Slice of Life
Chapter 19 – World's End Panda Hero
Ah man! I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter of SoL!
Really, there was a delay with this chapter… I needed more time to plan out the final chapters of SoL, and revise this chapter itself. Yes, we're nearing the end here! ): It makes me kind of sad… But since it's near the end, be prepared for long chapters.
I realized that while writing this chapter, I only listened to classical music. Usually I listen to Vocaloid music when I write my chapters. xD; I don't particularly think any one piece fits a certain section of the chapter, but it's what helped me write. OTL Yes, I do enjoy classical music. Very much so. And the sound track to the anime Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) has been on repeat as well. Don't ask me why. It just was, okay? XD; Although, the soundtrack did fit some of the tenser moments of this chapter…
But, if you're curious, I listened to the following classical pieces.
Beethoven – "Piano Sonata Moonlight"
Chopin – "Op.9 no.1, Nocturne in B-flat minor"
DeBussy – "Clair de Lune" and "Arabesque 1"
And I've also had "World's End Panda Hero" on repeat for a chunk of this chapter. I love it.
As always, I'd like to thank all of you for your support, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own any Vocaloids, and I only own this story. Thank you.
The only sound that echoed around the room was the noise of the widescreen plasma TV that was mounted up on wall. Displayed in high definition were two girls; one dressed as an angel, whose red face matched the color of her hair, and the other who was playful towards the blushing girl. Both were seated on the black leather armchair, with the playful girl resting on the redhead's lap.
The playful, ponytailed girl laughed as smiled at her blushing seat. "How about you answer the question, first? Me or Gumi-san, ne?" she asked, with a shake of her head.
Seated across from the two in an armchair of her own, the tawny haired, yellow headbanded girl chimed in. "Yeah! The question! I wanna know your answer, too, Miki-san!" She exclaimed. "And I bet all of your fans are dying to know, too!"
The redhead let out a squeal and shrank further back into her seat, away from the grinning girl on her lap, and away from the eagerly awaiting amber eyes of the show's host. It was clear that the angel was uncomfortable with the entire situation, and had absolutely no idea what to do. She merely began to stutter, tripping over her words as she failed to create a coherent sentence. "M-maybe... I'd pick-mm?"
Her words were cut short by the lips of the girl on her lap. Her red eyes widened and then quickly closed. It took a moment before she began to hesitantly kiss the other girl back.
The image on the television stopped when the camera had decided to zoom in on the lip-locked pair. A girl, wrapped up in her favorite cherry red blanket, had paused the recording of the segment. She dropped the remote, brought her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs. With a sigh, Miki placed her head on her knees and stared at the stilled image that was frozen onto her TV's screen. To be honest, she had only recorded the Halloween special on the Vocaloids because she knew she would not be able to make it downstairs to listen to all of the interviews. Recording the special was her way of catching up with what she had missed.
Watching through the hour and a half special had been interesting, up until it had come to Gumi's segment. While watching the green haired girl's interview, she had felt her chest tighten and her stomach twist into knots. It was so painful to watch Gumi go through the interview and dodge questions about Miku and herself. And then the taboo topic of Gumi's parents had been brought up... Miki wanted nothing more than to turn the clock back so she could simply run up and give Gumi a hug when the green haired girl was asked about her parents. But Miki knew time travel was impossible. And she knew that the interview had pushed Gumi on edge. And she knew that her own interview had torn Gumi apart.
The redhead let out another sigh. This time she pressed her forehead against her kneecaps, shut her eyes, and bit down on her bottom lip. Had she known that Iroha was going to make a "surprise appearance", she would have been better prepared. Miki would have done her best to avoid the cat-like girl... Well, that was what she had been telling herself for the past week. The last seven days had been some of the most miserable days of the ahoge'd girls life. The kiss had been broadcasted nationwide, and the media and the rest of Japan had gone crazy. On her fansite, she received questions asking if she would really choose Iroha over Gumi, especially since the former had rejected her feelings half a year ago. The staggering amount of outraged comments that people posted on her site about kissing Iroha in front of Gumi did nothing to improve her mood. Of course Miki was ashamed and embarrassed by what had happened during her interview. She wasn't trying to hurt Gumi, and she certainly wasn't trying to allow herself to get carried away with the kiss. It was a kiss.
A kiss was just a kiss, right?
She clenched her teeth and her shoulders slumped. No, it wasn't just a kiss. It had hurt Gumi. It had hurt Miku. It had even hurt herself. That kiss had turned her world upside down. Gumi no longer spoke to Miki, and even went as far as to leave the table during breakfast when she became aware of the redhead's presence. Miku was no fool, and it was easy for her to see the betrayal that shown in Gumi's emerald eyes. She knew Gumi had every right to be upset with what had happened, and Gumi had the right to feel guarded around her. After all, it must have seemed like she was playing Gumi for a fool if she was able to kiss Iroha back so easily.
Aside from her commander now avoiding being left alone with her, Miki was acutely aware of Miku's frustration. The teal haired girl would look Miki, visibly tense up, and then look away. It was as if Miku had no idea what to think of Miki, and it crushed the redhead to see that her two best friends were upset with her. Not that she could blame them... That single kiss had caused Gumi to throw her walls back up and create an impenetrable fortress around her heart. That single kiss has caused Miku to avoid making eye contact with her, possibly out of loathe, spite, disappointment, sorrow, or a combination of the four.
The only one who was seemingly unaffected by the kiss was Iroha, and Miki had no idea what to make of the cat-like girl. Since the interview, Iroha had only sent her a few flirty text messages and dropped off an extremely large Hello Kitty plush toy. During Iroha's brief visit, the cat-like girl stole another kiss, and sauntered off to speak with Lily and Luka. And much to Miki's frustration, she had returned Iroha's kiss, and cuddled with the Hello Kitty plush toy that night when she went to bed.
"God... I really messed things up," Miki mumbled to herself. Her week had been spent like this for the most part. At first, she had tried to make amends with Gumi and explain that she wasn't thinking when she had kissed Iroha back. She wanted to tell the green haired girl what she was going to say during the interview before Iroha had kissed her. More than anything, Miki wanted to say that she would pick Gumi over Iroha. But that single kiss had spoiled everything, and Miki was unsure of what may happen in the future. It scared her to even think that Gumi could hold this against her, and that she may never have another chance to be with the short haired girl. And she had come so close to helping Gumi move on from the past...
It seemed that Miki needed to triumph over the past before she could help Gumi. And this task was quickly becoming impossible thanks to Nekomura Iroha and that kiss.
Before she knew it, salty years stung at the corners of her eyes. But this was nothing new. Ever since her two best friends had become upset with her, Miki spent her time alone, rewatching the interviews over and over again. It was fitting, in her mind. She made Gumi and possibly Miku miserable. So she might as well suffer herself.
But she knew this way of thinking was not healthy. If she wanted to help Gumi open up and escape from the past, Miki would have to do the same herself. Otherwise she would be seen as a hypocrite and it would give the green haired girl another reason to loathe her. No, Miki knew she needed to talk to someone about how she was feeling ASAP. But who could she possibly go to?
Gumi was upset with her.
Miku was upset with her... Maybe.
The twins? ...
No. They wouldn't understand the complexity of a 16 year old's feelings.
Gakupo? Kaito?
They wouldn't understand the complexity of a 16 year old girl's feelings.
Lily? No. Wasn't the blonde teasing Luka about Miku a while back?
Meiko?
A bead of sweat rolled down Miki's head as she dismissed the drunken brunette.
So that left...
"Lily-chan!" the pinkette huffed, as she placed her hands on her hips. Her light blue eyes looked at the catastrophe that Lily called her bedroom. Clothes were strewn about the room, and it was hard to tell if they were clean clothes or not. Luka shook her head when she noted that there were empty packages of candy and soda bottles left on the floor and coffee table. "Your room is a complete disaster!"
Lily sat on her bed with her legs crossed, and her hands gripping her ankles. "Eh? Sorta, I guess," she laughed. "But I can still find everything I need. And it doesn't bother me to have it like this, since people don't usually come in here, anyway." The blonde shrugged her shoulders and continued to give her best friend a cheeky grin. Admittedly, Lily had only texted Luka to come over to her room just for the pleasure of seeing Luka's reaction to the mess in her room. She knew Luka had some neat freak tendencies, and so her reactions to obscene messes tended to be quite amusing.
"What!" Luka exclaimed in disbelief. "This room—It's awful! You really should clean up after yourself!" She began to pick up some of the clothes nearest to her. With a shake of her head she continued to lecture the blonde. "Honestly, Lily-chan. I thought you would grow out of this by the time you moved into the mansion. I didn't think It was possible for you to create such a huge mess in such a huge bedroom." The pink haired girl frowned at her friend once more. "This place is a pigsty! It's absolutely filthy!"
"Why, thank you."
"You're welcome- that wasn't a compliment!" Luka huffed indignantly. Although it was a rare sight to see the bi-lingual girl so worked up, Lily relished the sight.
The blonde girl laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Aw, c'mon, Lu-chan! As long as it doesn't bother me, then it's fine!" she explained, as she hopped up from the bed. Lily threw her arms over her head, and stretched her back and torso as she did so. "I thought it'd be fun to hang out, anyway. We haven't really hung out since our date and all..." Her deep blue eyes looked at the pink haired girl hopefully.
Luka's light blue eyes gazed back at Lily, and she blushed a little bit when she realized that Lily was hoping for another date... Or at least some alone time with her. Either way, they would be alone, and if they were alone feelings would become involved... And if feelings were involved then there might be a kiss... And a kiss- Luka stopped her mind from jumping ahead. They weren't a couple. And there was still the hurting, secretive, yet worry-full tealeatte to consider...
"Oi, Lu-chan... You staring at me like that is kinda freaking me out," Lily said, as her blonde head popped up right in front of Luka's.
Startled, Luka scrambled back away from Lily. Her foot snagged onto a t-shirt that had been left on the floor and cause her to lose her balance. The stack of clothes that she had only recently spent her time gathering flew up into the air as Luka flailed her arms wildly in order to regain a sense of balance.
"Eep-"
"Whoa!"
Luka gulped, and felt her face go from a pale pink to scarlet in an instant. Instead of falling down to the floor, Lily had managed to rescue her. The blonde's slender, but strong, left arm was firmly wrapped around her waist, while the other hand had managed to hold onto Luka's left wrist.
Deep blue met pale blue in an intense gaze, neither one daring to be the first to break the moment.
"Lu-chan," Lily breathed, with a smirk of amusement plastered onto her face. "You really are a klutz, aren't ya?"
"Wh-what? No, I'm not!" Luka protested feebly. Under the gaze of those endlessly deep blue eyes and that familiar grin on Lily's face caused Luka's heart to shoot into overdrive. The pink haired girl could have sworn that her heartbeat was audible to her friend, and the thought of how close they were to each other, physically, in this particular moment only added to her blush.
Luka knew Lily well enough to recognize the mischievous glint in her friends eyes. She gulped, and felt her lips go dry when she also realized that Lily was closing the distance between them. "L-Lily-..."
Her words were cut short by Lily's lips pressing against her own. It seemed that the blonde was eager to deepen the kiss, for her lips moved against Luka's fervently. It was as if she were begging a response from the pink haired girl. Luka, though, was still in a state of mild shock, eyes wide. Her eyelids hesitantly closed and she found herself slowly following Lily's lead. It wasn't long before instinct took over, and her hands gripped onto the thick cotton cloth of Lily's hoodie.
And while kissing, Luka felt the corners of her best friend's lips curve into a smile. Luka knew her friend was pleased with the response that she received, and for some reason beyond her comprehension, she found herself smiling as well. She was dimly aware of being moved, but she didn't protest. Instead, the pink idol continued to chase after Lily's lips. It wasn't until she felt her back hit something soft that she realized where she had been moved to.
The bed.
And aside from that, Luka could feel that the buttons of her white button-down were being undone.
Alarm bells went off in the back of her head, telling her to stop things before they reach the point of no return. At the back of her head, Luka was dimly aware of the war raging in her subconscious. Her rational self was screaming that things could go horribly wrong, that she may be biting off more than she can chew by allowing Lily to press on like this. Part of her wanted to completely reject what they were doing, insisting that this was too much. Another part of her put so much trust into Lily. Lily was her best friend, and there was no real reason to mistrust Lily, right? The blonde wouldn't hurt her, part of her mind rationalized. So this was perfectly acceptable. And then there was the final part of her mind, the instinct that was currently dominating the three way battle within Luka. Carnal desire argued that maybe things were supposed to be this way, or, rather, it didn't matter what happened as long as she were satisfied. Satisfaction and the incredible rush that came from this interaction with Lily should trump whatever sort of confliction Luka felt.
And carnal desire was dominating the battle.
Fingers glided along her now exposed stomach. The cool touch to her now burning skin sent tingles up Luka's spine. She shivered at the touch, and only tightened her grip on Lily's fitted black hoodie. With a quick tug, she pulled Lily's body closer to her own, begging for more contact with her childhood friend. Even though she knew that what they were doing could only worsen their situation, she was unable to stop herself. Her body was moving on instinct alone, completely ignoring her frantic, rational mind.
And though her rational mind was being ignored by her body, Luka was well aware of what may happen if things were to be taken to the next level. Ultimately, it may be interpreted to mean that she chose Lily over Miku. And this was not true. As of late, the pinkeatte had been leaning towards the teal haired girl. After their date, it was clear that they were both quite similar when it came to their worrisome habits... But right now...
God, right now, Luka was drowning in the taste and sensation known as Masuda Lily.
The tangled pair were unaware of the clicking of the door opening. A red ahoge poked into the room before the owner showed her face. "Luka-nee, are you here?" the soprano voice of Furukawa Miki called out, her voice raspy from crying earlier. "G-Gakupo-nii said you might be-!"
Lily and Luka quickly looked at Miki, and both had their blue eyes wide with shock. Luka's hands were still holding Lily's hoodie with a dead man's grip. Lily had one arm snaked around Luka's waist, and her free hand was gripping at the nape of the pink haired girl's neck. There was nearly zero distance between the pair. It was only then that she realized that not only had her shirt been undone, but her skirt had somehow come off as well. In an instant, Luka felt her body envelope in a head to toe blush. She looked at Lily, who looked almost as embarrassed as she felt. The blonde made no move to get off of her, though.
Miki stared at her two Onee-sans, her mouth gaping open. Her ruby eyes were wide and she covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh—Oh, I'm—S-sorry, I had no idea—L-Luka-nee—Sorry!" The sixteen year-old stuttered, as she stared at the pair, clearly in a state of shock.
Luka was quick to scramble away from Lily. She sat up, and quickly fiddled with her buttons in a desperate attempt to cover herself. "M-Miki-chan," she stammered, as she tried to recompose herself. "This isn't—It isn't what it looks like!"
Beside her, the long haired blonde snickered as she pushed her bangs out from her face. "I dunno, Lu-chan," she teased. "It kinda does look like we were going to do something pretty dirty, eh?" Lily was having a hard time keeping a straight face, despite the fact that she had been caught removing Luka's clothes. A grin made its way onto her face, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to stifle her laughter.
"L-Lily-chan!" Luka looked absolutely mortified. "Stop! We didn't—we weren't going to—"
"No, no, I—I understand," Miki gasped out. "You—And—Okay, yes, I see." She gulped and looked at the two older girls as she mindlessly nodded her head. "You two are… Yeah, I got it. D-does Miku-nee— Never mind… I'll talk to you later, then, Luka-nee." The young girl quickly turned on her heels and bolted down the hallway.
"Miki-chan!" Luka groaned, and leaned back against the pile of pillows on the bed. She glanced at Lily, who offered her a cheeky grin. "This—That was bad," she mumbled, as she reached for her skirt. Her rational side continued to yell at her over what had just occurred. "Miki-chan saw… We shouldn't have done that, Lily." With a frown on her face, she slipped her skirt back on.
Lily shrugged her shoulders, and resumed her cross-legged position. "So what? You like me, I like you…" Another shrug. "That's what happens when people are attracted to each other, right?"
"Y-yes, but…" The pink haired girl stood up and ran her fingers through her hair. "Miku-chan." The name left her lips and she cringed. The thought of hurting the teal haired girl was painful. Miku was already stressed out by what had occurred between Miki and Iroha; anyone in the mansion could see that Miku was beginning to treat the ahoge'd girl differently. And Luka had yet to confront MIku about it. Aside from that, Luka could also tell that Miku was hurting over the fact that Gumi had closed up once more… If the teal girl were to hear about this incident, Luka knew that things between her and Miku could no longer progress. There would be no way for Luka to help heal the younger girl…
"Tch…" Lily frowned upon hearing the name of her rival. "What about Miku?" she asked, her voice cool.
The cold malice in Lily's voice surprised Luka. She stood up and regarded her friend with a look of confusion in her light blue eyes. "You know I like Miku-chan, too," Luka answered quietly. "I can't… It's hard to do something like that with you, but then feel okay about it afterwards. I like Miku-chan a lot…"
A sigh came from the blonde, and she sprawled out on the bed. "Yeah, yeah… I know…" Lily huffed as she shut her eyes.
Beside the bed, Luka smoothed out any creases on her white button down. She looked at Lily awkwardly; cheeks still flushed, she shook her head. "You know you mean a lot to me…" Luka added though her voice was still soft.
There was a long pause. "I know that, too."
"I just… Need time to figure out what I want to do," Luka continued, as she began to comb her fingers through her long hair. "Well… Not what I want to do, but who I want to be with," she corrected herself. With a heavy heart and another shake of her head, she strode towards the door. "Uhm… Maybe… You can clean up your room and we can hang out later." It was a lame thing to say, but after what had just occurred, Luka had no idea what to say to her friend.
A chuckle was the only reply she received before she shut the door behind her.
On the bedside table, Lily's phone began to vibrate. The blonde stretched her arm and snatched it off of the table. Her blue eyes quickly read over the message that she had received.
Nya, nya! (^w^) You said we needed to talk, right? I'm at the mansion now!
"…Eh? She's here? Now?" Lily frowned a little bit, but quickly typed back a reply.
I'm not busy. Just head up to my room…And bring some popcorn.-Lily
Miki was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to mind her surroundings. After all, she had stumbled upon the sight of Lily stripping Luka down to her underwear. The image of the busty pink haired girl in her black, almost scandalously, lacy black underwear set was forever engraved into her mind. "Nn! Luka-nee's so well endowed—Eep!" She collided into another person, and she squeezed her red eyes shut. "Ah! S-sumimasen!" She squealed, when she frantically opened her eyes to look up at the other girl.
Ruby eyes met yellow ones, and the ruby eyes widened. "Ne, ne, Miki-chan!" Nekomura Iroha sang, as she spread her arms out to envelope the smaller girl in a hug.
Miki shied away from Iroha, narrowly avoiding the projected hug. Her expression was clearly puzzled as she regarded the taller girl, and slowly, it became more guarded as she realized that they were the only occupants of the hallway. The redhead gulped and took a step back from Iroha. "I-Iroha-senpai, what are you doing here?" She managed to ask.
"Eh?" Iroha blinked a couple of times, and shoved her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. She shrugged her shoulders and continued to smile down at the younger girl. It was then that Miki noted that the catlike girl had almost a sharpened edge to her canine teeth, and it only heightened the catlike appearance that Iroha already had. "I just wanted to visit my favorite little kouhai!" Iroha lifted one hand up and affectionately patted Miki on the head. "Mou, you're too cute, you know! Kawaii!"
Miki flushed at this. She reached up and gently pushed Iroha's hand off of her head.
Iroha raised a brow and let her hand fall to her side. "Ne? Something wrong, Miki-chan?"
"I- Please don't do this, Iroha-senpai," Miki pleaded. "I don't understand why you kissed me last week or why you suddenly decided to jump back into my life-"
"Eh? I need a reason for everything?" Sanrio's sponsored Vocaloid asked with a hint of amusement. "Mm, well, I did all that because I felt like it!"
Miki stared at Iroha with a sense of hopelessness. There was no point in trying to pry the truth from the older Vocaloid. "That's not true, is it...?"
"Nani?"
"What you just said. You're not doing this because you feel like it, right?" Miki frowned a little bit. The younger girl bit her bottom lip, and shook her head. "Mou, Iroha-senpai..."
Iroha was quiet. Her golden eyes stared down at the younger girl as she waited patiently for Miki to continue.
"I don't understand you... And I don't want to be hurt again," the redhead added quietly. Her head was craned down, and her brilliant ruby eyes were hidden behind her thick red bangs."If you're doing this because you think it's funny-"
"Nya? I'm not doing this because it's funny, Miki-chan!" The catlike girl giggled, and slowly sauntered up to other girl. "I'm not doing it to be funny, or to pick on you, or anything like thaaaat~"
"Then why are you doing this? Are you trying to hurt me?" Miki continued to speak towards the floor, but she was no longer able to contain the hurt in her voice. It was hard to talk about this. To talk about how she still had feelings for Iroha. Though those feelings may be weaker than what she felt for Gumi, those feelings were there nonetheless. "Because… I just want to know what's going on, Iroha-senpai. I don't want to be made a fool of again…" She sniffled, and quickly wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of her favorite navy and white striped woven cardigan.
The sniffling ceased when Miki felt herself suddenly pressed against the wall. Startled, she looked up at Iroha, and opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when she realized that Iroha was not going to try and steal a kiss. The older girl simply grinned at her, and wiped away the younger girls years with the sleeves of her own jacket.
"Mou, Miki-chan! You shouldn't cry! It doesn't suit you at all," Iroha said. One hand was pressed against the wall, and acted as a successful barrier to trap Miki between herself and the wall. "You're too cute for that."
The younger girl stared into those golden eyes, and struggled to mentally name all of the emotions reflected in those golden orbs. Miki was a firm believer of the phrase "Eyes are the windows to a person's soul." And right now, Miku saw that Iroha was hiding something from her. Aside from that, it was clear that Iroha was simply enjoying the moment, finding the situation to be amusing. "I-Iroha-senpai," she stammered, and she cringed when she realized how tiny her voice sounded.
"Yes, Miki-chan?~" Those enchanting, unique, golden eyes began to move closer to her own deep red eyes.
She felt like she could try once more. "Why are you doing this? Did... Did Lily-nee and Meiko-nee ask you to do this?" Miki asked. The ahoge'd girl may not be as brilliant as a certain green haired girl, but she was still clever enough to put two and two together. Or so she liked to think. "The twins told us that they were basically hired to find our weaknesses..."
At this, a thoughtful look crossed Iroha's playful features. "Nya! Maybe they did, maybe they didn't!" she answered with another smile. It was as if Sanrio's Vocaloid was in an eternal state of good humor. "But, really... I'm doing this because I want to. No one's making me."
Miki noted that Iroha failed to clarify what exactly she was doing. Did the older girl truly like her, or was it all a facade put on by Lily and Meiko? To her surprise, the aloof dark pink haired girl continued.
"I'm doing this willingly. Joining in on all of this-" Iroha waved a hand in the air to make a general gesture to the mansion and its residents. "Because I want to be involved. Being involved means I can work with the person that I admire."
"Admire?" Miki repeated, unsure if she had heard the cat-like girl correctly.
"Un!" The ponytailed girl nodded once. "I like this person a lot, so I don't mind getting involved, even if it means other people will hate me for what I'm doing. I just want to see if there's a way for me to be with this person and help them at the same time. They're lost and they need someone to help them, I think."
Miki was hit with a wave of déjà vu. Hadn't she thought the very same things about Gumi-chan?
Wait... Iroha likes someone? Who..?
The question must have been painted across Miki's face, because Iroha laughed.
"Mou, Miki-chan, you're so cute when you're confused!" the older girl began to close the distance between them, clearly aiming for a kiss. "Absolutely adorable," she purred.
"This- no- d-don't-" the younger girl squeaked. She knew if Iroha kissed her now, she wouldn't be able to resist. Even if she still wanted to be with Gumi... After that one kiss with Iroha...
Sensing the inner turmoil within Miki, Iroha's smile only widened. "I promise you'll like it, Miki-ch—"
"Oi, Iroha. Whaddaya think you're up to?"
"Baka neko, back the hell up!"
Two strong, distinct voices interrupted Iroha. Both spoke simultaneously, and these voices caught Miki and Iroha off guard, and they turned their heads to look in opposite directions. Golden eyes met blue eyes as deep as the ocean; and ruby eyes met narrowed emerald eyes.
"G-Gumi-nee!" A wave of relief washed over Miki. Hopefully Gumi would be able to pull her away from Iroha. Unless Gumi was still upset, that is.
Iroha laughed, and gave the long haired blonde a cheeky grin. "Oh! Lily~ I wasn't expecting to see you!"
Gumi quickly strode towards Iroha and Miki, exuding an aura of rage. She reached beneath Iroha's arm, grabbed Miki's hand, and pulled the younger girl out of the makeshift trap. With another searing glare at Iroha, Gumi spoke. "Don't try and pull something like that again," she warned, voice full of malice.
At this, Iroha merely shrugged her shoulders and smiled cheekily at Gumi. "I was only having some fun," she explained. "Miki-chan's adorable, ne? She's just too cute to resist!"
Miki gulped and half hid behind her green haired savior. With her free petite hand, she gripped onto the back of Gumi's standard orange hoodie. She felt Gumi release her hand, and immediately her red eyes looked down at Gumi's empty hands.
"Shut up," Gumi snapped back. "You were forcing yourself on her, and that's not right at all." Those hands clenched into fists, and Miki could sense Gumi tense up, gearing up for a fight. "That could be considered sexual harassment, you know. It's frowned upon in society." She took a step forward, but was tugged back by Miki. "I'll fucking kill you if you try something stupid like that—Forcing yourself on her back then and now? You're just a dirty little cat—"
"G-Gumi-nee!"
"Damare!Stay out of this, Miki!"
Lily, who had allowed the exchange to carry on, shook her head. The blonde grabbed onto Iroha's long ponytail, and gave it a sharp tug. "Iroha. Let's go before you get your ass kicked," she said, before walking back towards her room.
Iroha let out a small yowl of discontent, but halfheartedly followed Lily. Before entering the blonde's bedroom, she looked back at Miki and winked. The door clicked shut behind Iroha, and the two younger Vocaloids were left alone in the hallway.
They both stood in silence. The elder girl shoved her hands into the pouch pocket of her favorite over-sized orange hoodie, a guarded expression on her face. She made no attempt to break the silence.
"Ano, Gumi-nee…" Miki began, deciding to be the first to speak. "About what just happened… And last week, too… I wasn't—"
"Stop." Gumi avoided making any eye contact with the younger girl. Teeth were clenched as she roughly pulled out of Miki's grip by suddenly walking back down the hallway. "I don't want to talk about it."
The redhead felt her heart sink as she watched her crush walk away. "G-Gumi-nee-! Chotto matte, kudasai!" She quickly followed after the older girl. It was hard for her to figure out a way to explain what had happened between her and Iroha to the older girl. After all, it wasn't like Miki had asked to be kissed during her interview or anything, and she certainly wasn't trying to let Iroha take advantage of the moment just then. "Please, can we talk about things?" She begged. "It… It isn't fair for you to be mad at me without me explaining myself…"
"Tch…" The green haired girl stopped midway between the two wings of the house, at the top of the dual staircases. Turning on her heels, she finally looked at Miki, a very guarded, very hostile expression on her face. "Fine," she said coolly. "Go ahead."
Startled by the icy tone that she received, Miki gulped, and came to a halt. Out of nervous habit, she bit down on her bottom lip and began to twiddle her thumbs, her eyes downcast as she used her bangs as a sort of shield. Being under that icy glare was making her uncomfortable. She had only seen Gumi direct such a cold look towards the twins, to Meiko, and on occasion, towards Miku; but never had she been on the receiving end of such a look. "Ah—W-well… It… It was all a mistake," she mumbled feebly. "I was caught off guard when Iroha-sempai-… Well…"
"Kissed you."
"Y-yes," Miki nodded. Hesitantly, she lifted her head up and stared back into those hurting green eyes. After seeing how upset Gumi was made her realize that this was not going to be easy for Gumi to get past. "It… I never asked for her to do that, you know. It isn't my fault—"
"You kissed her back."
Miki flinched, and almost shrank away from Gumi. "Y-yes, but—I wasn't… I wasn't thinking about what I was doing," she sighed in defeat. "At first, I really wanted to get away from Iroha during the interview. Because—Because I knew you were watching… But, I don't know. I just wasn't thinking and ended up going along with it… I know I shouldn't have done that, though," she added quickly, as she looked at Gumi frantically. "Because—Because, I was going to answer Tainaka-san's question—I was going to say—"
"It's fine. The kiss doesn't bother me," Gumi turned her back to Miki and began to walk once more. "You can kiss whoever you want. It's not like we were going to be a couple or anything anyway."
Watching that orange clad figure walk away was one of the saddest things that Miki had ever seen. It was a figure who felt abandoned by all, a figure who found it hard to trust even the closest of friends, a figure that was struggling to find peace with themself and with the world.
And Miki knew that she needed to heal this person.
"No—That's—!" Once more, Miki found herself chasing after someone who did not want to be followed. Without thinking about what she was doing, the smaller girl launched herself at Gumi, and wrapped her arms tightly around the older girl's torso. "Please don't leave me… Don't leave me alone. I don't want you to be angry with me over something like this." She wasn't sure where this sudden burst of bravery came from, but she was going to use every last drop of it to say what needed to be said. "You said you'd fight me and you'd close up and not talk to me—And I'm willing to fight back. I'll fight back and tell you the truth all of the time. I'll fight and make you see that I never meant to hurt you, and I just want to help you."
Gumi sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. She stopped walking, and pursed her lips together. "You know, I really don't get people like you," she muttered. "You keep saying you want to help me, but it doesn't really seem like you've done much, ya know."
At this, Miki felt her stomach twist itself into knots. Had she really done nothing so far? She had tried talking to Gumi… Hadn't she? That was something. "But… I do want to help, "she mumbled, as she buried her face into Gumi's back. "I do."
"You sure you're just not being selfish and saying that you want to help me… Just so you can get close enough to me to get me to like you?" Gumi questioned. "Or maybe you just needed a pick-me-up after Iroha rejected you, so I was the next best thing."
"No—No! That's not it at all!" Miki said, completely floored that Gumi would even think of such a thing. "I just—"
"I know, I know," the elder girl sighed, and shook her head. "I get it, okay? You want to help. You don't get what's going on. You're upset that I've been ignoring you. I get it."
The younger girl was quiet for a few seconds. "Then why are acting like this?" She demanded, eyes squeezed tight. "Why are you acting like things won't be okay again?"
"Because… I don't want to get so close to you, only to end up getting hurt all over again," Gumi answered. "Look. It doesn't really matter, anyway. So let me go so I can go see what Miku's whining about now."
When the teal haired girl was mentioned, Miki let a gasp out, and clutched onto Gumi tighter. "Ah—Ch-chotto matte!" She stammered out, as she pulled her face out of the sweet smell of the orange hoodie. "I—I have to talk to you before you see Miku-nee!"
"What is it this time?"
"I—I saw—Luka-nee—And Lily-nee—"
"What?"
"They were—I saw—They—And then—The shirt—The skirt—Her breasts are so big!"
"….. What?"
Miki felt her facec grow hot when she realized that Gumi had turned around in her vice-like hug, only to stare down at Miki in complete and utter confusion. "I—L-Look, I saw something happen and I need to tell you!"
"…. Something involving Luka-nee's chest?"
"Yes—No—Sort of!" Miki sighed, and buried her face into Gumi's covered collarbone.
If this kept up, she would never be able to tell Gumi what she had seen.
She felt the older girl's shoulder relax, and Gumi's chest rumbled as she began to snicker. "Whatever… Just calm down and tell me what happened… Or I will leave and go find Miku. 'Cause she's probably thinking that I'm going to hang myself or something."
Such a morbid joke only made Miki tear her face away from Gumi's shoulder, her ruby eyes wide with horror as she gazed at her crush in a panicked frenzy. "Nani?"
"I'm not going to kill myself. So just tell me your damned story."
"Oh…" Miki took a deep breath, and put her face back into Gumi's shoulder, this time embarrassed. "Okay… Well… I was sitting in my room, and I was feeling sort of down… And I remembered that Luka-nee said I could talk to her whenever I wanted to.." It wasn't long before the girl dove head first into the encounter that she had experienced prior to running into Iroha and Gumi.
As soon as the door had shut behind Iroha, Lily turned on her heels to face the other Vocaloid. Arms folded across her chest, her deep blue eyes stared into the smiling golden ones that met her. "What was that?"
"Nya?" Iroha continued to smile at Lily cheekily as she strode past the blonde and took a seat on the couch. "What are you talking about?"
Lily scrunched her nose up, and made sure to follow the catlike girl with her eyes. "What happened back there, I mean," she clarified, slightly miffed. "Why'd you do that?"
"Because that's what you and Meiko-san asked me to do, yeah?"
The blonde stiffened a little, and she could have sworn that the corner of her eye twitched at the smartass remark she received. As true as that may be, and as perfect as a response as it was… It still pissed Lily off. She continued to frown at Iroha, hoping that maybe the other girl would be able to better explain herself.
"Nyaaa~ Well, you know," Iroha shrugged her shoulders. "The both of you did tell me to distract Gumi-chan and Miki-chan by messing around with Miki-chan. Meiko-san was right, though… I think Miki-chan does have some feelings left for me. But… Eh, they're not as strong as what she feels for Gumi-chan." She paused, and stretched out, suddenly occupying the entire couch. "You can tell by the look in her eyes, and the faces she makes. Miki-chan's an open book. But, ah, if you don't want me to screw with her relationship with Gumi-san, you shouldn't have asked me to do it in the first place." The girl raised a brow as she looked at Lily with a slightly curious expression. "Right?"
Lily snorted, and turned her head away from Iroha. Those words were all true, but… It wasn't like Lily had asked Iroha to do such a dirty task without a reason. Yet she still felt some sort of nagging pain in her heart at the thought of hurting Miki and Gumi in such an underhand way.
"Ne, ne! You're having doubts!" Iroha exclaimed, as she suddenly clapped her hands together. The glint in her eyes warned Lily that this conversation was headed towards uncharted waters. "Sugoi! I was beginning to think that you really became a bad person, Lily-san!" She laughed and hugged one of the couch's pillows. "The whole plan that Meiko-san had, I'm guessing it was her plan, since you don't seem like the revenge-seeking type… That plan is awful," she continued, with a shake of her head. "It's smart, yeah, but awful because it's so mean! I was really surprised to hear that you agreed to it, too. I thought you would never do something like that…"
The blonde girl frowned, and shook her head. "I'll do what I have to do," she replied indifferently. "The ends justify the means."
"Not if the means hurt everyone, especially the innocent," Iroha argued. "Like Miki-chan. She doesn't really deserve for us to put her through this. It's so obvious that she's hurting because Gumi-chan and Miku-chan have been acting differently around her. She doesn't seem as happy as she usually is. I don't like hurting her like this. It's all sorts of wrong… It makes me feel awful, but… I'm only staying along with this because of my own selfish reasons." She paused and put a hand to the top of her head, mimicking the ahoge that the redhead had. "And this piece of hair right here, it doesn't seem as happy, either."
"…What?" Lily felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of her head.
"Er—Nevermind." Iroha giggled to herself. "But—No. The ends don't justify the means if it's through destruction and pain. Playing dirty is never right…" A rare frown made its way onto her face. "You're going to feel awful about this plan if it works and you manage to get Luka-san. And if it doesn't work, I hope you're ready for the consequences."
"Consequences?" Lily scoffed. "Not gonna happen. If it works, Luka won't know what happened."
"Ne? She's bound to find out someday… The truth always comes out," Iroha warned her friend. "Usually at the worst possible time, too."
"Not gonna happen."
Iroha gave her friend a grin worthy of the Cheshire cat himself. "If you say so~" she sang. "But in all seriousness… It's a kind of selfish, underhand tactic, I think. To use other people's weaknesses against them is bad. But, to me, it seems like you're just really afraid of losing Luka-san, right? Are you even sure if you love her, let alone like her?" Iroha pressed onwards, ignoring the apprehensive look on Lily's face. "Because, when I think about it, it seems like you just don't want to lose her since you've always had her by your side. So maybe, in all reality, you're jealous that she could enjoy someone else's company besides your own."
Lily continued to stare at Iroha icily, her guard up. How could such a moronic looking girl know so much about the human mind? It was baffling, since Iroha normally gave off the aura of a five-year old, albeit a mischievous five-year old. But what was bothering her the most was that Iroha seemed to know what was going on in Lily's mind, when no one else in the house had noticed the inner turmoil that she had been suffering over the past week or so. Not even Luka had noticed Lily act out of the ordinary…
When Lily remained silent, Iroha took this as a sign to continue her in-depth monologue of the intricacies of Lily's mind. "You're kind of easy to read, too, you know. At least, you are to me," the cat girl amended. "I'm not sure if anyone else will understand you after all of this. Or, rather, understand your way of thinking and your actions." She waved a hand dismissively. "I get it, though. No one else will. They'll probably think badly of you after this."
"Yeah?"
"Yup! Like, Luka-san, for example!" Iroha held up her index finger on one hand. "She'll probably very upset that you would do something like this, and probably wouldn't expect it from you at all. And then she'd probably say something like 'Lily-chan! I can't believe it… Why would you hurt someone over that? Just for me? That's awful… You shouldn't hurt other people to get what you want.' Or something." She shrugged a shoulder, and then put up a second finger. "Gumi-chan will probably hate you for a long time. She's got a strong sense of right and wrong, ne? Miki-chan mentioned that she knew that you and Meiko-san are using weaknesses, and she thinks I'm part of that weakness manipulation… She's right, but still. That means Gumi-chan must know, too, right? So if Gumi-chan knows, or, if she figures it out, she'll definitely hate you. And knowing her type, the 'I'm-tough' sort.. She'd think you're being a selfish bitch."
Lily merely shrugged. Okay, she could live with Gumi being angry with her for a little while. And as for Luka… She was sure that the pink haired girl would forgive her eventually… Hopefully… Her frown widened at this new doubt in her mind.
"Miku-chan… She's being really nice by not telling Luka-san about all this, ya know," Iroha stated, as she put a third finger up. "But you know, you're hurting her, too, right? She doesn't like seeing Gumi-chan and Miki-chan hurting like this. She's probably worried about them and all. But, ya know, if she really wanted to, she could tell Luka-san about this plan, and then…" The girl paused for added effect. "Like I said before, Luka-san would be upset with you."
The blonde sighed, and ran a hand through her hair, pushing her overgrown bangs back. "You're right…" She mumbled in defeat, surprised and irritated that Iroha was able to figure so much out about her own doubts and the possible reactions of the others. "But, it's too late to change anything. Just keep going."
"Huh?"
"Keep messing with Miki and Gumi. They're already messed up, and we're already in this deep. Might as well keep going," Lily said, as she crossed the room and flopped onto her bed. She ducked beneath the covers, and turned her back to the couch and the curiously watching cat. "I don't care anymore."
"You still care… I think you just don't really understand what you want, is all," Iroha purred, as she stood up from the couch. "But that's okay. You'll figure things out. This neko-chan will help you figure it all out." The cat strode across the room, and crept onto the bed. She curled up into a ball beside Lily, as if she were actually a cat.
Lily stiffened a little bit, and relaxed when she realized that Iroha was not planning on making any advances. She sighed, and shut her eyes. Her mind was racing as she mused over what Iroha had just said. It was all true, and she knew it. Although she did not want to accept that Iroha was right in all of her assumptions, Lily knew she would have to face the consequences of her actions soon. Either this wretched plan would work, and Luka would be her; or she would have to risk losing Luka's respect for quite some time, and put up with scorn from the rest of the house. Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft purr. Confused, Lily lifted her head up from her pillow and looked over her shoulder at the long, ponytailed, pink haired girl. She smiled slightly when she saw the peaceful expression on Iroha's face.
As catlike as Iroha may be, Lily could not deny that Iroha had some sort of softness to her. The other girl may be as sly or as clever as the Cheshire cat himself, but it seemed that Iroha could also be as quiet and content as a loved housecat. When her sleeping companion stretched out to occupy more than her fair share of the bed, Lily rolled her eyes. Damned cats sure loved to sleep. The blonde shook her head and sat up, deciding it would be best for her to take a catnap of her own on the couch. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, and went to get up when she felt something tug on her hand.
Puzzled, she looked back at Iroha, who had unconsciously gripped onto her hand. "Ah… Man, cats get lonely easily, huh?" Lily sighed, unable to hide the smirk on her face. It reminded her of the actions of a certain koneko a month or so ago. "Damn you cats…"
But, wait. Iroha had mentioned she had felt awful for toying with Miki… But she did it for her own selfish reason? What the hell was wrong with this girl?
Lily massaged her temple with her free hand. She was too tired to think about this right now.
She propped up some of the pillows against the headboard, and rested against them. She let Iroha hold onto her hand, and shut her own eyes. Her mind was still musing over Iroha's words, but Lily was sure she deserved a catnap at the very least. It wasn't long before her mind become cloudy and she fell asleep.
The tealette sat on her favorite couch in her favorite retreat. She found herself frequenting the library more often, especially after the development during Miki's interview. The familiar black leather journal was open on her lap, and the girl hastily jotted down the last of her thoughts onto the inviting blank page. With a heavy sigh, she shut the journal and her teal eyes glanced over at the iPhone that sat beside her. She tapped the menu button, and a frown appeared on her face when she realized that it had been an hour since she had sent her text message to Gumi. The other girl had failed to reply.
Strange.
Gumi tended to reply to her messages rather quickly.
Had something happened?
Was Gumi okay?
Oh God. What if Gumi was hanging from the ceiling fan in her room—
Miku slapped her cheeks and shook her head quickly, shaking such morbid thoughts from her mind. "No, Gumi-chan's okay, I think," she mumbled to herself. "She has to be…"
"I think she'll be alright, too," a familiar voice said from behind the couch.
Teal eyes met light blue, and a small smile formed on Miku's weary face. "Ah, Luka-senpai. I wasn't expecting anyone to come in here," she said, as she swung her legs off of the couch cushions in order to make room for the pink haired girl.
Luka took a seat beside Miku, and carefully studied the younger girl's expression. "I remembered seeing you come here alone a few times, so I sort of figured you may be here," she replied, with a smile.
"Mm, I see…" Miku nodded and looked away. She sighed, and leaned back against the couch. "Well, since you're here, Luka-senpai, is it okay if we just… Talk?"
"I was hoping that you would suggest that."
The younger girl took a deep breath before she began to speak, feeling relieved that she now had someone she could share her worries with. "About Gumi-chan and Miki-chan… I'm worried about them. Ever since.. Since…"
"Last week."
"Since last week, they've both been very different," Miku sighed, and stared at her diary. "Gumi-chan doesn't really smile anymore—Her smiles were sorta rare to begin with, but still. She just seems kinda cold—er, colder now," she frowned a little when she noticed how she had to correct herself several times. "But, Gumi-chan… She just acts differently when Miki-chan shows up, like she doesn't want to be around Miki-chan. And it just sucks to see that. I thought that maybe Miki-chan would be able to heal her and help her, but, I guess it won't work that way if Gumi-chan just pushes Miki-chan away." The teal haired girl brushed her bangs aside before she carried on. "And with Miki-chan… She looks like she always wants to say something to me or to Gumi-chan, like she wants to explain herself. But she never says anything and ends up just looking away…"
Luka remained silent, nodding every so often.
"I don't know what to do… I just want them both to realize that they could help each other," Miku groaned. "Seeing both of them like this is making me miserable. All I can even think about is how upset the both of them are, and it's just so worrisome—Oh." It was as if a light bulb had suddenly turned on in her brain when she realized what was going on.
The twin's words. Lily's joint plan with Meiko.
Holy fucking shit.
"'Oh'?" Luka repeated, as she stared at Miku in confusion. "What do you mean 'oh'? Did something else happen?"
"Ah-!" Miku's eyes widened and she looked at Luka. She waved her hands back and forth in front of her frantically, and she attempted to put a smile on her face. "No, no! Nothing at all!"
As much as she despised Lily's underhand move, she had to admit it was clever of the blonde. And as clever and as awful as that plan was, Miku was not completely okay with revealing Lily's scheme to Luka. Although Miku was sure that this revelation would give her the upper hand, she did not want to destroy such a long-lasting friendship.
The look that Luka gave her was that of disbelief. "Are you sure nothing happened?" she asked, a frown on her face. "I thought we agreed that we could be completely open with one another."
"Er—Yes, yes, we did," Miku nodded. "But, ah, really. This is no big deal. Nothing to worry about! Now let's go back to talking about Gumi-chan and Miki-chan!" Her words were rushed as she desperately attempted to steer the conversation elsewhere.
"Oh—Right! Gumi-chan and Miki-chan!" Luka blinked a few times. "About them. I think you should let them figure things out between the two of them on their own. Everyone knows that they have feelings for one another, but you can't be the one to keep pushing them together," she advised. "And after what happened with Iroha-chan and Miki-chan, ah… That's something that Miki-chan will have to face on her own, I think. Otherwise things won't get any better. It's really up to Miki-chan at this point, I think." She paused, and shook her head. "She has to choose whether or not she's strong enough to put Iroha-chan behind her and pursue Gumi-chan. And I also think that Gumi-chan has to understand that Miki-chan probably meant no harm from what had happened. It wasn't entirely Miki-chan's fault—"
"I know it wasn't Miki-chan's fault!"
"But Gumi-chan may not understand that right now," Luka pointed out. "So, just let her figure things out… She'll be alright in the end. Gumi-chan seems like a very strong person. After all, she has gone through worse…"
Miku flinched, realizing that this was Luka's way of mentioning the conflict between Gumi and her parents. "R-right…" she mumbled.
Luka nodded, and placed a hand on top of Miku's. She gave the younger girl's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry too much over the troubles of others," she said softly. "I understand why you feel the way you do, but you need to realize that you can't fix everyone's problems for them."
Teal eyes met light blue.
"Now, tell me what you happened to realize when you were speaking earlier," Luka said, as her gentle smile suddenly had a clever hint to it.
The sight made Miku gulp.
She had no idea that Luka could use such soothing words to lower her guard down.
"Ah—Earlier? That—Well, hm, it was nothing!"
"Don't lie to me, Miku-chan."
Miku looked away from Luka and was quiet for a few seconds. She then mumbled something under her breath, causing the pink haired girl to lean in towards Miku in order to catch those fleeting words.
"I'm sorry…" Luka shook her head. "I didn't quite catch that."
More mumbling. "…. Awful plan…"… "it's working…" were the only words Luka caught.
"Sorry… Mou ichido?"
Miku took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Lily-nee and Meiko-nee made an awful plan, and I realized that it's working really well…" she said quietly, looking a little upset with herself.
Luka raised an eyebrow, looking only slightly confused.
SLAM!
"Luka-nee!" Gumi roared as she strode towards the pair seated on the couch. Trailing only a few steps behind Gumi was Miki. The redhead had one arm outstretched, her hand clutching onto the back of the former's orange hoodie. Miki looked absolutely frantic, and it seemed as if she was trying to pull Gumi back into the hallway.
Both Luka and Miku stared at Gumi, startled by the sudden disturbance to the otherwise quiet library.
"Did you and that ass Lily really—"
"G-Gumi-nee! Y-you said you weren't going to say anything—You promised!" the ahoge'd girl cried as she struggled to tug the green haired girl back out into the hall.
Gumi ignored Miki, and came to a halt in front of Luka. Her emerald eyes glared down at the startled pinkette. "You and Lily. Did you two have sex?"
"Luka-senpai…?" Miku looked at Luka, eyes a little wide. "You…?"
"No! No, no, no!" Luka said quickly, her cheeks flushing. "We didn't do anything like that!" She glanced at Miki. Miki quickly hid herself behind Gumi, a small whimper escaping her. Luka groaned, and looked back at those blazing green eyes. "I promise you, we did nothing more than… Er…" She scratched at her cheek and looked away, clearly embarrassed.
"You did nothing more than what?" Gumi pressed, leaning forward so she could continue to burn holes through Luka's head. "What did you do? 'Cause it'd be pretty fucked up for you to screw Lily then come here and chat up Miku, ya know. I hate people that do shit like that."
"Wh-what—No! You have it all wrong!" Luka felt Miku slip her hand out from her own. "No—Miku-chan, nothing like that happened," she insisted, as she turned her light blue eyes to the teal haired girl beside her. Luka fidgeted uncomfortably beneath Gumi's intense glare, but she knew she needed to speak to Miku. "All we did—I don't know how it really happened—We just… Made.. out….." she admitted reluctantly.
"Oh… That's not so bad, then," Miku shrugged her shoulders, and stood up. "It's not as bad as what Lily-nee's doing behind your back." She was a little upset by this sudden revelation, especially since Luka had come here to talk to her… It seemed a little wrong for
Those words caught the rest of the group off guard. Green, red, and blue eyes were all focused on the tealette.
"Lily-nee isn't… She's different," Miku continued slowly. "Maybe it's because of all of the tension between the three of us, but she's changed. She's working with Meiko-nee now, and they're the ones that brought Iroha-san back… They're fighting dirty by using our—" at this she paused to gesture at herself and at Gumi and Miki. "- weaknesses against us. The twins told us that they were hired to find our weaknesses and give the information to Lily-nee and Meiko-nee. And that they would use our weaknesses in order to hurt us. Or—well, me. Lily-nee and Meiko-nee were looking for a way to bring me down, and I guess that they chose to do that through Miki-chan, and Gumi-chan, too."
Luka stared at Miku in disbelief. "Wh-what…?"
The teal haired girl looked saddened that she had to be the one to break the news to Luka, but…
"Lily-nee is probably the one who set up that whole scene with Miki-chan and Iroha-san during the interviews. I think—I think she's using Iroha-san to hurt me… And to hurt me she's willing to hurt Gumi-chan and Miki-chan…" Her words were soft, and she looked at Luka solemnly.
"No—That—Lily-chan would never do that," Luka stammered, as she shook her head. "She would never stoop so low—"
"What the fuck—HOLY SHIT!" Gumi stared at Miku, and her hands clenched into fists. "Holy fucking shit! I forgot about what the twins said—Oh, fuck!" She glanced down at Miki, and then looked back at Miku. "Our weaknesses…"
The redhead bit down on her bottom lip, and buried her face into the orange hoodie.
Had the three of them really forgotten what the twins had told them? That their weaknesses would be used against them?
"No! Lily-chan—she wouldn't! I know Lily-chan, and that's not something she would do!" Luka said frantically, her image of the kind, good-natured blonde slowly shattering. "That's… she…. That's so wrong…. She wouldn't… Would she?"
Miki peered around Gumi to give Luka a sympathetic shake of the head.
"Jesus! It's so obvious now!" Gumi growled. "Fucking with Miki-chan's head by bringing back Iroha… And then fucking with my head 'cause Miki-chan's all sorts of confused… And making Miku probably freak the fuck out—Fuck!" she couldn't remember the last time she had dropped the F Bomb so many times, but she was seriously pissed. "That damn blonde… That damned drunken brunette of an onee-san… I'm gonna kill 'em!"
Gumi was about to run off, but was stopped by Miki's slender arms wrapping themselves around her waist. A strangled sob came from the redhead, who had caved from the sudden realization. Miki wasn't made to handle things like this, and having her emotions toyed with was awful. "I-Iroha-senpai.. D-did that… J-just to-? Wh-why…" Miki's voice was muffled, but the three older girls knew what she was trying to say.
Miku and Gumi exchanged looks.
With a sigh, Gumi turned around and wrapped an arm awkwardly around the sobbing redhead. "Hey.. C'mon… Don't cry. Lily fucked us all over," she mumbled.
Luka stared at Gumi and Miki, and then looked at Miku. "That can't be true… I don't understand…"
"Luka-senpai… I'm sorry, but, Lily-nee isn't playing fair…" Miku said slowly, as she sank back onto the couch.
The pinkette put her elbows onto her knees, and rested her head in her open palms. "No way… This is… Lily… Why would you do this?" she mumbled. "I… I don't even know her anymore…"
And teal haired girl was quiet for a moment. She sighed, and brushed her bangs aside once more. "I didn't want to tell you this before," she admitted. "Because I know how close you and Lily-nee are—"
"No, it's fine," Luka interrupted. "I'm glad you told me… I just can't believe she would do this… This is awful…" She stood up and shook her head once more. "I'm sorry that my friend had caused the three of you so much stress and pain. I-…" Luka closed her mouth, unable to find the right words to say. "Excuse me." The eldest girl was quick to leave the room.
When the pinkhaired girl vanished, Gumi glanced down at her teal haired best friend. "Well…?" Her arms were wrapped securely around the redhead, who was slowly regaining her composure.
"I feel bad about all of that… Luka-senpai seemed really shocked to hear that. But…" Miku laid down on the couch, and turned her back to Gumi. "All hell is about to break loose."
Note: AH. DELAYSDELAYSDELAYS! I'm really sorry about that delay. I had writer's block for a few days, and then I became super busy with exams. OTL
But I hope this chapter is easy for all of you to understand. Especially towards the end. If not, I'm very sorry that my writing skills are suffering because of the sheer amount of homework that had suddenly been thrown upon me. XD; Okay.. I'll stop with the excuses.
Aside from that, I'm glad to see that the interviews in chapter 18 went over well! :D :D
Replies to Reviews!
Masarau2509: It's okay! I don't mind that you hadn't reviewed in a while! :D But it's nice to see a review from you again! Yes, a lot of drama has taken over SoL. XD; But I'm glad to see that you're still enjoying the story!
PaperCutVictim: I love Ricchan. XD;;; But you knew that already. After reading this chapter, I'm sure your thoughts of impending war have only multiplied. X_x; Also, your "ehehehe" made me giggle. LOL Thanks for reviewing again! It's always appreciated :D
Jak656:I'm glad to see that you enjoyed all of the interviews, and my writing style! It's always nice to hear that a reader/reviewer can enjoy my way of describing the characters. It makes me feel good about my writing style! Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Major Mike Powell III: LOL. Oh man. I have no idea why, but your review made me grin. Seeing a reaction like that is good to know, because it means my writing was effective! Ah, thanks for the review!
LukaFan: Yeah, I figured that Kaito and Meiko would have similar responses… They're just perfect for each other in that respect LOL. Ah, I see. I listened to "Next Stage", and I have to admit it was pretty good! ^^; When I get the chance, I'll have to listen to some more of his works. Thanks for pointing him out to me!
Lupi-san: xD;; A lot of people are GumiMiku fans in this story, I think… Although I'm not sure about that after the recent chapters… But thank you for reading and reviewing! It's very much appreciated!
Interstellar-Punk: Ah, first review? Thank you! I'm honored that you'd begin to review my story :D It's nice to see a new "face". I'm also glad to see that you enjoy the story, too! Thank you for your support!
Neko-kath-01: After our little PM, I hope things are a little clearer to you now! Thank you for your support! :D I hope to hear from you again!
Meislovely: So how'd all of that booze work for you guys? XD;; Am I going to be able to get a sober review?
Toolazytolog: Ah! Haven't seen your username in a while! :D Nice to hear from you again! But, yeah? You have an idea of how it'll end? Ah man… hahaha. I was hoping that I wouldn't be too predictable in my writing! I wonder if we both have the same ending in mind… That aside, thank you for your support!
Kokoro Tenno: Yes! K-ON! :D It's my favorite anime/manga of all time. Hahaha. I love it. And it seemed like Ricchan would be the perfect person to interview them. XP I'm glad to hear that you weren't too tired at school. I was a little worried that your grades for that day might have suffered from lack of sleep.
I'm the same way with sleep, too, though. Some days I can get by on only a few hours of sleep. Other days I really need a lot of sleep. XD; I guess it depends on what classes I have the next day… But thank you for your support! I really appreciate your reviews!
Blodh skolir: another new face! Thank you for reading and supporting the story! I appreciate your review!
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Alright. That's everyone, I think.
Thank you all for your support!
Like I said before, we're getting closer and closer to the end of SoL. I hope all of you will stick around and reach the end with me! :D Any words of advice are appreciated, and I'd really like to improve my writing style. If anyone has any pointers, they'd be very much appreciated.
Once again, thank you all for your continued support. I'll see you in the next chapter!