A/N: This is unedited and the first chapter after a while so typos are pretty likely.
Hear my Song!
Concert X
New and Old
"I'm never... gonna help you... move furniture.. again..." Luka sunk down at the end of the couch they had just carried from one building to the other. "And... I... never want... to see stairs... again in my... life." Breathing heavy and sweating even worse, Luka swiped the flood from her forehead with the back of her hand.
Gumi was leaned against the other end of the couch, Lily was sprawled out on the ground and Miku was the sole survivor, having escaped the suicide mission by a stroke of luck, winning rock paper scissors.
"At least we're done now..." Lily had never felt that tired out before. There was still a plethora of stuff to get from Gumi's apartment, but for now, they had the minimum furniture to stay the night. Thanks to Miku and a few amusing phone calls, they had already gotten the keys to the place right below Luka's.
"We really need to find ourselves a few male friends for situations like this." Crawling over to the small table they had brought in earlier, Luka grabbed one of the drinks Miku had just brought from the kitchen. They were nice and cold.
"Don't be such a drama queen. A real workout is not gonna kill you." Miku stretched, having carried her own fair share of things. The majority of Gumi's stuff, as Lily had none to speak of, was still over in the other apartment but that was something they could take care of the next day. Or the day after that. She wasn't too keen on going all those stairs up and down another dozen times.
"Thank you two so much.. for helping us." Gumi would have bowed to them, but she could barely stand. Her arms felt like they had served to hold up a bridge. Throwing herself on the couch, Lily grabbed one of the drinks and reached over the armrest, giving it to her new housemate. "Thanks Lily."
"I'm too tired to even think of throwing a party." Luka emptied her glass, sitting on the ground right next to the table, Miku standing to her right. "Are you two gonna be fine, living together? It's one thing for Miku and me to share a place, but you two barely know each other."
"Let them, Luka. They're old enough to know what... well, at least Gumi knows what she's doing, I suppose." Miku remembered how exactly Lily ended up in Tokyo in the first place.
"Hey! Just 'cause I stormed off once doesn't mean I never think stuff through!" Lily pointed at herself. "You just wait, I'll show you what I mean soon!"
"Is that why you don't even have a single set of spare clothes? And why you're wearing borrowed ones right now? Or why you have basically no personal belongings of any description? I like you Lily but you're as much careful planner as I'm superhero." Miku shrugged and pointed at Lily.
"Cut her some slack Miku. Look at the poor thing, you basically crushed her heart." Luka couldn't help but grin. Lily and Miku were so completely different and yet both equally stubborn.
"Fine. I won't say any more." Letting out a sigh and sitting down, Miku didn't know why she always let Luka have her way. Lily needed to get some sense in her head and that soon. Otherwise she was going to run into a lot of problems, living in Tokyo. Unless you had a really well paying job like Luka, it was a battle for survival with your wallet.
"Now that I have silenced the beguiling demon, shall we go out and do something else? I don't want to see that couch for a while." Luka only twitched a little when her sides were poked by Miku's elbow.
"Who's a demon?" It was always difficult to tell for Gumi when Miku was truly angry or just playing along. One of the few hints were that if she was really angry, she'd frown.
"So you're not rejecting the beguiling part?" Luka's sneer was as thick as oil.
"You two are so sickeningly cute, I can't handle it." Feign a heart attack, Lily slowly slipped from the couch, tongue hanging out, eyes closed. Gumi's laugh signalized the end of their little act. "So, what did you two have in mind? I'm happy with anything as long as I get to hang out with you three."
"Now look, if you really want to do that, you got to stop treating us like we're some sort of enlightened entity. Sure, we're a little famous, but we're still just normal people in our free time. I get enough of the weirdo treatment at work and concerts, I don't need it from my friends." Miku sighed hard, looking straight at the blond girl.
Lily was so surprised that she was speechless for a few seconds. Looking a bit depressed she lowered her head. "Sorry. Didn't think it annoyed you that much." She looked like she had just stepped on a verbal landmine.
"Don't worry about little miss perfect here. Dealing with the fame comes with the job, she's just not used to it yet. She has a bit of a point though, you don't have to force yourself to do it. I don't care either way." Putting her hand on Miku's head, the songstress tried to defuse the situation a little.
"One day Luka... one day..." Miku uttered under her breath, the other two unable to hear her. "I don't feel like doing much so how about we just go and get some ice cream? The weather is nice and I don't want to be indoors all the time."
Luka gasped and looked at Miku like she was some sort of alien. "You want to go outside? Did someone replace my Miku?"
"Cut it out." Punching Luka's shoulders, Miku looked at the other two, knowing that her partner was going to go along with almost anything they would decide.
"Sounds good to me. It'll help me orientate myself. Don't really know my way around yet." Lily looked at her sweat soaked shirt. "I fear I'll have to borrow some more clothes though..."
"I'm not going anywhere looking like this either." Miku was equally sticky and uncomfortable. A change of clothes more than just a little necessary.
"You got some of your stuff here, right Gumi? Lend Lily something, Miku and I'll go up and change. Meet at the parking lot in thirty minutes."
"Why thirty minutes?" Lily didn't think just changing clothes would take that long.
"That's the minimum time we two need to shower together, dress and come down." Luka left it wide open as to why she knew the exact amount of time they needed. Lily blushed a little, unintentionally imagining Miku and Luka together in the shower.
"Wait, if you two need that long together, there is no way we-" Luka and Miku were already out the door by the time Lily realized the problem at hand. "Oh well. I can go without a shower. I just need something else to wear." Pulling a black hair tie from her pocket, Lily fixed her long hair into a massive ponytail in a few complex but fluid moves.
"I don't need that long in the shower. Maybe ten minutes. If we hurry, you can take one too." She wasn't just being nice. They were all reeking of sweat and she didn't really want Lily to stink the whole time they were out.
"That's awesome. Okay, less standing around, more showering." Shoving Gumi towards the bathroom, Lily smiled. "Don't worry, won't peek." Closing the door, Lily went into what was a basically empty bedroom, except for the actual bed and one small closet, and picked some of the larger looking pieces Gumi had. They asked her to treat them like normal friends, so she did.
Thankfully she wasn't that much bustier than Gumi, so most of what the green haired girl owned would fit her. An old jeans with a cyan colored girdle, a black tank-top, her own accessories and that was pretty much the whole outfit already, not counting her own shoes. Grabbing the clothes and going back to the living room, she left them on the couch and went into the kitchen, checking on what they had there. Beside the drinks Miku had brought over, they only had a few cans of coke and beer, which Luka must have brought over, and nothing to eat. She had forgotten just how much work it was to get a new apartment going.
Waiting for Gumi to finish showering was quite boring without a TV or a computer or even anything to entertain herself. Going out on the balcony, she took a good look at the area. From what Miku had told her, the next convenience store was about ten minutes on foot, the next supermarket roughly twenty. With a bicycle, half the time each.
To the other side were mostly just apartments. The next subway was relatively close by, which was very handy. The sun was too hot today so Lily retreated quickly in the shadow. Come to think of it, she didn't see any kind of entrance to the balcony in Luka's apartment. The layouts were the same, so why exactly...
Shrugging, losing interest and going back inside, Lily leaned against the wall next to the bathroom. She didn't even have a clock so it was hard to tell how long Gumi had been in there. Would she really finish in ten minutes? Most girls she knew took way too long in the bathroom, which was a huge pain on trips and camps.
Imagining some of the songs she could play, Lily started to move her fingers through the air as if she was holding a guitar. She got through a full song before the door opened and a soaked Gumi, covered by just a towel, came out, looking quite stressed. "Wow, you really were quick. I'm impressed."
Without delaying even another second, Lily took off her top and pants, not even in the bathroom yet. Gumi turned away, her face like a tomato, not knowing what to think of Lily's absolute lack of shame. The clothes remaining in a pile on the outside, the door closed and the water started up within seconds.
Going through the living room to her bedroom, Gumi saw that Lily picked out some of her clothes but those were things she very rarely wore anyway. As soon as she got her other stuff over, Lily could just keep those.
Getting dressed, her wet hair getting somewhat in the way, Gumi found that she didn't have a single clean bra here. Thinking about it, Lily did drop hers and there was no sign of there being one on the couch either. Putting on what she had, Gumi still felt quite naked. There was still just a little time before they had to meet Miku and Luka, so she went for it. Leaving the apartment with wet hair, black leggings, a red and black checkered mini-skirt and a white shirt, Gumi almost sprinted towards her old apartment.
One level above Lily were Miku and Luka, the former trying hard to keep the latter from starting anything lewd for that would delay them too much. "Shower does not include you washing my breasts." Slapping Luka's hands, Miku turned up the water to maximum, cleaning her hair of the shampoo. "Hurry up. You were the one who said thirty minutes." Grabbing her green towel, Miku didn't even bother properly covering herself and just dried herself up as quickly as possible.
"You're no fun when you're stressed." Luka didn't want to arrive late and piss off Miku so she did hurry up, even skipping the hair lotion she usually used after shampoo. "But I suppose I dug that hole myself."
Miku was already picking out clothes, nothing fancy, a white dress top with bare back cut, light purple hot-pants and white knee-socks completed by sneakers. Luka joined her two minutes later, going for a casual look. White, capri pants, a black top with half elbow length sleeves and sandals.
"How long do we have?" Luka sat down on the bed for a second, a bit out of breath from the hurrying. That had to be the fastest coed shower she had ever taken in her life.
"About five minutes. Let's slowly go down the-" Miku was grabbed and pulled back on the bed, Luka kissing her neck. "What's up with you today Luka? You're a little too psyched. Is it because Lily is now in our little group?"
"Can't I be clingy just because I feel like it?" Nibbling on Miku's ear, Luka really enjoyed some time alone with her for the moment. Having people over was fun but Miku wasn't really all that keen on kissing and making out while they were watching.
"I know you better than that. You're worried about Gumi and Sonika, right?" Miku grabbed Luka's hand and looked over her own shoulder. "It's that, right?"
"You're worried too, I can tell. But there's not much we can do. It's up to them to figure out their future. Moving her hands under Miku's dress, Luka blew some hot air against her neck. I think we're gonna be late." Luka glimpsed at the clock over the door. They had three minutes to go down.
~~~ Hear my Song! ~~~
"They're late! And where is Gumi?" Lily was the only one who had managed to get to the parking lot in time. It was a little weird to go without a bra, but it wasn't the first time she had done that. Hopefully Gumi didn't mind her sniping some panties from her.
After about five minutes of waiting and getting very bored and practicing some riffs, Miku and Luka finally turned up, not exactly in fresh condition. Looking at Miku, her dress was sliding off her left shoulder, her hair was a bit messy and her cheeks were flushed. "Wow, Luka." A knowing grin aimed at the veteran songstress, Luka put out her fist and Lily responded in turn.
"Wonderful, now we have two air-headed, spontaneous girls with the mind of an old man. I should open up a circus." Miku shook her head and looked around, unable to spot the other green haired girl. "Where did you leave Gumi?" Despite the blonde's personality, Miku didn't suspect Lily of anything.
"She was gone by the time I got out of the shower." Lily felt something soft touch and move over her back. "What are you doing Luka?"
"You're not wearing a bra, right? Did something happen with Gumi?" The devious grin on Luka's face was a clear sign that she wanted a positive answer to that. She loved herself some sudden developments.
"No. There just weren't any bra's to take. What's that grin for? Sonika would lynch me if I did something." Lily wasn't dense by any stretch of the imagination. She could definitely read between the lines.
"I'm not so sure about that." Looking up, Luka spotted Gumi approaching the group, coming from the building her old apartment was at, carrying a small bag with her. "There's our missing girl."
Rushing straight past Miku and Luka, Gumi, completely out of breath, dragged Lily away and behind a hard to see corner. "What's wrong? You look like you saw a ghost, Gumi."
"Don't ask weird question, Lily! Take the bag, there is a toilet room right around the corner." Turning slightly and blushing equally slightly, Gumi wondered why Miku hadn't said anything. "I can see your nipples poking through that top."
"Oh?" Looking down on herself, Lily noticed that too. "Definitely Luka's fault for asking me weird questions. I'll be back in a minute."
Returning to Miku and Luka without Lily, Gumi still hadn't managed to get rid of the color in her face. Miku launched preemptive measures against Luka right away, grabbing her hand just a little more forcefully than she needed to. "Okay, okay, I won't say anything. Sheesh Miku, you're really overprotective today."
"Are you gonna be okay Gumi? I know how hard it is to take care of someone that has nothing but nonsense on their mind. It's not something you can handle just on the side."
"Ouch." Luka pretended to flinch in pain and gave Miku a scolding look, something that completely and utterly had no effect whatsoever.
"She's not that bad. A bit irresponsible and impulsive but I can tell she's a good person." Gumi wasn't sure how serious Miku was about what she said. The girl liked to tease her partner apparently.
"If you take away the part of Luka where she constantly molests me, she's a good person too. Doesn't change that she can give me quite a headache."
"I'm standing right next to you, Miku. I can hear you."
"Oh, is that so? You never seem to be able to hear me when I try to stop you from doing crazy stuff."
"I just chose not to hear that." Whistling, Luka was completely ready to get punched again for saying something like that. She loved to pull Miku's strings a little.
"I think I can handle Lily. She doesn't seem as... wild as Luka. I'm sorry, Luka." Bowing hastily while apologizing, Gumi didn't notice that Luka's frown was very obviously fake.
"Green haired girls sure are mean."
"Does that make pink haired women abusive molesters then?"
"Reduced to my hair color, what a fate!" Acting as if she was about to faint, Luka pretending to fall, waiting for Miku to catch her. "The shame!"
Catching her partner indeed, Miku cringed. "What shame? I'm surprised you know that word to begin with you lustful seductress."
"It's a shame I don't get you to hold me like this more often, that's for sure." Certain that Miku would drop her right after, Luka quickly pulled herself together and got back up.
Lily came back just as Luka got back on her feet. "Aw dammit, I missed something funny didn't I?" One look at Gumi's face told her that much.
"Nothing much, just Luka being Luka. So, are we good?" Miku was eager to get away from the apartment, before anything else needed to be moved. She didn't count on being lucky at rock paper scissors a second time. Linking arms with Luka, Miku put on tinted glasses. "There's a lot of copycats around now so this much should be good..."
"Do people recognize you on the street a lot?" Slowly getting going, Lily was to Miku's left while Gumi was to Luka's right. Lily looked every bit the standard rock fan with her getup and hairstyle.
"It happens. Luka much more often than me. I think a lot goes towards people not suspecting that we would just walk around outside." Miku found a loose thread on Luka's clothes and made a mental note to cut it off later.
"What are you gonna do if you can't pull through with the band idea Lily?" For Miku, money had always been an issue and even though it really wasn't anymore now, she did worry about those things.
"Work in a convenience store, fry burgers, walk dogs, you know, the sort of things that always need someone doing it. I'm not anal about what kind of job I do. Would be cool if I could do something I like though."
"I can totally imagine you asking me if I want fries with that." Luka laughed out loud because she really could vividly imagine it.
"Would you like to order fries with that? We have an action for shakes, if your order exceeds five hundred yen, you can get one for free." Lily imitated a McDonalds employee almost perfectly. "I worked stuff like that before."
Luka was slightly bend over from laughing too much. Gumi tried to hold on to Luka to prevent going to her knees for the same reasons, with only mediocre success. Even Miku couldn't help but giggle, but not without covering her mouth.
"What would you like on your sub? The total makes eight hundred eighty five yen. Please come again. Welcome back, Mistress." Just pulling out one stereotypical phrase after another, all three of them looked amazed at the last one. "What? What'd I say?"
"You? Working in one of those maid shops? I would pay to see that." Luka was immediately thinking of Miku in a maid costume as well. Maybe she would borrow one from work. But how to make her wear it?
"I'm a total bombshell in a maid costume, just so you know. I'm not liable for whatever happens." Lily put both her arms behind her back and grinned wide. She was confident about her looks even compared to Luka or Gumi.
"Too bad, I'm only into green haired girls nowadays." Luka
"So Gumi wearing the outfit would work?" Lily quickly switched from Miku's side to behind Gumi and shoved her a bit in front.
"Green haired with a sweet tooth for spring onions." Luka looked to her partner with a questioning look.
"Nice save." Miku grinned.
"What about you, would Gumi in a maid outfit do the trick?"
"Hm... I wonder." Grinning, Lily started to tickle the sides of the short haired girl. "Maybe. She'd make a really cute maid. I like sexy but cute is good too."
Blushing after being told that, Gumi hoped she wouldn't need to actually put on a maid outfit any time soon. She'd be too embarrassed to do it. Lily was really blunt and she wasn't used to dealing with that. Luka was one thing but Lily made it a lot harder to just laugh and forget.
"That's all you two are going to talk about, isn't it? Who you want to seduce and take to bed." Miku made a cynical remark and earned an instant retort from her partner.
"Don't worry, I'll take you to bed myself later." Dodging the elbow hit and quickly linking arms again, the songstress knew Miku more than good enough to know she should maybe slow down a little. "So, what's your family like, Lily?"
"Parents got nothing to do with music, but we live right across the street of a big record shop that started dealing in CDs when I was little. Mom doesn't work and Dad's an office horse. Got two sisters, hot head and a freak."
"It's kind of worrying if you call someone a hot head or freak." Miku didn't look forward to ever meeting those people.
"Hey!" Lily was slightly offended but realized that Miku did have a point.
"What are your sisters like?" Gumi liked to know more about the girl she was going to share an apartment with.
"They're both heavy into indie music. You know, underground stuff that's barely known. Naoko, she's the hothead, is sixteen and I guess you could say she's in her rebellious phase. Had a big fight with mom, started to stay at friends places, dyed her hair crimson red, makes everyone call her Cul, the whole packet of indie rock band wannabe important person."
"You're almost a reasonable person next to that!" Luka continued her teasing.
"Says miss fake public personality!" Lily could fire back and it hit the mark. "My youngest sis is the freak. Naoko had a bad influence on her and she went way over the top with the whole indie thing. Couldn't even settle on a single color for her hair so it looks like someone shot her with a can of mixed dye. Wants to be called Galaco, whatever that's supposed to mean, and causes Mom a lot of grief."
"Your family is a little messed up." Miku's own family wasn't exactly role model material either, but at least nothing that bad.
"There's a reason I'm this far from home. Naoko was constantly asking me to let her join the band and Mai, the freak, wasn't any better, acting all high and mighty all day."
"Makes me happy I'm a single child." Luka didn't feel like making fun of Lily anymore. Sisters like that had to be really annoying.
"I bet you were a terrible headache to your parents." Miku didn't say pain but she could have bet that was, at times, also accurate.
"Guilty as charged. Park or outdoor cafe?" Stopping at the stairs that took them to the subway, Luka thought it would be nice to get an apartment near the park one of these days.
"Cafe." Miku and Gumi both agreed on that, too tired to walk around much in the park.
"I'll buy tickets." Miku was followed by Lily right away who wanted to know the setup of the subway lines, leaving Luka alone with Gumi.
"What do you think of Lily? And I'm not just talking about her personality."
"Did Sonika say something to you about me? You've been really pushy about this, Luka." Gumi might have been a bit innocent and naive but not to the degree necessary to not realize what Luka was doing. And the most obvious reason would be if Sonika said something.
"I can't speak for your sister but I think you'd both be happier if you managed to find someone to like that won't throw your entire life in turmoil if it comes out."
"No offense Luka but it's my life."
"Sure, and I'm your friend. If I didn't care, I wouldn't say anything."
"What did my sis say?"
"She loves you but she feels that both of you would need to give up their current lives to ever take it any further than what you have now. And that what you have now isn't healthy for you."
Looking away from Luka, Gumi didn't like it when she was all serious like that. What she said really rung true and she didn't like that even more. "Is that why you're pushing so hard with Lily?"
"You two seem like you'd make a good couple. I wouldn't worry about this if it looked like something you'd work out by yourself."
Her pride and her love for Sonika wanted her to make an angry retort but the fact that she rarely saw Luka genuinely caring and worried about someone that wasn't Miku stopped her from doing that. "I don't want to think about it... I mean... I'm not stupid, I know being with Sonika like that is a big risk for us both. And I can't see sis ever being content doing anything but music. I'm the same.."
"And you know you would both need to eventually give it up or get forced to. Because keeping something like that a secret forever just doesn't happen nowadays. Just give it some thought. Lily seems like a really great girl and I'm sure she would happily go out with you."
"I'll think about it." Gumi always did badly with things like that.
"Now cheer up, not dating your sister won't mean she stops loving you or you can't see her anymore. It's really just the sex that goes away."
"Miku is right, you're an old man in disguise."
"And that's my thanks for worrying?" Grinning, Luka patted the head of the green haired girl. "It'll work itself out."
"Oh, you're in trouble now, Luka." Lily had come back with Miku, only to catch Luka gently patting Gumi's head.
"I wasn't doing anything indecent." Luka defended herself from the accusing look Miku had in her eyes.
"I know. Because you know I'd lynch you if you did." Handing the two their tickets, Lily grabbed Gumi and pulled ahead, wanting to see more of the station as Miku had been very uncooperative in that aspect.
"So what was the reason for Gumi's depressed look?" Miku, left alone with Luka, the two of them slowly following Lily and Gumi, was curious what they had talked about.
"She figured out that I was pushing her to spend time with Lily. So she asked me about it and you know how I feel about outright lying to my friends."
"You have no problem whatsoever doing that."
"Friends, not fans, you...!" Luka pinched Miku's cheek gently. "I told her what I think and what Sonika said. She seemed pretty down but I know she understood where she and I are coming from."
"She's really going to need that ice cream now."
"You're so frugal it's painful. Live a little!"
"I want to own my own house some day."
"You make more money now in a month than you did before in a year, Miku."
"Old habits die hard. And you're way off. I make more but not like that. I'm not some world renowned US superstar."
"Miku, Luka, get a move on, the train is gonna leave!" Lily was shouting from the distance.
"That idiot... maybe she wants to put big signs above our heads that spell 'Celebrity here' next?" Luka cursed under her breath.
"Just walk slowly as if it isn't us. Have you ever felt like covering an existing song?"
"I've sung 'Final Countdown' on a party before. It was a total hit."
"Having a hard time imagining you doing that."
"You underestimate me." Advancing as slowly as they could, they missed the train. Seeing Lily glare at them from behind the train door, they couldn't help but giggle. "The next one is in fifteen minutes so why don't we use that very conveniently placed subways in the subway here and get a sub."
"I feel like hurting you now, Luka. The same way you're hurting language."
"Don't be such a stick in the mud."
"You pay."
"As if that makes any difference."
"Thought that counts."
"Yeah, yeah."
~~~ Hear my Song! ~~~
"They ditched us!" Lily threw herself into her seat next to Gumi and made a horrible face.
"It's your fault for shouting. They don't want the attention. If you ever need to call me, just use my real name."
"Isn't Gumi your real name?" Lily was a little confused now.
"No, no. Sometimes you're so silly. My parents are normal people so I have a normal name like others. Gumi is just cutting out the Me of my real name. Megumi."
"That's really simplistic. I mean, just cutting off the Me."
"Luka and Miku use my stage name but if you ever need to call for me like that, use my real name, okay?" Miku and Luka's behavior of avoiding the spotlight in their private time had rubbed off on her.
"I wonder what I would use as stage name..."
"Yuri?"
"Wow, so funny, I'm about to die of laughter." Rolling eyes, Lily poked Gumi's sides. "Miss originality or rather lack thereof."
"You're a fun person to be around."
"Likewise. Although I think you could let loose a bit more."
"For example?"
"If you want to try it out, I know just the thing. It's perfect to pay back Luka and Miku for ditching us, too. You ever done cosplay before?"
"You're not going to ask me to dress up as something lewd, right?"
"No. As Miku."
"I don't know of any cosplay shops around here, though."
"Dammit, should've goggled it back then."
"Let's postpone that for another time. Maybe when we aren't half dead from moving furniture."
"Oh yeah... sounds good." Realizing how exhausted she had been before, and the excitement of being with three stars slowly washing off, Lily felt really sore.
"Let's just wait for them at the station. This is Tokyo, it'll take maybe ten minutes before the next train comes."
"Do you... have any money? I'm kind of starving."
"There is a Burger King near the station if you want."
"I'm reminded of this awful job I had at that place but hunger beats that easy. I'll pay you back eventually, promise. And don't tell Luka, the jokes will never end."
"Yeah, yeah." Giggling, Gumi reached for her handbag and only hit air. "Lily?"
"Hm, what's wrong?"
"My money is in my handbag."
"So?"
"My handbag is in my old apartment."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Do they have street musicians at the station? You know the kind that tries to get money for playing in public."
"I think so. But you don't have an instrument, Lily."
"Don't worry I got us covered. Perfect to make you loosen up a little, too."
~~~ Hear my Song! ~~~
To their surprise, Miku and Luka had run into a familiar face. Or more specifically, saw a familiar face from where they were hidden, sitting on a bench behind a crowd of people. Miku had first thought that it was just someone who looked exactly like her but that wasn't the case after all. There were no doppelgangers.
"That's one of the twins that live next to your cousins, right?" Luka talked about Miku's housing like she was already a permanent resident of her apartment.
"Yeah but..." Miku was more than just a little weirded out. Rin was there alright, together with a red haired girl she recognized as one of the waitresses from the coffee shop. The bread girl. But that wasn't what really weirded her out. "She's not supposed to have whatever giant cup breasts those are."
"Think they're bigger than mine?"
"They're obviously fake but why would she do this? I don't think she really needed to get any more attention than she already did."
"I wonder if they're bigger than Haku's. I think Haku is bigger than me."
"Is it because of that red haired girl? Is she trying to impress her? But even an idiot should be able to figure out there aren't middle school girls with breasts that huge..."
"If they're bigger than Haku' that means they're also bigger than mine. Hm, what size is Meiko?"
"Will you stop talking about breast sizes for a moment? Are you twelve years old now?"
"Well excuse me for being proud of my rack. I just don't want some little girl upstaging me."
"Why did I even ask?"
"You're not going over there to ask?"
"To be honest, Rin can be pretty... hazardous to have around. If she's with someone I barely know, I don't want to impose."
"Or you just don't have the guts to ask her why she is sporting fake tits."
"Do you have any decency at all Luka?!"
"Maybe somewhere in one of the drawers in my closet I rarely use. It's something to wear over your wrists, right?"
"You're the worst."
"I gotta say, it does look pretty impressive. Hard to judge from here but they're probably my size or bigger."
"Just how fixated on your own breasts can you be?"
"Oh, I'm plenty fixated on yours too. Can I fixate my hands on them?"
"You're really out of control today." Slapping Luka's hand as she tried to grope her, Miku sighed. It would be a pain if Rin saw her.
The blonde on the other hand didn't mind at all that she was being watched by a lot of people. In her mind, none of them knew that she wasn't really that busty herself. Or busty at all. Or not flat. Teto had been right, going out like that was really satisfying. It was quite tiring though. The unfamiliar extra weight was putting a bit of a strain on her shoulders.
The excitement of walking around outside together with Teto and secretly making out in a few hidden spots along the way had Rin pretty exhausted. "Can't wait to hit the shower."
"After that it's time to show me the stuff we bought again." Teto didn't spend much money so she could afford to buy some new clothes for Rin. It was a bit like buying new clothes for a puppet and the idea of owning Rin was pretty pleasant.
"You're insatiable Teto."
"Says the girl with the chest that would make even Ritsu jealous." Seeing Rin's face turn slightly red, she loved the reaction.
Teto knew exactly that treating Rin like she really was as busty as that made the girl incredibly horny and excited. The thrill of doing that was incredibly satisfying. She wasn't a sadist like Ritsu but she did have peculiar tastes.
Spinning around, her fake chest bouncing as she came to a sudden halt, Rin thought she had heard Miku's voice. Unable to spot her anywhere she figured it was just her imagination. She didn't need her anymore, she had a really awesome girlfriend now.
The train rushing in and making infernal noises as it came to a halt, Teto shoved Rin with her free hand, the other carrying two bags with clothes. She couldn't wait to see Rin dress up for her in clothes that all cleverly disguised her fake chest. There was something fascinating about playing with people's self-esteem like that.
Getting on the train, Rin could have sworn she saw Miku from the corner of her eye. But being able to turn around in a full subway train was something she could no longer do. Not with her chest like that.
"She almost spotted you. She was looking around for someone." Luka was standing with her back towards the tracks, right in front of Miku.
"That's because you made me squeal!"
"I didn't think you'd be so loud. I just touched your butt."
"Yeah, while there are dozens and maybe hundreds of people around."
"I touched your butt during the Magnet PV and you didn't mind."
"Because it wasn't on camera you pervert!"
"Anyway, from the way they acted, the redhead is one hundred percent sleeping with the blonde."
"Rin's fourteen, I can't imagine that."
"Especially because she is fourteen I can imagine that."
"Maybe I should ask Len about this."
"What do we do about the train? Lily and Gumi are waiting for us. Probably. Actually, considering this is Lily we're talking about, she already managed to get Gumi into trouble."
"You're confusing Lily with yourself."
"Hm, I'm pretty sure my breasts are bigger than-" Luka suffered another punch to the shoulder before she could finish her sentence.
"Give it a rest, boob maniac!"
~~~ Hear my Song! ~~~
"Follow me, follow me, I like you so much! I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, now because of me, don't get mad, smile, calm down now! Bo Peep Bo Peep Bo Peep Bo Peep Bo Peep Bo Peep Ah!" Finishing the song, Lily struck a pose, her hands towards her already considerable audience, a huge grin on her face.
Earning a decent applause, Lily returned the things she had borrowed, a large radio from one a nearby coffee shop and a guitar from a street musician. Dancing and singing while playing was quite taxing but she made enough to pay for a decent meal, even after splitting half with the musician.
"I'm beat. Lucky they were playing the instrumental version just then. But that's one thing I can say about myself, I always have good luck going." Playing with the bills and coins in her hand, Lily wondered where the other two were. "Isn't it about time Miku and Luka showed up? And shame on you Gumi, not dancing with me."
"I don't know the routine! Or the lyrics! And I didn't know you could play the guitar, Lily." Gumi was fairly amazed by what she had just witnessed. It wasn't surprising people actually gave her money.
"What, you think I do? That's a good one Gumi. I just heard the song a few times in radio. I would've done the same with any other instrumental, you know?"
"I'm amazed you can pull stunts like that... maybe it's because I do this stuff professionally but I need to learn the routine and lyrics or I just can't do it."
"Nonsense. Come here. Excuse me!" Going back to the coffee shop she had just returned the radio to, Lily wouldn't let Gumi get away with saying something like that.
Not too far away, a slightly unnerved Miku just left the subway station, having forced Luka on a different line and then yet another, getting them there a few minutes earlier than had they waited for the next direct line. Both of them trying to force their way through the afternoon rush, Miku and Luka were exhausted when they finally got back to seeing daylight.
"Why in the world didn't we take your car?"
"Can't find four people in there..."
"True..."
"And driving at this time? I'd have bitten someone's head off by now." Luka leaned against a nearby wall, enjoying the cool. "How in the world are we gonna find those two now?"
"I hope they didn't wait in the chaos down there."
"Why are there so many people here?" Miku looked around and there was a lot more commotion than usual, even considering the time and day.
"Someone's playing music over there. Bet it's some new idol thing going on. Let's just go away, last thing we need is press being there and recognizing us." Luka pointed in the general direction down the street where loud music was coming from. "Why of all things 'Bo Peep Bo Beep from T-ara? I bet it's some kind of super cute looking girl that wants to appeal that way."
"You want to go and ogle her, don't you? You won't shut up about this for ages if I stop you so go. I don't care if ogling is all you do." Sitting down on the next best bench, Miku leaned back and tried to relax. The blaring music didn't make that easy however.
Luka, doing exactly as she was told for a change, Luka realized very quickly that whoever was playing the music wasn't singing to it. Was it just a dance gig? But what kind of idol would bother with that? Unable to get a good look because the audience was like a solid circle imprisoning someone in the middle, Luka climbed on a nearby chair and looked over the mass of people only to almost fall down, baffled.
Standing in the middle of the mass were Lily and Gumi, the latter trying extremely hard to follow Lily's dance routine, with decent enough success, having seen it once already. Both of them were visibly having fun, Luka could have sworn though that Lily had to force Gumi into doing that. Gumi wasn't that out-going.
Watching for another minute, the dance was over, leaving Lily panting and Gumi horribly embarrassed but looking quite satisfied. Drilling through the audience, Luka managed to get to the front, waving to Lily and Gumi, the latter blushing quite a bit. Both of them bowing to their audience, who expected them to introduce themselves or give an encore apparently, the girls escaped together with Luka.
Noticing a few people with cameras and cellphones having recorded their dance, there was no doubt that it would show up on the Internet really soon.
"You two done making the news?" Luka was quite amazed by the sudden dancing but she certainly didn't put something like that past Lily. "Where did you learn to dance like that?"
"Taught myself, imitating PVs and stuff." Trying to get away from the crowd, Luka skillfully maneuvered them around people that were now trying to see what the big crowd behind them was all about. Finding Miku still relaxing, she whistle and waved her hand in an attempt to get her moving.
Miku's sixth sense, the Luka-and-trouble sense, was tingling and she noticed immediately why. The pink haired songstress was pulling both Gumi and Lily after her quickly away from the crowd. Following them, Miku caught up in no time. "What did you do now?" She was immediately searching the fault with Luka.
"Our newcomer here decided to have a dance gig and pulled Gumi into it. Isn't that right?"
"How did you know I convinced her to do it?"
"Because I can't imagine Gumi going up dancing in front of so many people without any practice or idea what she is going to do."
"You had fun, right?" Looking behind her briefly, Lily grinned with. It had a charming effect on Gumi, who looked away with a serious case of blush. "Stop!" Shouting, almost yelling, as if something was really wrong, the group stopped, a considerable distance from the crowd that was now slowly dissipating. "Burger!"
Gumi broke out in laughter when she realized that Lily was still holding on to the idea of buying a meal set with the money she made from the earlier dance action. Going inside the Burger King they had just passed, the other three waited outside.
"Are you okay Gumi?" Miku was a little concerned.
"I really had fun. It was weird and I was really nervous but people enjoyed watching me and it was really fun to try and keep up with Lily. It's... really different from what we do at work."
"Oh no. No. Absolutely not. Absolutely not, Luka. I know that look in your eyes. No. Just-"
"Stingy." Luka was shot down so hard, she felt like a rocket of rejection had hit her.
"Next time you should try it out too, Miku." Gumi still felt the adrenaline inside her and it was hard to just stand still. That the music was quite an ear-worm didn't help.
Luka felt victory like never before. If even Gumi asked her to try, Miku surely would give in. And right after Miku had tried to shoot down any chance of that ever happening.
"As if one impulsive person wasn't enough." Miku didn't agree but she didn't reject it anymore either, hoping to get out of it by offering a status quo situation. They had just finished talking with Lily returned, stuffing her face with the biggest hamburger she could buy. Holding another one in her right hand, still wrapped, she threw it in Gumi's direction, who, to her own surprise, had no problem catching it.
"Nice catch. Enjoy. Nothing better than food you bought with hard earned money right after you earn it."
"You're quite the player, Lily." Laying one arm around the blonde's shoulder, Luka had a smug grin on her face. "I bet you were popular back home."
"Ya not getting' any of my burger, Luka."
"Busted." Miku laughed as Luka rolled eyes. Gumi was fighting with actually eating the burger in the mean time. "Can we go? I'm not eager on someone recognizing us after we got away."
"Yes, mom." Pretending to be annoyed, Luka laughed at Miku's sour look before they linked arms.
Gumi was left behind for a split second, still fighting with the burger, before Lily grabbed Gumi by her free hand and pulled her away. Not letting go even when they had caught up with the couple, Lily figured that a bit of fooling around wasn't going to incur Sonika's wrath. And after everything was said and done, if Gumi and her sis ever broke up, she wouldn't hesitate to take the chance.
Taking a detour and passing through a particularly empty street, they slowed down considerably, Lily letting go of Gumi, turning around and walking backwards while talking to Luka. "Next time I want to try Luka Luka Night Fever."
"Don't remind me of that song. That's a real workout." Shuddering just by thinking about it, Luka pointed in front. "Right." Lily went into the wrong direction and hit a street sign with the back of her head, crouching down and rubbing her head. "Sorry. My right."
"Ouch.. Damn... how many times is that now... gotta be a dozen full at least..." Complaining to herself for a while, she felt something cold touch her cheek, flinched and hit her head again.
Gumi just stood there, apologetic, holding out a can of cold Pepsi. Grabbing the can and, instead of opening and drinking it, putting it on her head, she sighed in slight agony. "Thanks. But please warn me next time."
"You okay? That was a pretty loud thud." Miku took a look if she was bleeding or anything but it looked like she was safe.
"I wish I was just some anime character. I'd grow a big bruise for five minutes and it'd be done with."
"Too bad, it's not that easy. Come, get up, we'll get you an ice pack or something." Luka didn't have a whole lot of pity on Lily, simply because walking backwards was really just asking for something like that.
Stopping at the next best shop, that was conveniently serving deserts among other things, Gumi went to get an ice pack while Luka and Miku took care of orders and making sure Lily was okay. "Feel sick? Dizzy?" Miku was much more worried than Luka.
"I don't have a concussion. I know what that feels like, Miku. I'm just a resident of the world of mega headaches right now. Thanks, Gumi." Grabbing the ice pack the girl was holding out, Lily put it on the back of her head. "I need to stop doing this."
"Sounds like a plan. That did look pretty painful." Luka sat at the table and watched Lily with a bit of concern. "That's not the first time you ran into something, right?"
"Be easier to say when I didn't. It's not like I'm actually clumsy, I just don't pay enough attention or think stuff through."
"Your head's stuffed full with music so there is no room for anything else, huh?" The pink haired woman grinned wide, just joking around.
"Very funny coming from you." Lily rolled eyes and leaned back, putting the ice pack on her face for a few seconds. "I'm gonna feel like I got run over tomorrow."
"Welcome to what the rest of us feels like now." Luka grabbed the ice pack and lifted it up slightly. "You're gonna hurt your face."
"You two are almost on the same wavelength. I don't know if I should like that or not. Would be great though if I could make you two babysit each other." Miku, resting her head in her palm, her arm resting on the table, still didn't quite now Lily would affect her own daily life. After being Luka for a while, she had long given up on even hoping for normalcy in it. And sometimes that wasn't a bad thing.
"What were you and Gumi doing that you attracted such a crowd?" Miku was curious, not having seen what Luka had.
"Dance routine of Bo Peep Bo Peep. You know the song Miku. That Korean one." Luka let the ice pack drop back on Lily's face, who sat back up and put the pack back on the backside of her head.
"Oh.. the one that's been running in the radio a lot earlier this year? Don't lose your temper so-so-so quickly? That one?"
"Gumi told me she doesn't know the lyrics or routine so we just... improvised a little." Lily smiled. "Not that I knew the routine either, so it's a whole lot of improvisation."
"From what I remember wasn't so far off. Gumi was doing much better than you though. You were more than just a bit rough with your movements."
"Can't compete with the pro's, haha." Laughing and looking to Gumi, the girl quite flattered, Lily stretched and put down the ice pack. "I wish I could do this for a living too. But I doubt it'd ever be able to put up with all the stuff you guys go through."
"It's hard but nothing you can't handle. I think. Right, Miku?" Gumi could tell when someone had talent and Lily had definitely talent for dancing and singing.
"There is no way I can just bring in another newcomer this quickly after Miku though. The board would declare me insane." Luka saw where Gumi was going with it.
"What if she gets well known without a label and then gets hired on her own? They don't have to know we know each other until later." Gumi stopped talking and thought briefly that she was hanging out with Luka too much, thinking those things.
"Hear that Lily? I think fame and a band is calling your name." Luka grinned and looked to her partner. "Miku made the jump and she didn't have any experience dancing or doing actual music business work. I don't think it'll take much for you to get there if you get some publicity."
"Back to the whole band idea, are we? At this point anything I say is gonna go unheard anyway. Sign me up. Better I'm on board and keep you guys in check than have you go out of control." Miku figured it couldn't hurt. As long as they did their music like charity, it was at best a trivial breach of contract. If they did it incognito, even better.
"Gumi, do you play an instrument?" Luka felt pretty good about this idea. Doing whatever music she liked without being dependent on the agency was a great bait for her.
"I learned the basics for a few things but nothing I could do in a band." Gumi felt a little inadequate all of a sudden.
"Think you could pick up the drums?" Luka already counted Haku to their team so she skipped the keyboard.
"I can try." She had only minimal experience playing drums so she had to learn it from ground up.
"Gumi playing the drums, that's gonna be a riot." Miku couldn't really imagine that. But then again, she was ready to be surprised.
"You guys are great, getting along with this for me." Lily couldn't even imagine what others would give to be in her position.
"Don't worry about it." Luka wasn't going to turn down having Lily owe them.
"She's only doing this because she thinks it's going to be fun. You can bet your butt that she wouldn't help you this much if she didn't have an interest in it herself."
"Guilty as charged." Gumi started to laugh, knowing that Miku was spot on with her accusation.
"So, what are we going to do now? None of us have large enough apartments to use them to practice." Miku took charge of the situation, knowing that if left to their own devices, Lily and Luka would be a catastrophe.
"We three make more than enough to rent some practice space and buy new instruments. That's not really a problem." Luka waved her hand. "I'm more stumped on what to call our little project."
"Write a song, get everyone together and finish the first practice then I'll start thinking about a name." Miku wasn't as optimistic as to just jump ahead and name themselves already.
"Are you going to go and ask Haku? Because we still need someone on the keyboard."
"I keep telling you I have my doubts but I know you're not gonna leave me alone until I do it."
"Uhm..." Gumi tried to get their attention but failed spectacularly.
"Is this Haku a friend of yours, Miku?"
"Older cousin. She's really bad with other people and has a hang for depression. Don't tease her if she comes to take a look. And I really mean that."
"You're pretty protective of her." Lily had never met the woman but she was intrigued now.
"You should see my other cousin... she's like a bodyguard when it comes to Haku. Bodyguard and owner, sort of."
"That sounds pretty kinky." Joking about it, Miku's glare made clear that she could not make those jokes with the actual people present.
"Girls..." Gumi raised her voice a little.
"Come to think of it Miku, what's Meiko doing lately? You know, beside pushing Kaito around."
"I don't know. Don't tell me you want to pull her into this too. What is she even gonna do?"
"If memory serves you said we could need a second bassist, Lily?"
"Well, sure, but it's only for pretty advanced or fancy stuff. We can do without a second bassist but no drums or keyboard will be tough."
"Hey!" Gumi overreached herself and shouted, getting their immediate attention. "We should get going. It looks like it's going to-" Gumi was just about to say it when the downpour started. All four of them jumped up and tried to find shelter, like dozens of other people, and like those people they were all out of luck.
Lily was the first to improvise an umbrella by getting to work on the big sun umbrella that was still folded down. Working a good thirty seconds in pouring rain, she managed to pull it open, providing dry space. Miku, Luka and Gumi, all of them quite wet, found shelter together with Lily.
"Cold!" Lily didn't do well with the cold. "Warm me!" Grabbing Gumi and pulling her so close that Luka opened her mouth, met Miku's glare and closed her mouth, twice, Lily tried to find some warmth.
"There goes our relaxing afternoon." Miku lamented.
"We're closer to your place than mine. Let's just wait for it to let up and dash." Luka didn't really get along well with Neru but the prospect of staying wet for a good half a hour before they got back home was much worse than having to deal with Miku's cousin.
"I know what you're planning. If Haku is home, and she's gonna be, don't even talk to her."
"Christ, Miku, I get it already. I'm not deaf or stupid." Luka had enough of the eternal sermon of not teasing Haku.
"This isn't gonna let up any time soon." Lily peeked out from under the big umbrella and looked at the dark sky. "When the heck did all those clouds drift here?" Holding on to Gumi as if the girl was a stuffed animal, Lily did feel pretty comfortable. "You smell pretty nice, you know that?"
Blushing only because of what Luka had said to her before, Gumi didn't try to wrestle free from Lily's hold. She'd just make things awkward. And it wasn't like Lily was intending to sexually harass her with this.
"I hope Neru isn't home... If I show up with you and two other girls, she's gonna declare me insane. And have a seizure." Miku took a few deep breaths. "I hope you can put your money where your mouth is, or rather, your stamina." Looking at Luka, Miku wasn't sure the songstress could handle the distance.
"Lily, release Gumi from her prison, we're going to make a run for it before the shop starts shouting for messing with their stuff." Luka could already feel the glare of the staff members eying them for opening the sun blocker without permission.
Taking a step back when thunder roared, the sign of a real storm hitting the town, Luka felt a bit of fear. "We're not gonna get hit by lightning, right?"
"Maybe if all of us hit the jackpot in lotto at the same time. Because those are the odds." Miku looked around. The street had mostly cleared so they had free way. "Just follow me, I know a few shortcuts." With no further words, Miku started to run like she was being hunted by the devil, Luka and Lily right on her heels with Gumi in Lily's wind shadow.
"I frign hate the weather in Tokyo!" Lily shouted before they went around the first corner on their way to Miku's apartment.
~~~ Concert X End ~~~