Slice of Life
Chapter 12 – Two Faced Lovers
Ah, more delays with my chapters! I'm really sorry!
Hopefully all of you continue to find my story enjoyable. :P Or at least, don't kill me over what I have planned for later on. I have so many more ideas to write, and I'm super excited to get them all out there for you guys to read.
But, once again, I'm sorry about the delay. I started writing rough drafts for my other story. xD I had to take a break from this one so I could re-plan how SoL will progress.
Disclaimer: Still. Don't. Own. Vocaloids. Just. This. Story.
A white room.
The door that she had opened had brought her into a white room, furnished with a black leather couch, a light brown wooden table a few yards in front of it. On the table was a television that was only playing static. Other than these simple furnishings, the room was completely bare. A shiver went up her spine. Something about the room was so familiar… It was almost unsettling. But the more she tried to think about where she had seen this room, the more the memory escaped her. The feeling of déjà vu was too intense to ignore; there must have been a time when she had been here. But why couldn't she remember it?
With a quick look around the room, she realized that no one else was occupying the room. She was completely, and utterly alone. Frantic now, she patted her pockets—or rather, she patted the area where the pockets should have been if she had been wearing pants. Her hands only met the soft fabric of the white dress that she was wearing.
Alone.
She hated being alone. It was her ultimate fear. To be abandoned with no one to rely on was, in her opinion, the worst feeling in the world.
"What—Where did this dress come from?" She thought to herself, as her eyes widened slightly.
A giggle came from within the room, and Luka's light blue eyes quickly scanned the room to find the source of the disturbance.
The once unoccupied couch was now nestling two individuals in it's comfortable leather.
Luka blinked a few times, unsure if her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"M-Miku-chan? Lily-chan?" she whispered, bewildered.
The blonde and tealette turned to look back at her. Both met her gaze with equally intense, lustful gazes, each beckoning her to come and sit between them on the couch.
Automatically, her feet carried her to the couch, and she took a seat. It was then she realized that the other two girls were dressed differently than normal.
To her left sat the younger tealette, who she had fallen for so quickly. The dress that she wore was black, with a white ribbon around the middle. It widened out towards the end, and stopped just above the knees. On her head was a pair of black headphones, with brilliant pink butterfly wings on each side. Such a familiar outfit… Where had Luka seen it before?
And to her left sat her best friend, the blonde who (recently discovered) she had feelings for. A white trench coat was what she wore; left unbutton to reveal the black ribbons that barely covered her chest. The outfit surprised Luka, but she couldn't help but feel another wave of déjà vu wash over her. Another familiar outfit? But from where… And when?
"Ah, why are we here?" Luka asked the two, her light blue eyes unable to decide on whether to look at the tealette or the blonde. "Do either of you know?"
The blonde reached up into the air with both arms, stretching her back and torso. "Ne? We're here because you wanted us to be here," she answered, with an indifferent shrug. "If it were up to me, I would've picked a way better place to meet up. This room is boring as hell."
"Ne, ne, Lily-nee," Miku tsk'd, the unreadable smile present on her face. "This room is just fine. Less distractions, I think. And it's simple. I like it."
Lily snorted. "You only like it because it's something that Lu-chan would like," she retorted, as she wrapped an arm around Luka's shoulders possessively. She leaned in towards her long-time friend and rubbed her nose against the other's neck. With a grin to herself, Lily buried the bridge of her nose into the crook of Luka's neck.
The teal girl simply shrugged in response. "True. You're right about that," she admitted, as she leaned against the pink haired girl. Gently, she began to rub her cheek against Luka's exposed shoulder. Nonchalantly, she laced the fingers of one hand with Luka's. With her free hand, she placed it on Luka's thigh, and gave the pinkette her usual, bright, impossibly hard to read smile.
Luka shivered from the sudden contact from the two. She shut her eyes as the heat spread across her face and her heartbeat quickened.
Oh no.
She could feel it. Her skin was on fire, yearning for more contact from the other girls. The pinkette squeezed Miku's hand as a plea for more contact, and then laced her free hand with Lily's.
"Ah, Luka-senpai," Miku sang, as she planted a kiss on Luka's shoulder. "I didn't think you would want more of this, ne?"
Lily snickered, and lifted Luka's hands up to her lips. The grin was still on her face as she kissed the back of her best friend's hand. "Koneko-chan's feeling a little restless," she observed, her lips lightly brushing against the pinkette's sensitive skin.
Startled by the overwhelming amount of stimuli that she was facing, Luka mew'd.
Both Lily and Miku stopped what they were doing, and looked at on another. They each had a sly grin on their face as they focused their attentions back on Luka.
"Ne, ne, Luka-senpai," Miku pressed her nose to the pink haired girls, lips brushing against the others. "That's so cute! I didn't know you were a little kitty."
Lily gently pressed her lips against Luka's neck, and laughed softly. "She's a kitty, all right. Little koneko-chan," she sang.
Luka shut her eyes tight, unable to suppress the gasp the followed after another meow.
Both Lily and Miku had taken it upon themselves to kiss her. Miku focused on her lips, and somehow managed to stay out of Lily's way. Lily made a trail of kisses along Luka's neck and collar bone, repeatedly following this sensitive trail.
And then-
"A'DWAH!"
Thud.
Luka's deep blue eyes shot open as she looked up at the pigtailed girl standing above her. "Ah—M-Miku-chan!" she gasped, as she quickly sat up on the floor.
Wait… The floor?
Clearly disoriented, she gripped the white blankets that had fallen onto the floor with her. "Ah… I'm sorry that you have to see me like this," she apologized, a little embarrassed that she was so disheveled in appearance. It was more than she could bear to even begin to imagine what she must look like… What with her long, pink hair all messy…
The younger girl laughed, and shook her head. "It's okay, Luka-senpai!" Miku replied. The usual unreadable smile that was on her face was now completely genuine. Seeing Luka fall out of bed first thing in the morning had put her into a good mood. "I didn't mean to disturb your, um, dreams." She suppressed another giggle. "I thought I would wake you up and let you know that you were going to miss lunch.."
"My dreams—Oh, no, it's fine," Luka said quickly, her face turning red. "D-don't worry—It was nothing—Ah, well-… Wait, lunch?"
"You were mumbling in your sleep," Miku added, as she pressed a teal-polished index finger to her chin. Her eyes focused on a spot above her head as her mouth formed a little 'o'. "Something about Lily-nee and myself…?"
"NO! Nothing—It wasn't- You two—I just-!" the older girl stumbled over her words. The grip on her bed sheets tightened as she suddenly pulled the blankets over head to hide her face. She could feel her face becoming warmer as the conversation had gone on. "I wasn't dreaming about you two—It just—I don't know—Ah!" She let out a frustrated cry.
Miku's teal eyes widened a little as she looked down at the hidden girl. "Don't worry, Luka-senpai," she said, as she sat down across from the extremely embarrassed girl. "It wasn't anything bad, you were just mumbling our names over and over again." The corners of her mouth twitched into a smile as she gently pulled the blankets off of Luka's head. "It's okay, though. You didn't say anything embarrassing. I promise."
The pink haired girl's face was still slightly flushed, but she reluctantly opened her eyes to look at Miku. "Ah, is that so?" she exhaled, feeling relief wash over her. It would have been awful if she had talked about what Lily and Miku were doing in her dream…
The tealette nodded, and continued to smile at the pinkette. "I didn't think you were one to get embarrassed so easily," she observed. With her head tilted to one side, she kept her teal eyes focused on the older girl. It was interesting to see the once cool and composed Luka to be reduced to such a flustered state of mind. "It's okay to be embarrassed you know. I won't make fun of you or anything."
Luka avoided making eye contact with the younger girl. Her blue eyes darted around the room, and finally focused on the white blankets that were strewn across the floor. The last time she had been alone with Miku…
Oh God. The dressing room scenario.
Yesterday.
The day that Luka finally realized how complicated things had become….
"Luka-senpai?"
"Ah—S-sorry," Luka apologized meekly. "I was just thinking…"
Miku raised an eye brow, and leaned a little towards the other girl. "About what? Yesterday?" she guessed, her unreadable face now displaying curiosity. It was impossible for her to contain the interest that she felt. Now it was her turn to avoid making any sort of eye contact.
True, she had known that she had pushed Luka a tad too far, but Miku couldn't help it. Although she would never admit it to Gumi and Miki, she was a little panicked that Lily had realized that she had feelings for Luka. Having a rival in love had been exhilarating, and made Miku that much more earnest in her attempts to win Luka over; yet at the same time, it made her nervous. She may have never openly displayed this internal panic amongst the other members of the Secret Police, but behind closed doors…
Miku was terrified of losing Luka to Lily. At first, this sense of fear was non-existent. It had been more of a game for Miku. Sure, she had strong feelings for Luka. But finding out that Lily may have had feelings for Luka excited her. It gave her another reason to want the pink haired girl all for herself. Luka was quite the catch, and having her meant that no one else would be able to touch her.
But if Lily was in the race and she was playing for keeps…
The teal haired girl wasn't sure when she first began to have some doubts about being able to win Luka over. But she had realized that they were slowly becoming more frequent. As a way to fight these feelings of doubt, and to keep Gumi and Miki from realizing that she was troubled by her own thoughts, Miku had continued to give everyone her standard smile. Nothing unusual. Just a smile that the other Vocaloids found to be impossible to read.
But in reality…
Just the thought of losing made Miku feel a little queasy. Losing Luka was unthinkable. Therefore, she needed to win this race to the pink haired girls heart…
Or else risk losing everything.
Friends and a shot at love.
After all, she had already broken Gumi to an extent. They may be best friends, but Miku was sure that Gumi was still deeply irritated with her. And Miku was also sure that she was hurting her best friend… And possibly Miki in addition to Gumi. It was not surprising in the least when Miki had first admitted to having some attraction to the green haired girl.
But Miku… Miku was well-aware that she was interfering with Miki's potential happiness with Gumi. There was just a part of her that could not let Gumi go.
No, Miku was positive that she had no romantic feelings for Gumi. But rather, a sort of possessiveness that a child would have over their favorite stuffed animal. Her jumping in between Miki and Gumi was something of a game for her… A distraction from the stress of having to find a way to beat Lily.
Miki and Gumi were not only her best friends, but her favorite toys.
"… -terday….Miku-chan?"
Her teal eyes shot up to meet the gaze of the pink haired girls. "Ah—Yes, sorry. I was just thinking about things, too," Miku explained, resorting to her default smile. "What were you saying?"
Luka sighed, and shook her head. Her blue eyes looked away from Miku's teal ones, choosing to look at the window. Yes, she was aware that the blinds were closed and the curtains were drawn shut… But looking at the window was better than having to look at the rather attractive girl sitting before her. "I was talking about what happened…" she hesitated. "About what happened yesterday…"
Miku raised a brow. "And?"
The pink haired girl felt her cheeks become warm. She shut her eyes, and took a deep breath. "I realized that this game of ours… It's going to end horribly for someone," Luka answered. "For you, for Lily, or myself… Or any combination involving the three of us. Someone won't be happy in the end…"
"'Love is war'," the tealette quoted, as she waved a finger at the older girl. "Isn't that right? We have to fight for the things that we want."
"I know…"
"I think I told you that before," Miku's smile became a grin as she recalled the memory of having breakfast with Luka. "I want you more than anything, so I'm willing to go to war for you. Even if it is against Lily-nee."
Luka let out another sigh, and leaned back against her bed. "I was afraid you would say that…" She opened one eye and peeked at the other girl. "I don't want Lily-chan to get hurt. And I don't want you to get hurt…"
"And you're scared of getting hurt yourself, right?" the tealette guessed, as she crawled towards Luka. She sat down beside the troubled girl. Rather than attempt to steal another kiss from Luka, Miku decided that it was best just to… Talk.
At least just for now.
The older girl stiffened a little bit at their sudden change in proximity. "R-right," she stammered. "I don't want anyone to get hurt. Because—It's just.. Painful… And I might lose someone. I might lose you or Lily if I choose one of you…" Luka wasn't sure why she was admitting this to Miku at the moment. Maybe it was because she was still drowsy, and therefore unable to think properly. Or maybe she really just needed to let all of this out before her mind threatened to crush her heart with the knowledge.
The tealette was silent, respectfully waiting for the other girl to continue.
"And I don't know what I would do if I were to hurt one of you like that. I don't want you to be upset if I go with Lily-chan… And I don't want Lily-chan to hate me if I choose you," Luka pressed on, as she shut her eyes once more. Her heart was heavy with worries, and it felt good to have someone listen to her problems. "I know that if I were to be with you… Lily-chan would act as if she were okay. She would pretend that it would not change things between us." She hesitated before she continued. "But I know deep down she would be hurt, and would not be able to feel comfortable around me for a while…"
"Ah—Yeah, I know exactly what you mean!" Miku chimed in, as she placed her hands on her lap. "That's what happened to me and Gumi-chan!"
Luka opened her eyes and looked down at Miku. Neither Miku nor Gumi had discussed with anyone else what had happened between them.
"Things between us are… Strange, to say the least," the tealette admitted, with a smile on her face. It was not her default, 'let-me-hide-my-thoughts-from-you' smile. Luka noted that the smile on Miku's face was filled with sorrow, those teal eyes saddened by whatever may have occurred. "I hurt her, and she hasn't forgiven me yet. But—" she looked up at Luka hurriedly. "We're still best friends. She still helps me with everything, even if I drive her insane!"
Luka looked Miku over, and shook her head. Everyone could tell that there was some tension between Gumi and Miku, but mostly from Gumi. Yet this whole discussion… It seemed as if Miku was not affected by the fallout with Gumi. "But it's still hurting her, right?"
Miku blinked a couple of times. "Ah… Well…. Yes, I think so," she mumbled, as she turned her eyes away from Luka. "But… It's nothing that can't be fixed. Things will get better between us," she added, with a shrug of her slender shoulders. "And I'm sure Miki-chan could be everything that I wasn't for Gumi-chan."
The teal girl laughed a little bit before looking back up at Luka.
"That is, if they ever realize that there is something between them."
This was the first Luka had ever heard of such things. "Gumi-chan and Miki-chan…?" She repeated, her blue eyes wide. "Are they a couple? Or dating? Or...?"
"No, no. They aren't a couple," Miku corrected Luka. "But I think they do have feelings for one another. Actually, I'm positive that they do. They just don't realize it yet." Her teal eyes looked up at the ceiling as she mused over her two best friends. It was quite obvious to her that there were some feelings between the green haired girl and the red head. She held out an arm in front of her, and pulled her other arm back. "I suppose I could always play Cupid for them to make them realize—Eh?"
The girl seated beside her began to giggle.
Luka covered her mouth with one hand and shook her head quickly. "I'm sorry! I just—You playing Cupid for those two.. It was a funny thought," she admitted. "Cute, but a tad on the funny side."
Miku blinked a few times, and joined the pinkette in laughter. "Eeeeh, I guess it is kinda silly, huh?" she agreed, as she leaned her head against Luka's shoulder.
The older girl looked down at the top of Miku's teal head, her laughter slowly fading. "It is," Luka smiled. "But I needed that laugh. Thank you for that.."
"Yup, no problem, Luka-senpai!" Miku lifted her head back up, and gave the pink haired girl a quick peck on the lips. "Anything to make you smile."
"Ah— M-Miku-chan!"
The tealette giggled as she stood up. She leaned over and brushed aside Luka's bangs, exposing the older girl's forehead. "I'm sorry if I made you upset yesterday. I may have been too… Forward."
Luka felt her face become hot and she shook her head quickly.
Miku smiled a little, and pressed her lips gently against Luka's forehead. "I'll see you at dinner, Luka-senpai!" She said, before she skipped out of the bedroom.
The door clicked shut behind her, and the room became silent.
Megurine Luka gently touched the spot where Miku had kissed her on the forehead. Her fingers then trailed down to the mark that Lily had left only the afternoon before.
Ah, things were undoubtedly going to end in pain.
The tealette stood outside of the bedroom. Her slender fingers curled around the door knob and she twisted it open. The door swung open without protest, and the girl stepped into the room. She quickly scanned it, and found the person she was looking for.
Curled up on the arm chair was the blonde, a fleece blanket thrown over her legs in an effort to keep herself warm. Her fingers furiously tapped away at the buttons on the remote control in her hands, her blue eyes focused on the plasma TV that was mounted onto the wall.
Video games…
Miku crossed the room, and picked the remote for the TV up from the coffee table. She turned the television off, and looked down at the other girl.
"What the hell!" the owner of the TV roared as she sat up in her seat. "Miku-chan, what the hell—"
"I saw it, Lily-nee," Miku said. Her tone was amiable, and the sincere smile that she had on her face when she was with Luka had been completely eradicated. In its place was her default secretive smile.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"The mark," the tealette answered. "On Luka-senpai's neck."
Lily's face went blank for a second, but was quickly recomposed. She grinned up at the teal haired girl, her blue eyes filled with pride. "Yeah? What about it?"
"You did that?"
"Sure did."
"Interesting…" Miku's fingers drummed against the plastic controller in her hand. Her other hand was resting on her hip. "I didn't think you would ever do something like that. That's surprising!" She laughed, and shook her head. "You never cease to amaze me, Lily-nee!"
Lily's grin was wiped off of her face at the sound of Miku's high pitched laughter. "What—You're not annoyed or mad or anything?" she asked, clearly confused.
If Miku was so determined to be with Luka, shouldn't she be at least a little upset that Lily had made a move on Luka?
What the hell was wrong with the tealette?
"No, I'm not mad," Miku answered, as she shook her head once more. "Just surprised. You're making things quite interesting, you know. I wasn't expecting you to actually have feelings for Luka-nee."
The blonde's cheeks became a faint pink. "I wasn't planning on falling in love with her, either, ya know," she retorted. "It just happened-! Let go before I kick your ass…"
The teal haired girl had gripped onto the collar of Lily's shirt, and jerked the blonde upward. The two glared at one another for a second before Miku spoke.
"I won't let you take Luka-senpai for yourself. You may be her best friend, but that doesn't mean that you will win. This is something that cannot happen again," she whispered cooly, her teal eyes narrowed into slits. "I didn't think you would mark her before I did. There's no way I'll let you win this race, Lily-nee."
Lily snorted, and continued to keep glaring at Miku. "Yeah, well, I did. I wasn't planning on it, but it happened."
Miku shrugged and set the control back down on the table. "Oh, I know. Things happen all of the time," she agreed. Her tight grip on the shirt collar slackened as she stepped away from Lily. She took a deep breath before continuing to speak. And much to Lily's irritation, Miku was smiling once more, as if she had never lost her composure. "But you're making this a challenge for me now. And as much as I love a good challenge—"
"Miku, where the hell are you going with this?"
The teal haired girl held a hand up to stop Lily from interrupting once more. "Ne, ne. Let me finish!" She continued to smile. "I love a good challenge. But I do want Luka-senpai all for myself."
"Obviously," Lily frowned. "Look. You're interrupting my gaming time. You're not telling me anything that I couldn't have figured out myself. So go away—"
"Let's play a game."
"No, now get outta my room so I can beat this level."
"A game involving Luka-senpai," Miku pressed on.
Lily shut her mouth. Her deep blue eyes looked at Miku apprehensively, suddenly wary of what the younger girl may say next.
The tealette giggled when she realized that she now had Lily's full attention. "It's a simple game, really," she continued. "We'll see who she wants to be with. That's the end result." Miku paused as she tried to organize her thoughts into a fashion that would be easy to explain. "Obviously we're both interested in Luka-senpai. And we need to know which of us she wants to be with."
"Right…"
"And I have already talked to Luka-senpai," Miku nodded. "I know she has feelings for the both of us. And it's hurting her. I suggest we end things as quickly as possible."
"So if I killed you right now, then all of those problems would be solved. She won't be hurting. I won't be worried about her… And no one will have to put up with you anymore," Lily concluded, with a snort.
The teal girl laughed at her senpai's suggestion. "Ne, ne. Killing me would be an awful idea. I'm sure there would be many people that would be upset with you," Miku tsk'd.
"Gumi might be happier if you were gone."
At this, the mocking smile vanished from Miku's face. The muscles in Miku's jaw rippled as she held back her biting words.
Lily grinned at the sight of a shocked Miku. "But, ya know, you're right. Killing you would be bad. I could end up in prison," she agreed. She stretched her arms, attempting to grasp at the TV controller.
Miku snatched the controller off of the table and frowned a little bit. "Ne… Gumi would be upset if I were gone," she said, as she kept the controller out of Lily's reach. "But like I was saying. It's a race to win Luka-senpai's heart now, right?"
"Ugh. Sure, whatever.."
"We should both take her out onto a date this week," Miku continued. "To see who she feels more comfortable with. And we'll let Miki and Gumi monitor the dates from a distance. They'll let us know who Luka seems more comfortable with."
Lily frowned a little bit. "What? That's stupid—"
"Okay! So it's a plan, then! That's what we'll do!" The teal girl laughed.
"What—Idiot, I never agreed—"
"Here you go, Lily-nee!" She tossed the remote onto Lily's lap, and laughed. "But don't think for an instant that I'll let you get away with marking Luka-senpai. It's my turn to mark her now."
"Don't you dare—"
"Hehe, as a gift, I'll let you take Luka-senpai out on a date first. Bye!" The door slammed shut behind Miku.
Lily glared at the door. "Idiot ass plan…"
And Miku laughed once the door was shut. "Oh, I'm going to leave a good mark for Lily-nee to find on Luka-senpai," she promised to herself, as she walked back to her room. "How dare she mention Gumi-chan like that…"
Dinner was a small affair that night. The only members seated at the table were all girls. The only female resident of the house that was missing from this "girls dinner" was Meiko.
"Ah, Meiko-nee-san had something to take care of," Miki explained, as she reached over for a piece of tempura shrimp with her chopsticks.
At the mention of the brunette Kagamine Rin began to giggle. The piece of tempura that she had been holding with her chopsticks fell onto her lap as she continued to laugh.
The other girls looked at the youngest member of the group.
"M-Meiko-nee-san!" Rin laughed. "She—This video—OH MAN!"
"Nani?" Miku asked, her teal eyes bright with amusement. "What happened to Meiko-nee-san, Rin-chan?"
"She—This video—Kaito-nii-san—Can't—breathe…!" Rin struggled to form a coherent sentence, her laughter interfering with any sort of understandable communication.
Miki looked at the young blonde beside her and sighed. She picked the half-eaten piece of battered shrimp off of Rin's lap and set it down on a napkin on the table. "Rin-chan and Len-kun had put a video camera in Meiko-nee's room the other night," she explained, as she took a bite out from her own tempura. "And it was quite… Uhm…. Interesting."
Lily, who was seated beside Luka and across from Miki, arched a brow at this. "'Interesting'?" she repeated, with a grin. "Don't tell me the twins got some homemade porno footage on that tape."
The redhead girl looked at her plate, her face now scarlet.
The blonde shorthaired girl began to laugh even harder.
"Are you serious?" Gumi asked, finally deciding to join the conversation. She adjusted the goggles on her head as she looked at Rin in disbelief. "You have a video of that!"
"YES! AND IT'S SO FUNNY!"
"Rin-chan, you have got to be one of the most fucked up kids I've ever met," Lily laughed.
Gumi rolled her eyes an picked at her food. "Definitely fucked up… But I guess it must be pretty funny," she agreed. "Especially since Meiko-nee is wasted every damn night."
"THAT'S EXACTLY WHY IT'S SO FUNNY!" Rin began to beat at the table with one fist, tears streaming down her face. "IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH LEN GETTING HIS BUTT KICKED!"
Luka shook her head. "Now, now," she said, as she sipped from her tea. "This isn't a dinner appropriate topic." Even though she was somewhat scolding the others, she was unable to wipe the smile from her face. Just the thought of a drunk Meiko was amusing…
Wait.
Did Rin just say that Len….?
Everyone around the table became silent, save for the hysterical blonde.
"Rin-chan…." Luka said slowly.
"Whaddaya mean Len-kun got his ass whooped!" Lily exclaimed, her deep blue eyes wide. The pony-tailed blond boy was something like a kid-brother to her. "You let him get beat up!"
Rin stopped laughing, a very serious expression on her face. "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices in life," she stated, her tone completely serious. "And Len will always be remembered by those who loved him."
Miki's antennae bounced as she looked down at Rin nervously. "So—so where is Len-kun?" she asked, afraid to hear the answer to her question.
"Probably in heaven by now. I mean.. If Len and I both died, I'd definitely be sent to hell," Rin answered, with a nod of her blonde head. "Len's too much of a goody-goody to go to the same place as me."
Lily started to laugh.
Luka sighed, and shook her head.
Miki looked absolutely horrified at the possibility of Len being dead.
Miku smiled and went back to eating her food.
Gumi facepalmed. "I knew I should've just had dinner in my room…"
Note: Ah, sorry for another wait! This chapter is shorter than the more recent ones.. Especially the last chapter. xD; But I wanted to end it here, because the material that I have planned would make more sense if I kept it together in one chapter, rather than split it up into even more chapters.
But here we go! It's a full-blown competition between Miku and Lily now that they're both aware that they're rivals in love!
I'm really sorry, but there are so many reviews. xOx I won't be able to reply to each of you individually..
A Few Replies to the Reviewers:
Thyrokio: Ah, okay! I'm glad you were alright with the wait! Haha. :P Miku and Gumi have a complicated past.. Which, I noticed, that you caught a glimpse of in my other story!
LukaFan: … I love shrimp flavored chips. LOL. It seems we've got a lot in common! XD
Masaru2509: hahaha! Daughter of Evil indeed! :P And don't worry, your English is fine! (: Very good, actually! Thank you for your review and support!
Toolazytolog: I still grin whenever I see "toolazytolog". xD Nice name there. Hahah. But thanks! XD I appreciate your support! (: To be honest, Gumi is my favorite in this story, too. Haha
Reviewer: Thank you! :D And no, I haven't seen Strawberry Panic. I'll have to check it out sometime! Is it a really good series?
Jak656: I laughed at your review.. Not because it was dumb or anything, but I imagined someone sitting at their computer yelling "NOOOOOO AAAHHHH WHY!" after I read your review. xD Thanks for the laugh, there! I needed it! But thank YOU for your support!
PaperCutVictim: It's okay! Hahah. I appreciate as many reviews as I can get, no matter when they're posted! But you and that "eheheh"… It's too perfect. Hahaha. And Len is fun to pick on because he's just so vulnerable looking! :P At least in my opinion.
Psychomaid: Ah! But it's all okay! I'm very happy to have gotten a review, even if you were planning on reviewing from the beginning! It means a lot when I see new people review my story. (: But I won't say anything about any pairings that may or may not occur by the end of this story. :P That's just a secret. Thanks again for the review!
FisheyCakes: Thanks for the review! I'm trying to balance out my Lily/Luka and Luka/Miku moments.. I hope I'm doing an okay job at it. Haha xD
Dingos: It's okay, you're not the only one to like those pairings after reading through this point of my story. Hahaha. A lot of people have been jumping from one ship to another. XD But thanks for your review!
Addffsfgsghf: … I had trouble typing your username. Hahaha. I had to double check and make sure I typed it right ^^; But thanks for the review!
AHHHHH.
I really wish I could reply to everyone's reviews! ;o; They all mean so much to me. It's great to see new reviewers, and of course, the returning reviewers who have stuck with this story from the beginning!
Again, I'd like to thank all of you for your ongoing support!
I'll see you in the next chapter!
Or, if you started reading "Matryoshka!", I'll see you in the next chapter for that story as well!
Ja matta!