all his might to prevent her from falling into the water.
"Don't let go!" Meiko didn't seem very eager to land in the cold water.
From a distance, Miku and Luka were watching the spectacle with fascinated faces.
"I don't intend to!" Kaito pressed out between gritted teeth.
He slowly pulled Meiko up, demonstrating quite a bit of strength. Meiko was surprised, too. She was tall and not very light, either, so it must've been quite difficult to pull her up.
A few seconds later, a panting and wheezing Kaito leaned on the left side of the boat and an amazed Meiko leaned on the right side.
"I didn't know you're that strong." Meiko only noticed now that part of Kaito's ice cream cone had landed on her top. Well, that was better than taking a dive in the lake.
"I work out every now and then. But thank God you're not as heavy as I thought," Kaito replied, still wheezing, his face bright red.
Meiko ignored the last comment because he had just saved her from an involuntary swim in the lake. "So, you really want me to work as a waitress for you? I'm not very good at dealing with customers, you know." Meiko was famous for treating less polite customers a bit roughly.
"You just need to take their orders, tell me, and take the ice cream to them. You can handle that. I don't mind if you throw out people that hit on you. I'll add that to the shop's rules—no hitting on the sexy waitress." Kaito was smiling. He knew that Meiko liked it, but didn't show it, when he told her she was sexy. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie. Meiko had some really awesome curves. She was an adult, after all.
"Do I need a uniform or something?" Meiko was not very happy thinking about wearing something with frills or whatever.
"I think the red top and skirt you usually wear for work is fine. I'd love to see you cosplay as a waitress, though. There was a cosplay shop down the street and—" Kaito almost thrown overboard when Meiko nearly capsized the boat with a mean look. It was a clear sign to stop talking.
"I'll do it. The booze shop isn't exactly profitable right now. I'll just put a message on the door that I'm across the street," Meiko said and got in the front seat of the boat. "Let's see how fast this thing can go. What are you sitting around for? Come and help me," Meiko commanded.
Some very amused meters away…
Luka nearly fell overboard laughing when Kaito and Meiko's paddle boat took off at an almost supersonic speed. For a paddle boat.
Miku had finished her crepe and was lying on the back of the boat, stretched out with her legs in the water. It was such a nice day, she just couldn't resist.
Luka sat down behind her, and Miku moved to use her as a lap pillow. As Miku looked up, the shadows playing over Luka's face and her long pink strands of hair made quite the view.
"You're looking real dreamy right now." Luka circled her finger in the air and found Miku's eyes following it until the green-haired girl grinned and hit the finger with her own.
"Let's enjoy this some more." Luka leaned down, and Miku was surrounded by a whirl of pink hair when Luka's lips reached hers.
~~~ Hear My Song! ~~~
Gumi was sitting in her dressing room, a little spaced out. It was a new room, so there hadn't been much in it until a few hours ago. Now almost a dozen costumes were hanging up, waiting to be worn.
Gumi had come to the studio for a meeting, but she had arrived a little late and the meeting was already over. However, the important people were still there. Someone had approached Krypton as sponsor for the promotional video for "Bad Apple!" and they had a very exact idea about how the video should look. The producers had agreed on it, and assigned Gumi the same manager Luka had—Erico. He had explained that the PV would have to be finished in two weeks' time from today, which was also the date a new promotional song was to be released. The plan was to finish the PV production first, which would include many short clips with her switching costumes, and then to finish the song.
The first shooting of the clips would be the next day onwards. There was a total of almost thirty short clips, amounting to a total of three minutes and thirty-seven seconds of video time. Gumi was a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters she had to play. She knew the Houtou game series and had played a few of them but several characters were unknown to her.
Gumi felt excited thinking about it now that she was finally getting a grip on what was happening. If her song was good enough to even attract a sponsor for a PV…that was awesome!
She pulled out her cell phone and speed-dialed Miku's number. She heard a few rings and Miku's voice mail answered. Gumi could imagine several reasons why she wasn't answering. None were helping her calm down.
There were so many plans for the future, Gumi almost couldn't keep track of it all. There was the PV, then there was also a song called "Railroad Crossing" with Luka and Miku, who had yet to be informed about it. Gumi had also been asked to write a new song or consult her manager if she couldn't come up with one. But Gumi had always written her own songs.
Thinking about the recent past…she already had something in mind and would write it down later.
When she went back to the recording room, she saw that everyone was busy. Several new songs were going on sale in a very short while and everyone was on a tight schedule. Gumi was greeted by some staff members whose job it had been to do the echo effects on "Bad Apple!" Gumi greeted them, and decided to head outside so that everyone could do their work.
Maybe she would take a stroll in the park. The weather was perfect—not too hot, a little breeze, and the sun shining bright. It was a bit of a walk to the park, but Gumi didn't mind.
When she stopped to buy a pair of sunglasses at the shop on the corner, the owner recognized her and asked her to sign the shop's front window. Gumi was a little worried about her art skills, but she was handed a big permanent marker and scribbled her signature on the window anyway. The owner turned out to be a huge fan—she even had a membership card of some Gumi fan club that apparently had existed ever since her debut with J-Net.
Gumi was happy to give something to her fans and left the shop with a smile that was not half as big as the shop owner's. Popularity was a nice thing—but Gumi soon retreated to a less populated street. She had hardly gotten ten feet when another fan turned up and asked her for her signature—and another, and another! There was even a girl who had dyed her hair green and had gotten the same haircut as Gumi.
"I think I understand how Luka feels when going out. I really love my fans, but it's a little tiring if they ask for signatures nonstop…" Gumi sighed and continued her way to the park. She bought a large hat from a salesman on the street and put it on, managing to avoid being spotted by fans all the way to the park.
When she finally got to the park, Gumi encountered something very…unique. A couple—or so it looked—were walking next to each other, quiet one moment and then bursting out in laughter, only to be silent again for another few seconds. They were soaking wet and it looked like they had just taken a swim in the lake. Gumi believed she recognized the two, but she couldn't remember from where.
A little amused by the two, Gumi sat down on a bench beneath a very big tree that rustled in the wind. She was humming the melody of Miku's new song, "Love Is War", and since she had been there for the recording, she wanted to do her own version of it. The warmth of the sun and the breeze were so relaxing that Gumi laid down on the bench and closed her eyes. The sunglasses helped block out the light, and she dozed off.
She woke up when something tickled her face. First she ignored it, but when it tried to enter her mouth, Gumi sat up in a hurry. Unfortunately, she realized too late that her face was on a collision course with Miku's, who had been standing next to the bench and looking down at her.
It was too late to stop, and Miku had no time to react. Their faces collided, and Gumi fell back on the bank, leaving Miku staggering. Gumi got up again, trying to ask if Miku was okay—only to notice too late that Miku had leaned over. Their faces met each other's again and Miku shared a somewhat brief and unintended kiss with Gumi, who took almost two seconds to realize what was happening.
She pulled back, but not without hitting her knee on the bench. After that, Gumi was a little confused about what to say.
"You two can never tell me again that I'm a klutz!" Luka gasped out between roars of laughter. She had been standing next to Miku the whole time and saw the whole thing. After a long moment she recovered, then turned to Miku, who was still rubbing her forehead.
"I guess Gumi's lips are pretty irresistible. Right, Miku?" Luka was still laughing and Miku stepped on her foot with every intention of causing Luka pain.
"Stop laughing, you sadist!" Miku glared at her before turning to look at Gumi. "Your head okay? That did hurt pretty bad…" Miku sat down on the bench next to Gumi, who was blushing a little from Luka's joke. It had only been for a very brief moment, but she had kissed Miku. Unintentionally, but still…
"I can see why Luka is all over you," Gumi said, teasing Miku a little. Luka looked with a pain-filled yet amused face and broke out into laughter again.
"Right, right?" Luka roared, making Miku roll her eyes.
"Enough you two, or I'll hit you!" Miku threatened the other two, and while Gumi stopped (still smiling though), Luka had no intention of doing any such thing and proceeded to bend over, laughing her heart out.
A loud thud later, Luka was rubbing her head and Miku was rubbing her hand. All three of them were sitting on the bench now, with Gumi acting as a buffer between them.
Luka was still rubbing her head. "That really hurt! You didn't have to hit me that hard!" The songstress complained. She looked a little angry.
"You didn't have to laugh so hard. It wasn't funny." Miku's retort hit the right spot and Luka shut up.
The two started arguing back and forth until Gumi got up and left without saying a word. Miku and Luka stared at each other, a little concerned. Had they taken it too far and scared Gumi away?
But the optimistic girl came back a few minutes later, carrying three shaved ice cones. One of them looked very odd and wrong, and the other two simply looked like they were from an alien planet.
"God, what's that smell?" Miku got away from Gumi's left hand and was handed the cone with the green ice.
"A new shop that sells experimental kinds of ice opened up around the corner. I saw it on my way here. That is spring onion flavor. That one there is tuna. And this is carrot."
Luka looked a little bit worried at the ice in the cone. It smelled really strongly of…fish. She loved tuna sushi more than any other food, but as an ice flavor? That was a little…
Miku summoned all her courage and licked the ice. It was better than expected, but it did taste like spring onions. What ice maker in his right mind would make a flavor like this? She did like it, though, and enjoyed the ice. Usually, she only ever got ice at Kaito's place, but he didn't have to know about this.
Gumi seemed to love her carrot-flavored ice and even Luka reluctantly tried the tuna-flavored ice.
A few minutes of silence followed, disturbed only by the sounds of licking and crunching. Gumi finished first, followed by Luka. Miku was still finishing her ice cone when Gumi took her friends' hands in her own.
"I'm okay if you argue about things sometimes, but don't fight in front of me. I really hate that." Gumi looked pretty serious for a second, but she soon smiled. "So make up, okay?"
Miku felt pretty bad for hitting Luka all of a sudden. Yes, Luka had laughed too much but Miku had really hit her quite hard. Miku looked at the ground and apologized. "I'm sorry for hitting you."
Luka had her own way of apologizing. She placed a finger on Miku's chin and made the girl look upwards before kissing her passionately in the middle of the park. A few people stared at them. Gumi was a little embarrassed to be standing right next to them and turned around, pretending to see nothing.
Luka finally let the surprised girl go and whispered, "I'm sorry for laughing so much," in the blushing girl's ear.
Miku said nothing and simply took Luka's hand, whispering "Idiot…" to herself.
Gumi finally remembered what she had heard a few hours ago and she suddenly blurted it out without thinking. "I tried calling you earlier, Miku. Did you forget your cell phone?"
"When was that?" Miku seemed a little confused and checked her cell phone. One missed call. "Oh…well…" Miku looked at Luka and thought about their little kissing session on the boat. Gumi must have tried to call right about then. "You see, I was—" But Miku didn't get to finish her line.
"I understand. No explanation needed," Gumi said and held her hand up like a stop sign. Luka started to grin widely and Gumi too, grinned.
Miku just groaned. "Why am I cursed with the two of you?"
Miku took Luka's arm and Gumi walked to the other side of Luka.
"I almost forgot—they're setting up a new promotional song. All three of us are in it! A sponsor has shown up for the PV for 'Bad Apple!' as well," Gumi said and watched as Luka's eyes widened. Krypton wasn't pulling any punches now. Luka had done very few duets, and to form a trio…that was a first, even for her.
"I guess they're working to grab hold of the market. With Gumi under contract, they're going to go after it harder than ever now," Luka theorized.
The three of them walked together, talking about what the agency had in mind and how they were excited about singing together. Miku was terribly nervous already, constantly saying that she hoped she wouldn't mess things up for her more experienced seniors.
"You did fine with 'Magnet', Miku. You'll do fine with this. If it doesn't work, we can just invite Gumi over for a night or something," Luka proposed, seductively licking her lips.
"Don't listen to her, Gumi. She'll corrupt you into something terrible. I know it," Miku warned the blushing girl with a really monotone voice.
"Whoa, so mean." Luka gasped and acted all hurt and surprised.
"Take some of your own medicine! And you already had your little action with Gumi, if I remember correctly." Miku's voice grew more dangerous with each word.
Luka knew that this wasn't a good topic. That had definitely been her fault.
Luka let her head hang but didn't say anything, still walking alongside Miku. Gumi was amazed at how close they were and how they trusted each other despite their joking around.
"They gave me a lot of costumes for the 'Bad Apple!' PV. And shooting starts tomorrow." Gumi was so excited about it that the other two looked at her with big smiles.
"Did they finish the lyrics for the trio yet?" Luka was a little curious about this song. After all, it would be her first collaborative work with two other artists. Well, Miku wasn't quite there yet. And singing together with Gumi would probably be quite a challenge. Their voices were made for different kinds of music.
"I don't know, I didn't ask. They only told me the name. But since it's supposed to be recorded within two weeks from today, I think they have it ready." Gumi tapped her chin and tried to remember the details of the conversation when she was told about the trio and the PV.
"My room is full of costumes now…some of them are a bit weird." Gumi was a little weirded out by the sheer number and range of the costumes. The sponsor had been very adamant and clear about this, though. The budget for Gumi's PV was easily as big as the ones Luka normally did, which was odd, given how new Gumi was at Krypton.
"I'm hungry," Luka interrupted, and led the conversation into another direction. "Let's grab something to eat." Luka's voice was like that of a commander and she steered the group in the direction of a small fast food restaurant.
"You're gonna get fat," Miku warned her lover when said woman ordered a big meal off the menu. Gumi giggled, while ordering something lighter and a big salad.
"Don't worry," Luka said. "I use up so many calories at night that—"
Miku almost rammed a sandwich into Luka's mouth. She was blushing heavily. "Okay, okay, we get it. Can you stop describing our sex life in detail to Gumi?"
Miku was a little bothered by how Luka treated Gumi. She would turn poor Gumi into another helpless victim of her charm, just like she had done to Miku.
Luka coughed and emptied a glass of Sprite. "You're so brutal today," Luka said in a tearful-sounding voice, knowing well that both Gumi and Miku would catch on to her act right away.
"You're so perverted today…actually, I take that back. You're not any worse than usual."
Miku stuffed herself with some french fries and sighed, a little bit lost as to how she should spend the rest of the day. She was feeling really weary all of a sudden.
Maybe she should check on the coffee shop. She hadn't visited lately, mostly because of work at Krypton keeping her busy.
Gumi looked a little worried, too. "Girls, I have to go home. They asked me to write a new song. I don't know how much time I'll have after the PV shootings and then working on the trio with you two…" She didn't know how she was going to manage all that.
"I should probably think about some new songs as well. I don't have anything coming up besides the trio, so Erico is gonna yell at me anyway." Luka's statement almost made Miku jump away.
"Gumi, call the police, there's a Luka impersonator here! The girl I like would never ever voluntarily work! This has to be a faaaaa—"
Miku got her cheeks pulled by an annoyed Luka. "Idiot, I worked all the time on my own before I met you." Luka made an angry face and continued to pull Miku's cheeks. Gumi, on the other hand, left in a hurry to avoid getting pulled into this little act. She would see them the next day anyway.
"Seriously, I should think about a new song. Should I come over to your place later?" Luka asked and Miku smiled but declined with a shake of her head.
"No, I have to go and study a bit. Maybe I'll check in the coffee shop down the street at my place before and get some coffee. Good luck with your song."
Miku stood up, leaned down to Luka and kissed her gently. "See you tomorrow. And no parties."
Luka rolled her eyes at that last comment, finished her meal, and got up as well. She had spent so much time with Miku lately that it was a little odd to be suddenly without her. She still had the taste of Miku's lips on her own, and greedily licked her lips over them.
"Work…ugh. I must really be crazy." Luka sighed and went back to where she had parked her car.
Miku walked home, for it would take much longer to get there with the car than on foot.
"Now that I think about it, I really should study for the next math test." Miku sighed and felt that she'd neglected her studies too much lately. But it was well worth the extra effort sometimes if it meant she could be with Luka.
~~~ Hear My Song! ~~~
Miku was lying on the floor, eating potato chips and watching the music scene news. She was, sort of, hiding out at Luka's place. Her new single had been released, and the theories and rumors were flying like nothing else. "Magnet" had already caused a lot of turmoil and had placed number one in the national charts, a first for Krypton.
The most common theory on the internet and especially 2ch was something like this: Luka had had an indecent relationship with Gumi, and Gumi had switched labels to be with her lover. Miku was the jealous girl who was Luka's mistress.
The whole thing was fueled by Miku's song "Love Is War." Apparently, most people thought that she was trying to win Luka back. That Luka and Gumi had been seen in public kissing and dancing that one night was only giving the fans even more false proof to make up their gossip and theories.
The actual news and more down-to-earth people said it was a publicity act and that there was nothing between the three girls. The news right now was analyzing the PV for "Magnet." They showed a lot of close-ups of the video, discussing all sorts of details. Miku quickly grew bored of it.
Luka, on the other hand, was always amused at how far-off those so-called "experts" were. Not a single one of them guessed what was really going on. And some newbie at Krypton who was in charge of maintaining the website had accidentally posted Miku's address. Reporters had been trying to get a hold of Miku during the past few days, wanting to interview her.
Luka was lying on the floor as well, watching the same news. One hand held her head up and the other hand's fingers were entwined with Miku's. Gumi was a few feet behind them as she tried to come up with some sort of ending for her new song, "Blue Bird."
She was often over at Luka's apartment, even when Miku wasn't around. Miku trusted both Luka and Gumi. The green-haired girl with an affection for carrots had grown really attached to the two, and she sometimes even visited Miku in her home, despite it being quite a distance away.
There was also news flying about Gumi. Or to be more accurate, it was about her sister, Sonika Lloyd. She had broken her contract with her company and her manager had physically assaulted her. The news also said that no one knew her whereabouts, suggesting that she hadn't signed a new contract.
Gumi had not managed to reach her sister but wasn't very worried. Sonika was a smart woman. She knew what she was doing.
"Your sister's on the news again, Gumi," Luka said, and watched the younger songstress get up and join the two lovebirds watching TV. The news shifted to Gumi herself after a few moments. It was mostly talk about how J-Net had made a terrible mistake in firing Gumi and so on. There was also talk about "Bad Apple!"which was still in the top ten charts.
"I'm so sick of always being inside…" Miku was still going to school, although Luka drove her there and came to fetch her at the end of the day. Besides going to school and work, she was always at Luka's place since her own was now a constant war zone.
Neru had reacted very, very badly to the storm of reporters and fans—mostly because it had brought up some bad memories for Haku. A few reporters had gotten hurt, but they didn't learn. Miku was worried that Neru might set someone on fire if the assault on their apartment continued.
"Why did your sister go overseas, Gumi?" Luka was a bit curious about her. Sonika Lloyd was one of the bigger stars in Europe right now. But she was originally Japanese, or at least half-Japanese.
"Sonika was born in Europe while my parents lived there for a while. They left her with my uncle and aunt when they came back to Japan. They said it'd be good for her to stay in Europe. I was born here," Gumi explained and remembered the first time she had met her sister. She had been ten years old, and had real problems talking to Sonika because Sonika barely spoke any Japanese.
"My sister always wanted to be an actress, but she somehow ended up singing and modeling instead." Gumi admired her sister, but because Sonika was always overseas and so busy, Gumi didn't get to see her as much as she wanted.
"What are we gonna do about food?" Luka asked, a bit bored now. The news was over, so she switched to another channel. Some sort of robot anime was on.
"I cooked yesterday and the day before," Miku said and looked up at Gumi, who was apparently sitting on her ears.
"I get it. I'll fix some—" Luka said, and was about to get up when Miku pushed her down. "Whoa, Miku, Gumi's watching, but if you can't wait, then—"
She was interrupted yet again when Miku groaned and closed Luka's mouth with her hand. She then turned to look at Gumi to see if she'd heard that, but Gumi was staring into space.
"Gumi…Gumi!" Miku repeated her name a few times before the girl finally snapped out of it, a crazy blush on her face. "Are you okay? Your face is all red."
Luka freed herself and grinned diabolically. "See, Gumi got turned on by your sudden assault on me. She won't mind, so let's just—" She was again gagged by Miku's hand, who was blushing from Luka's talk.
"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about my sister. I'll go and make some food." Gumi staggered off, her head still in the clouds.
Luka broke free for a second time and looked after Gumi. "What the heck was that about?"
Miku shrugged and was a bit confused. "Don't know…"
Their dinner was just pasta with some kind of cheese sauce. It was pretty good. Miku wasn't that picky, but letting Luka cook was total suicide. She'd rather cook herself every day than eat Luka's food for a single evening.
Gumi ate with them. Well, sort of. She spaced out, Luka giving her a weird looks across the table. She finally snapped out of it by the end of dinner and got back to working on her song while Luka and Miku played cards, bored.
It was getting late. Around eight in the evening, Gumi got up, looked at the clock and seemed a bit startled. She excused herself and left for her own apartment. Miku and Luka both looked after her with somewhat confused expressions.
"Gumi was acting really odd today. Maybe she's really worried about her sister after all?" Miku speculated, and earned a meaningful humming sound from Luka. "I'm tired from doing nothing all day…I'm going to bed."
"Good idea." Luka yawned loudly. How much longer would they need to hide Miku before the situation calmed down a little? Hopefully not more than one or two days. She really loved Miku, but being around each other every second of the day was a bit exhausting for both of them.
Luka got up and lumbered to the bathroom down the hallway. Miku followed her shortly after. They shared the bathroom sink while brushing their teeth with already half-closed eyes.
"This is so boring…I wanna go party…" Luke sighed. She was used to staying at home for just a day or two at most when she released a new single, but this was ridiculous. It had already been four days.
"No matter what they say," she said to Miku, "I'm going out. I'll disguise myself so well that nobody will notice me." Luka naturally expected Miku to object and tell her not to go.
"Good idea. I'm sick of being indoors. So. Sick," Miku spat out her toothpaste and cleaned her mouth before leaving the bathroom. Luka followed about a minute later.
Miku was in the middle of changing. She didn't care anymore if Luka saw her naked or not. They usually slept with each other every night, but lately they just couldn't get in the mood, being imprisoned in there together.
Luka crawled into bed and got into her usual position, lying on her right side. Miku was right in front of her and waited for Luka to embrace her from behind. Miku had encountered problems sleeping soundly lately when sleeping alone.
Miku snuggled up to Luka and kissed her passionately. "Night."
Luka pulled her lover a little closer and replied softly. "Night."
~~~ Hear My Song! ~~~
"Say, Rin, wanna go to the amusement park tomorrow?" Len was making lunches for the next day, busy in the kitchen, while Rin was lying lazily on the couch, quite bored with herself.
The news about Miku hadn't made her happy at all. That it was that kind of song caused mixed feelings in her.
Rin had had a crush on Miku for a long time, and now that stupid Luka Megurine was getting in her way. If Miku was into girls, that upped Rin's chances with her considerably. If she was really in a relationship with Luka Megurine, Rin's chances were about zero.
Not to mention Rin was a little grumpy that she hadn't seen Miku in days. Rin went to a different school together with Len, and Miku was never at home. Rin could tell from the constant complaining of Neru about dinner.
"Yeah, why not?" Rin needed a distraction from being alone with her thoughts. Miku looked so gorgeous in that video, in that dress…Rin wished she were the one singing that song with Miku..
She had not only downloaded the video to her computer, but also watched it secretly at night while touching herself. Len had no idea she was so madly in love with Miku, and he didn't need to know. He went to that coffee shop every day now anyway. It was so obvious that he had a crush on one of those waitresses. It couldn't be the giant, so it was either Drill Hair or the bitch. Rin followed him a few times but couldn't really make out which one of the two he was after.
Len only asked Rin to come to the amusement park because he didn't want to leave her behind alone. Teto, the red-haired girl in the coffee shop, had won some tickets for the amusement park in a lottery after buying a tower of bread. She had invited Len and Ritsu to go.
Len had a weird feeling that Teto knew he had a crush on Ritsu. She had told him to bring Rin along. Len didn't know how Teto knew her name or that she even existed, but he didn't ask.
"Are the two from the coffee shop going to come with you?" Rin was interested to find out which of the two girls her brother was after. Her curiosity got the better of her in times like these.
"Teto and Ritsu, yes." Len's voice made clear that he was looking forward to the little trip. Rin wasn't sure whether she should just tickle it out of Len or not. If needed she would get out the hammer. But Miku had often shown that she disliked Rin's violent nature, so Rin tried hard to work on herself and limit her actions.
"What are they like?" Rin couldn't keep her mouth shut.
"Teto is… special. She's like…a wild burst of energy, or…French bread in human form. I can't decide. Always talking, always moving. She really hates it when you call her hair 'drills.' She nearly beat a customer over the head with a table once. She's insanely strong for her size, but also quite clumsy. I guess that's about it. Ritsu is…I can't really say, I haven't talked to her much. She seems really elegant and cool, though," Len said, putting some fried vegetables into lunch boxes.
Tomorrow was Saturday and since there was no school, they had all the time they wanted. He was a little worried about Ruko managing the coffee shop on her own, but he was even more excited about spending the day with Ritsu. He wondered what she would wear. That girl really tickled his fantasies.
"Who's got the bigger rack?" Rin asked and heard Len drop the lid of a box. She laughed and rolled around on the couch. "So? Which one?"
Len didn't really know what to say at that. It wasn't that he wasn't looking at them. In fact, he couldn't resist looking at Teto's and Ritsu's cleavage. Teto was fairly normal—maybe a bit smaller than Miku. Ritsu's boobs looked really big under her clothes, but he couldn't tell for sure. He hoped to see more of them the next day. Ritsu surely wouldn't go to an amusement park in her waitress outfit.
"I…think Ritsu is bigger. You can't really tell with her," he said cautiously, not sure how his sister would react.
Rin was extremely touchy when someone told her or pointed out that she was as flat as Len. It often ended in violence and screaming. The twins slept in the same room, but nowadays, Len was using in-ear headphones. In the past, he had woken up sometimes at night, just to hear the heavy panting and moaning of his sister. He wasn't into that kind of thing, so it just annoyed him and embarrassed him. He knew that Rin was rubbing her own breasts every night, trying to make them bigger.
It was somewhat pitiful. Rin almost always wore tops that were a bit too big for her so people couldn't tell she was as flat as a board. It was a futile effort. Len had learned his lesson and never mentioned Rin's bust size.
"I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Who's hotter of the two?" Rin continued to question her brother about the two girls.
"They both have their merits." Len dodged the question and started making omelettes.
Rin changed the topic, knowing she would only get more vague shit out of her brother after this. "Where do you get all that money to go to that coffee shop every day, anyway?"
Rin secretly worked a part-time job to buy herself something she dearly wanted, so she was out most of the time and didn't know what her brother was doing.
"I've started to help out in the supermarket across the street from the shop. I'm only doing stuff like filling the shelves and that sort of thing," Len explained, knowing that his sister didn't really care what he was doing, just that he had some money.
"Is that so?" Rin grew bored of the conversation. She had almost enough money to buy what she wanted. There was a long school break coming up in which the students had to focus on homework projects. Nobody would suspect her if she showed up after those three weeks.
"I'm going to go use the computer," Rin said. She left the TV on and went into their shared room where the PC was. Rin locked the door, closed the curtains, and booted up the computer, logging into her account, which was protected by a password.
There was a folder right on the desktop, called "Miku." But that wasn't what Rin was looking for. After opening a browser window, she clicked on a hidden bookmark.
The bookmark was for an online shop that sold silicone breasts. It was what Rin was saving money for.
Rin double-clicked on a specific set and looked at it again. Soon she could say goodbye to her flat chest. It was a B-cup model, but given how flat Rin was, it would look like any bigger A cup. The set was rather expensive—it cost six thousand yen—but it was really high quality. Rin had done her homework on this. She could wear them even with a swimsuit, as long as it wasn't a bikini.
Len would probably notice, but she knew he wouldn't tell a soul. He knew she would kill him if he did. But for now, she didn't have quite enough. She was still one thousand yen short.
Clearing her history, hiding the bookmark in a different place and closing the browser, she opened her Miku folder. There were over one thousand images in there. She looked intently at a few new ones—promotional art from her single "Love Is War" and some screenshots from the PV for "Magnet."
Len knocked on the door. "I'm making dinner now," he called. He didn't care what she did behind locked doors, but he could very well imagine.
Rin was moaning softly when Len put a pot full of water on the stove.
~~~ Hear My Song! ~~~
Gumi had no idea what was going on anymore. It was two in the morning and someone was ringing the doorbell to her apartment.
Gumi, with wild bed hair, droopy eyes, and one huge yawn, opened the door, only to find her sister on her doorstep—drunk and looking pretty roughed up, yet happily singing nonsensical songs to herself.
From there, things went out of control. Sonika staggered into her apartment without any bags or suitcases. She had nothing at all with her except a big bottle of cheap booze in her hand. Her hair was as chaotic as Gumi's, and her pupils were wide. She was more than just "somewhat drunk."
Gumi followed her sister, who was astonishingly quick considering how drunk she was, into her room, where Sonika fell onto Gumi's bed.
"Sonika, what in the world happened?" Gumi was a bit alarmed. Her sister was really bad with alcohol.
"Your sister had a little drinkkk!" The woman blurted out, and almost threw up while doing so.
Gumi quickly fetched the bottle from her sister's hands. It was some kind of strong whiskey. But before Gumi knew what was going on, Sonika had gotten up and had wrapped both arms around Gumi's neck. Her face was so close, Gumi felt like she was getting drunk from her alcohol-drenched breath.
"You've gotten really cute, Gumi…"
Gumi felt like she was paralyzed when her sister kissed her without any regard for Gumi's will or objections. Gumi's face started to shine a bright red. Sonika lost her balance and fell back in the bed, dragging Gumi down with her, refusing to let go.
"I was soooo lonely…" Gumi lost all self-control when her sister whispered those words into her ear.
~~~ End of Chapter VI ~~~