Epilogue

The Vocaloids had gathered backstage in the green room, the entire room vibrating with the energy of their first successful performance and their surprise happy reunion. Rin had her arms clamped around Kaito's waist in a happy hug. "AHHHH! Kaito-niisan, you should have told us you were coming! You were so cool though, surprising Miku like it was part of the show and everything!"

Miku had so many things she needed to say, wanted to say… but she held back. After all, this was a reunion for all of them. She dared hope that Kaito's appearance tonight meant he was staying for good…

Kaito happily patted the top of Rin's head. "I apologize for how sudden it was… I didn't have any way to contact you though… and until all the meetings concluded, the Japanese officials didn't approve of us making our presence known either. Things were so delicate… nobody outside of a small circle of officials even knew I was here."

Miku wondered why Luka and Gakupo were giving each other such knowing looks on that sentence.

"Gotta say Kaito, never expected you to try and one-up Gakupo like that!" Len laughed, "Did he teach you how to be a giant ham too!?"

"Eh? What do you mean?" Kaito said in surprise.

Luka tossed a sly glance at her partner. "Someone thought my performance needed a little extra touch…"

"Hmph, they clearly appreciated it… I don't think I did anything wrong by catering to our fans…"

Clearly the samurai had no shame for his attention grabbing behavior. He began to wrap his arms around Luka, who leaned into him. "Ah… what am I to do with you? Truly, a spotlight calls my warrior far more loudly than a battlefield!"

'Sempai, you really landed a smooth talker…' Miku thought to herself as the couple seemed to once more lose track of everyone around them.

"Rin-chaaaaaaaan! Len-kuuuuuuuun!" "We're coming, dearies!"

Kaito's entire body went rigid as a familiar pair of voices rang out, accompanied by two sets of thundering footsteps. "AH! Kaito, I totally forgot to tell you but…"

Miku didn't even get to finish her explanation before the door practically flew off of its hinges and Kaito jumped away from Rin out of reflex. Tromping through the doorway was Big Al and Sweet Ann, both looking angry enough to start a fight. Miku heard Kaito sing a few defensive notes before Rin and Len rushed between them.

"Al-niichan, Ann-neesan! It's okay, this is Kaito-niisan! I told you all about him, remember? He came to join us in the show!"

The duo looked momentarily surprised… then embarrassed. "Oh, so YOU'RE Kaito!" Big Al said, laughing jovially as he approached Kaito and clapped one of his large hands on the startled Seruva's shoulder, "No WONDER Oliver was telling not to worry about you! But truly, you gave us such a start hopping onto the stage like that and approaching Miss Miku!"

Ann laughed as she gave Rin a soft hug. "We can't be too careful around our little sister and brother, right? So many dangerous people in the world!"

"Yea… but you two still need to stop glaring at every poor dope that comes within ten feet of us!" Len scolded, "Scale it back a little! We're not kids you know!"

As Big Al left the still shaking Kaito and returned to his partner, Miku saw her opportunity arise. She sidled over next to Kaito, whispering in his ear.

"Oliver managed to turn up all their parts after Meiko tore them up… he finally managed to revive the two of them a few months ago…"

Rin and Len were happily entertaining "Big Sweet" with stories about the concert. "They didn't even recognize me…" Kaito said quietly.

"Oliver told us they came online again without any recollections of the past…" Gakupo responded, "The only one they recognized was him."

As the other four Vocaloids watched the Kagamines and Big Sweet talking and laughing and having fun, Gakupo added "It's probably for the best. They can finally start over without reliving the entire trauma that set them to such violent madness in the first place."

"They've also been keeping us safe at the shows… not that we're really in much danger, but you know, nobody's going to sneak back here if they run into those two, right?"

Miku laughed as she remembered a group of otaku being run off during a practice session. Kaito finally seemed calmer, though given his much more personal traumas with the duo, she couldn't blame him for still being aloof from them. Oliver finally ran into the green room, exhausted and out of breath. At once Sweet Ann broke away to tend to him. "Oh, Ollie, you shouldn't exert yourself so much!"

"I… I told you… Kaito was just fine…" the boy gasped out.

Miku guessed that yet again Big Sweet had forgotten the vast gap in physical prowess between themselves and everyone around them – no doubt Oliver had tried to explain Kaito to them in vain when their protective instincts kicked in. 'Heh… they're almost as dangerous taking care of us as when they were trying to kill us…'

Now with that crisis averted… "So… Kaito… if you brought a delegation back with you…" Miku prodded.

Kaito appeared nervous for a moment – even if Miku couldn't read melodies into voices, his facial expressions tended to be far more illustrative than he realized. "I… it's nothing permanent yet. I can't say too much, given the delicacy of certain matters with the human governments… we haven't even spoken to anyone outside of Japan yet. Just getting the Seruva to understand how large the human world really is took a great deal of effort given how few of us there are…"

He was rambling. She hoped that didn't bode ill… his words had grown so much more formal with the year spent among his own kind again. Now he sounded much as he did when Miku had first met him, compared to how casually he spoke at the time he left.

"Kaito, have they at least started to shift at all?" Luka cut in, "The fact they came should be a good sign given their previous attitudes."

With how strange Kaito was acting Miku feared he'd backed down somehow… had something gone wrong? Had he appeared simply to say… goodbye?!

"Ah! Gakupo, how have you been doing anyway? It's been so long since you've been home!"

Gakupo looked as surprised as Luka and Miku at Kaito's sudden swerve in discussion – so surprised he didn't seem to know how to answer at first. "I… well, matters are certainly calmer on Earth than they were just a year ago…"

He glanced over to Luka. "Ah… I guess if you're planning to stay… well… you'll be treated to the visage of a traditional Shinto wedding…"

Kaito let out a gasp at the word "wedding." "You two… you're going to…"

Luka softly touched a hand to her rosy cheek. "Back in school everyone always spoke of being a June bride so… we still have quite some time… and I suppose there will be quite a few alterations given that neither of us are really Japanese let alone human but…"

"A ceremony in honor of the samurai of the past shall be truly worthy of us!" Gakupo spoke with great pride, "We have already arranged a most magnificent shrine to announce our nuptials before the gods!"

Kaito seemed awfully unnerved at all this wedding talk... though Miku supposed anyone would get unnerved at someone that excited about his own wedding. "But surely, Kaito, there is no news you can share from the Islands? Are these matters still veiled in such secrecy?"

As the topic of conversation shifted, Kaito seemed a little more at ease. "The entire priest caste was reorganized… with the deaths of the Elders and the High Priestess so suddenly… we chose to form another government entirely. They kept wanting me to talk to the Ancestors for guidance, but I insisted we needed to move forward."

"That must have been quite hard for them…" Luka said with pity in her voice, "We spent so much of our lives being told how to live them… suddenly having nothing to rely on could have caused a riot."

Kaito nodded his head. "After the chaos of the war… those of us left were at least willing to try some new ideas. We formed a governing council, where all of us stand equal and anyone from any caste may stand for election to it. I'm standing as their leader for now, but my voice no longer overrules every other member of our tribe."

'So Kaito brought democracy to the Seruva?' Miku thought to herself, 'I guess that's better than however the Elders came to power then… if it stops awful people like that from doing anything, it HAS to be!'

He looked to Luka sternly. "There is no longer a class of Val'Sharess. That was the first thing I convinced them to have abolished! From now on… winged or not, we are always Seruva and we shall always have shelter amongst the land of our birth."

Luka pressed a hand to her heart softly. Kaito turned to face Gakupo. "Nobody wishes to try you for… well, anything that happened. Whoever you were working with, they dispersed in the chaos and none have come forward to place you within your ranks. The people now seem to believe you'd simply been taken by the Noise as so many others were. You are free to safely return if you wish."

If Gakupo still carried any lasting guilt in his heart over the events that led him to Earth, Kaito's words seemed to finally ease it. He smiled with calm relief. "I do not deserve such forgiveness… but I shall accept it. Someday… I suppose my children will know the land of their ancestors."

Kaito smiled at him. "You can choose to stay wherever you wish!" he explained, "I just wanted to make sure you had a choice."

'… he's talking about choices again… maybe…'

"Well that's well and good for me and Gakupo," Luka interjected on Miku's behalf, "But what about the rest of us? How are they handling the potential of reconciling with humanity?"

Again Kaito grew nervous, and again so did Miku. Why couldn't he be direct about this?! He balled his hand in one of the deep pockets of his coat. "They… well, it was not simple given what happened here. Many of the Seruva turned into CVs are still quite resentful of humans. They had no real recollections of any humans being kind after all – to them, they'd only known being kidnapped and tortured."

Kaito almost seemed to be refusing to look at Miku and now she really wished she could hear music in his voice to try and decipher his bizarre mood. "But I wasn't the sole voice to speak on humanity's behalf! We took… months of testimony! The Seruva that Miku rescued all spoke up for her bravery and compassion towards them!"

He turned to Luka and Gakupo. "And the soldiers! They all testified to how grateful and kind their human charges were to them! And Commander Lily herself spoke of how important Gumi's contributions were to the rescue of so many of our people!"

From the odd looks on Luka and Gakupo's faces, Miku began to suspect that Kaito's "melody" wasn't any easier for them to discern intent from than Miku's attempts to just translate his voice. "And… and I pointed out that it was merely eight united voices and souls that formed the Great Harmony to release us from the terror of the Noise forever… while fear of humans left us susceptible to the very Noise that nearly broke us."

Kaito's hand fidgeted in his pocket again. "It took months of discussions before we even made an overture to the Japanese embassy to discuss certain matters. I… I still can't talk about those yet. We're still going to be attending meetings and discussions for weeks…"

… so he hadn't failed… but he hadn't really succeeded either… Miku tried to content herself with that but… it felt so empty…

"Kaito… you've made so much progress… you should be proud of even these achievements…" Luka said in a comforting tone.

Miku tried to maintain positivity outwardly. "Right… you've been… you've been working really hard… I'm sure it won't be much longer…" she started to say.

Kaito's face turned red. "I… well… I mean… that's not… all… but…"

Luka made a strange face before she gave Gakupo's arm a tug. "I… I think Big Al needs some help over there… isn't that your song he's trying to learn?"

Miku turned to see Big Al trying to mimic Gakupo's dance moves, not really noticing how much more space he was taking up with his longer limbs and taller form… let alone how much the stage was starting to shake from his dancing.

"SAMURAI! HARAKIRI YOURSELF!" he shouted.

Gakupo placed a weary hand to his forehead. "I suppose this is a form of instruction only a true dancing samurai can undertake…"

Together the couple wandered away, leaving Kaito and Miku alone. Kaito's face still appeared red, as if there was something he was struggling to voice. "Dancing with your pace always! You've got to give it your BEST or you'd be a WORTHLESS SAMURAI! HYA!"

Gakupo waved him down. "Hey now! Let us dance together!"

Big Al flashed his sudden new mentor a huge smile. "Of course! How can I not?!"

"Kaito… If you want to go somewhere quieter, the dressing room should be clear."

He carefully nodded his head as Miku led him out of the green room. As they left, she just barely hear Gakupo giving his "pupil" instructions. "You should relax your shoulders! You might get hurt!"

All the way Miku tried to stay her emotions. "I noticed the humans seem so much more at ease with us now…" Kaito said, making small talk.

"All of us tried to make that happen… It wasn't easy at first. Though with the Hearts in jail and everything they did laid out there by Gumi… It wasn't too hard to make a case for the Seruva being provoked to war…"

"That's good to hear… One of the sticking points in our negotiations was how to redress the crimes against all of us who were kidnapped and experimented on."

Miku pressed her hands together. "I've done so much to smooth everything over with humanity in the last year…"

Kaito lit up. "I saw you on TV this morning! You were all over the talk shows! Ah, if I hadn't had all those meetings, I could have watched you longer…"

In spite of her nerves, Miku found herself snickering. All of a sudden Kaito's formality had crumbled and he'd started to revert to the persona he'd had when he left.

The couple entered the dressing room. Miku touched the knob to close the door, but stopped as Kaito approached the mirror. His vibrancy faded yet again. "… seeing you again, hearing your voice… having you so close and yet so far from me… it was maddening."

He touched the mirror with one hand, staring into his reflection. "I missed everyone… I wanted to be with the Vocaloids again… but… I dreamed of you. I tried to keep you alive in my heart, reminding myself that this was only meant to be temporary but… everything began to drag out so long..."

Miku finally couldn't hold back any longer. "… are you staying this time? Please, Kaito… you have to answer me. When you have so much trouble being honest, I keep getting scared this is just another goodbye…"

Kaito's face tensed up as Miku's fears increased. He released a deep breath and faced Miku, his face serious and stern. "… I haven't gotten the Seruva to approve reconciliation with humanity yet. This trip was intended to encourage that process – if more and more of the world's governments recognized us, treated us as sovereign and welcome, it would ease their fears."

Miku tried to hold back her tears. She'd tried so hard to ease human fears, to make things easier for a race devastated by two brutal wars, but of course it would not be so swift. "I… I see… you just came for the concert…"

Another broken vow. "And now you need to leave…"

"No!"

Kaito's outburst shocked Miku out of her melancholic reverie. He clutched one of his hands in his pockets… and his cheeks again turned bright red.

Was he being shy?

"They're not ready to accept all of humanity yet. But… Miku, you're a hero to them. You helped all of us without a second thought. And… and you even wrote the ballad that defeated the Noise! The priests have already begun to sing it in services!"

"Eh?! They're singing my song?!"

Miku couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd just written that song for fun… and now the Seruva were performing it with religious fervor. She'd been immortalized without ever meaning it.

So… what was Kaito so nervous about?

"I… well… they're not ready to accept a human, by herself. But… they… well… if you were…"

He seemed to be having trouble speaking again and Miku just wanted him to spit out the words already.

"… they would accept this one human, who performed in the Great Harmony, if they were bound to a Seruva, as a test of and symbol of peace."

"Bound to… you?! Like… marry you?!"

Now it was Miku's turn to blush as suddenly all of Kaito's nerves and odd behaviors became clearer. At once Miku realized she'd completely misread Kaito's emotional state. He started babbling as she appeared utterly shocked.

"I… I understand if this is sudden! Ah, I mean… we weren't together more than a few months… and its okay if you're not ready for something as big as marriage and… and…"

Happy tears ran down Miku's face. "Kaito… of course I'll marry you… I don't ever want to be apart from you again!"

Miku's words finally seemed to calm Kaito's tensions. He finally pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal a short blue beaded necklace with a large, flat white stone charm attached to a small white feather. "I don't know what the traditional rituals are for humans, but… this is how a Seruva proposes to their partner."

Kaito gestured to a small runic carving on the charm. "The beads are normally purchased from a jeweler, but the person who proposes has to collect the stone for the charm themselves and carve a word in the old tongues to represent their partner. The holy Alabaster Mountain is where most of them come from. That's where I got mine… about two months ago…"

Lightly Miku ran her fingers along the indents – Kaito had made this himself. For her. "The name was… well, kind of easy for you. Avari. 'Protector.'"

Miku didn't stop him as he moved to clasp the necklace around her throat. As he did so, he spoke again in that indecipherable language of the Seruva, though this time she recognized the word 'Avari' – his name for her. As he finished, Kaito removed his hands and Miku lightly touched her engagement gift as he translated the ancient marriage oath. "With my hands I grant you my heart, Protector, and with this gift I bind our spirits with my love."

Her entire body tingled with excitement as she leapt forward and hugged Kaito with all her strength. He returned it a thousand fold. She felt guilty for doubting him, but now she never needed to fear losing him again. She pulled her head up close to Kaito's… to her fiance's… and began to move to kiss him…

… when a familiar 'clicking' sound of a camera phone interrupted her.

"…GUMI!? How did YOU get back here?!"

Gumi stuffed her phone in her pocket and grinned broadly. "Ah ha ha, I've already got my next big scoop ready to go!"

As Luka huddled over her sewing machine, she kept a close eye on the outside porch. She could still hear her family close, so her wild twin toddlers hadn't tried to fly off again. Not that Gakupo would ever let them get far.

The hum of the machine gave her a constant joy. Of course she could just commission costumes when she starting touring again… but where was the fun in that? She'd spent so many years teaching herself costuming, why give it up when the entire world could see her creations?

But today she merely sewed a small yukata. Tomoe had barely stood still long enough to be measured – the reddish-violet haired girl had clearly inherited her father's impatience. Yet in spite of her energy, she still seemed to have some love of "cute" things from time to time – such as the red flowers on the fabric Luka showed her.

This was to be her twins' first summer festival on Earth. The tabloids had gotten a little too aggressive after their birth – Luka had caused something of a sensation when she announced her pregnancy so soon after the wedding. The first known Seruva child to be born on earth… and then twins? She and Gakupo barely had a moment's peace over the three years since.

'I guess I'm not as Japanese as I thought after all…' she smiled.

… though given that Gakupo had purchased the rundown Midori Street shrine he'd once haunted as the "4th District Shinigami" and restored it to glory to raise their small family in... well…

Luka and Gakupo had fully embraced their new home country. Gakupo in particular had drawn some attention when he'd applied for Japanese citizenship for himself. In spite of quite clearly bearing no samurai heritage, his enthusiasm for their legacy had led many to call him one anyway. The two ended up spending her maternity leave in the Islands just to get some shelter, returning only in her final month to ensure she still had the twins within the comforts of a modern medical facility.

"Ah, Tomoe, not so rough with Musashi! You know he doesn't like that!"

She snickered at the sound of her husband's stern voice. If Tomoe had Gakupo's wild energy, Musashi was more reserved. The pink-haired boy often watched his father's hobby calligraphy painting for hours or hung around Luka's sewing room while she worked. She looked to the simple black yukata she'd made for him already. Hopefully he wouldn't be frightened of the fireworks…

The first trip back to the Islands had been difficult at first. It was both her home and the source of much pain. But seeing the familiar landmarks again, being accepted as one of her own kind again… she'd been able to finally make peace with the crime committed against her. If Gakupo had worried about being ostracized or attacked, those worries faded quickly. He was considered a hero, the same as any of the other Vocaloids that formed the Great Harmony.

Even so, the two of them paid a visit to the graves of the deceased Elders and High Priestess. Luka simply prayed for Meiko's spirit, hoping she knew she'd been forgiven for the crimes she'd been led to commit. Gakupo never revealed what he'd said in his prayers, but he didn't need to. Whatever it was let him assuage the guilt in his heart over his role in their deaths.

Then he never spoke of the Harbinger again.

"Gaku-niichan!"

Luka set down her sewing and walked outside at the sound of the familiar voice. "Len, Rin, what brings you two here?" Gakupo called out with a broad smile on his face.

Rin gave a huge energetic wave. "Like we need a reason to drop by?" Len said with a smirk, "'Sides, Al and Ann might have wrecked the living room trying to practice a dance routine again… so… figured we'd come hang around the less DESTRUCTIVE people we know while Oliver gets it cleaned up."

If Rin and Len had worried about stunted aging as Oliver still suffered from, they needn't have. By the time the two of them had finally reached adulthood as they were now, the Kagamines had grown into striking young adults. Rin in particular had grown her hair out over the years, reaching her waist, though she'd yet to stop wearing her beloved bow. Len had finally had his long awaited growth spurt, though Luka had noticed the last time he'd seen Kaito he'd appeared annoyed that the blue-haired man was still taller.

"Auntie Rin! Uncle Len!"

Musashi leapt into Rin's waiting arms. "Tomoe was picking on me again!"

Len groaned. "Aw, again? Come on, Tomoe, you gotta treat your twin better than that! They're your better half!"

Gakupo sat on the porch wearing a black haori and hakama over a purple kimono. "Listen to Len! He speaks from experience!"

"Hey, sempai!"

Even in her mid-twenties now, Luka's former schoolmates still called her that. Not that she minded – she took some pride in knowing their old bond still stood so strong.

"Yes, Len?"

"You hear from Miku and Kaito yet?"

Luka shook her head. "I suspect she'll be writing to us once the summer pageants have ended…"

She pressed a hand to her cheek imagining her old friend experiencing her first Seruva festival. "But I'm sure if anything serious was going to happen to the baby, we'd have heard by now. Kaito swore they'd come back to an Earth hospital for the birth if anything was going to happen…"

The Seruva had been slowly integrating modern technology into the Islands, but the process was slow going. They had no infrastructure, and much of it was still utterly foreign to them. But as the last six months had finally seen the introduction of human settlements on the Islands, the first since before the wars… they were starting to adapt. Many fought to be the first allowed into the "unspoiled natural paradise" the Islands represented.

"Papa, if Auntie Rin is here, you two gotta do the thing!"

Gakupo laughed at his daughter's insistent demand. "Okay, but this time I want you to sing too! Here, you can sing with me, and Musashi can sing with Rin-chan."

Luka watched her family and Rin singing the now familiar ballad she'd be privileged to hear in the spring festivals again…

"We believed we could go anywhere. Will the day come when a cooped bird in a cage flutters its wings? If I can stay by your side when you shed tears, I dare to stay here with you…"

Miku leaned into Kaito's soft embrace as she sat and stared across the endless wave of green that was the Verdant Plains. Just as Kaito had described it… like a green sheet of soft fabric rustling in the wind.

"You know what Kaito? I think this is turning into my favorite place in the Islands too…"

It wasn't uncommon these days for Miku and Kaito to retreat to the Islands between tours. The constant attention of the press could become trying no matter how important it was for them to maintain a positive public image. So far, they were the only recorded Seruva/Human couple in history, and naturally that made the two of them an obsession no matter where they went.

Miku snuggled up closer to her husband… as close as she could comfortably get anyway. The conspicuous bump under her maternity robe made things a little tricky.

The only other event that could possibly increase the public's fascination with the pair was the revelation that Miku was taking an extended leave from performing due her pregnancy. While Luka had caused a stir with her own pregnancy, the idea of a Seruva and human child opened so many possibilities. Given how long it had taken for Miku to even become pregnant, speculation had abounded that perhaps the two races were too genetically separated for her to conceive a child with Kaito. Yet they'd barely been wed three years when they finally received the blessed news…

"Do you think the baby will have wings too?"

Miku tried to envision chasing after a flying toddler. Having watched Gakupo trying to fly down his own children when mischief struck them, Miku realized she was at a disadvantage without wings of her own.

"We won't know until they're born…" Kaito mused, "Seruva wings grow after birth… It could be as long as two weeks before we know for sure."

He tenderly placed a hand on her stomach. Due to the remoteness of the Islands, they'd agreed to have the birth among the Seruva. Besides, there were certain rituals performed for a Seruva birth. Since Miku didn't really have family on Earth, she felt less pull towards traditions there, and she knew how important it would be politically to show her willingness to accept the new world she'd joined. Naturally Gumi had attended with her camera crew – she'd never lost her "underground" status, but now she streamed a regular news program on the internet. And how could she miss having "the exclusive on the biggest wedding ever?!"

Though Miku was pretty sure the reporter was upset the wedding didn't somehow involve a climactic fight scene. Instead, the Seruva wedding ceremony was surprisingly solemn. Kaito explained that the nature of their small society meant such commitments were not taken lightly. She donned a wedding robe that had been passed through his mother's family, and Kaito wore one provided by the priests for male Spirit Callers to symbolize the importance of the ceremony to the tribe. Even if that position meant less now, what Kaito had accomplished as one meant nobody would ever stop revering his bloodline.

But what she truly remembered was the Harmonized chorus of voices singing ballads of good will and fortune. Hundreds of voices at once. Kaito later told her such a feat wouldn't have been possible in the past – the Seruva lived far too detached before the reforms began. Such a powerful Harmony proved their slow but steady growth into the future.

A future she had fought and won to ensure every step of the way.

She ran the tips of her fingers along her necklace, taking comfort in the grooves of the rune Kaito had carved into it.

She'd fulfilled her promise to him.

And he'd done the same for her.

"Heh… if the baby is a boy… we should name it Mikuo," Miku joked.

Kaito chuckled. "I think 'Hatsune Mikuo' has seen enough use already…'

He'd given some thought to names. The baby wasn't old enough yet to determine gender, though careful echo ballads when Miku was far enough along would eventually reveal that.

"What about a girl? Kaiko?"

She started laughing again. "Ah… but seriously… I guess we should be giving some thought to it…"

Kaito had some ideas of his own for a boy. Spirit Callers in the past, his family members… and aside from Miku's jokes, he knew she had some good Japanese names in mind as well.

His duties as a Spirit Caller had become far less drastic, though he still engaged in semi-regular rituals to observe the health of the world beyond and occasionally to seek advice from his ancestors. By now Seruva society had successfully broken from being ruled by the dead, but that didn't mean they had nothing to offer.

Their child would carry on a potent power and responsibility. But in this new time of peace and reconciliation… he knew he would guide that child with confidence.

But every time he left beyond, there was always one spirit he sought out. She always wanted to know about Kaito's new family, the health of the tribe… and all about how he was doing personally. How he was doing implementing his goals. Whether his impossible dreams were bearing fruit.

There was never any doubt about what he would name a daughter, should he have one.

"Meiko."

Miku looked to him in surprise, but her face softened. She understood. She lightly gave him a peck on the cheek. "I like that one too…"

As they grasped each other's hands, Miku shot him a coy smile. "Think she'll want to be a Vocaloid?"

THE END

Author's Notes (Epilogue)

And that's a wrap. Aw you guys knew I couldn't leave things such a downer with Big Sweet! Yes, even THEY got their happy ending.

This chapter basically existed because trying to properly wrap up every single character's storyline got incredibly hard. I was faced with cutting out significant portions of material, or just making two chapters. The latter ended up being what I did to keep everything I wanted.

I feel a LITTLE guilty that Gakupo didn't get a final POV scene, but I feel like Chapter 20's POVs wrapped up his ongoing arc, and what still remained could be bundled into Luka's final POV. Naming Vocaloid children was not easy – I did a quick peek to see if anyone had ever thought of it, but children of ships is actually pretty rare (save for KaiMei being Miku's parents in some settings O_O). Ultimately I settled for their fraternal twins being visually based on Gakuko and Luki as kids, then giving them different names. Tomoe is named for Gozen Tomoe, a late twelth-century female samurai of some fame who is featured in the epic poem The Tale of the Heike. Musashi is named for Miyamoto Musashi, a famous swordmaster and ronin who was undefeated in 60 duels and later authored The Book of the Five Rings, a book of strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is studied to this day. He shows up in popular culture rather frequently, and tons of samurai characters are named for him. Gakupo clearly went full native as he even engages in calligraphy painting, which samurai were encouraged to do as a spiritual activity.

The Shinto wedding Gakupo and Luka talked about is actually rather uncommon in modern day Japan, largely due to its expense – they're incredibly elaborate! But naturally… this would be the type of wedding a samurai would have engaged in, so of course Gakupo is eager to get on with it. The end of the ceremony involves a symbolic offering to the kami. If you're wondering about why Luka isn't wearing an engagement ring, apparently it's not a tradition in Japan at all! Wedding rings in general are a Western tradition and most people don't practice it at all, or if they do, they exchange rings at the ceremony but never wear the rings in public.

I had a lot of trouble coming up with a Seruva oath for Kaito to use when proposing to Miku. I ultimately based it on an Irish oath given with a Claddagh ring (a distinctly Irish engagement/wedding ring), which goes "With these hands, I give you my heart, and crown it with my love." Except the Claddagh ring actually depicts hands holding a heart with a crown on top, while my made-up marriage necklace has no such thing ;)

And so at last, I bid a fond farewell to another story. A lot of trauma came out of releasing it, but I'm happy to set these folks to their well-earned happy endings. As for what's next? Nothing yet. I'll get a longer update on my profile for various sites, but unlike the march from SAWG to Broken Wings, I don't have another story ready to go. I have a lot of documented ideas and I'd like to take some time to turn them into real plots first. However, I do have a lot of material set before the events of Broken Wings that I'd like to write up as a few short stories – in particular, one set in the Islands detailing Gakupo's rather complicated life after he came to serve Kaito and Meiko's slow turn from friend to foe, and one detailing how the Vocaloids came to form back at the Academy, with more focus on Luka and the Kagamines and why they joined.

But most importantly, I want to thank everyone that stuck with this story for the last six months. I appreciate everyone's support and kindness, whether you ever left a review or a comment or even just quietly read it. I hope the long narrative was worth your time, and I'm happy to have been made so many friends while putting it together.

Song Credits: Just one… "Dancing Samurai – branch ~HAM-HANDED TRAVELER~", the Big Al version! Seriously, if you have NEVER listened to this, go do it. Now. It's awesome. But if I ever thought while working on this series that Big Al and Sweet Ann would sing more songs than any of the Big 8, I would have planned ahead better so I wasn't constantly scrambling. Even poor Gakupo only got to sing two of his own songs. Some of the dialog between Big Al and Gakupo in that scene is actually taken from the Gakupo and Big Al spoken parts of the song as well though.