Slice of Life
Chapter 20 – 1925
OTL I'm so sorry for the delay in updating this story… Aside from the fact that I had to study for my Japanese exam, I ended up getting carried away with planning out all three of my current works. It started off with planning out a few rough (and boy, do I mean rough) outlines for the remaining chapters of SoL… And then it led to rough outlines and drafts for Matryoshka!... And then rough outlines and drafts for Tsubasa wo Kudasai.
I made this chapter longish to make up for the delay.
And before I knew it, I had three different word documents running, my Moleskine idea notebook filled (I had to run out and get another one) with notes for all three works, and a major headache. XD; Needless to say, I'm ready to continue writing! That is… Until my next exam comes up for another class.
Also. Insomnia is back. And it sucks.
BUT, I'll save the rest of what I have to say in my ending author's note.
So… Please, enjoy this next chapter!
Disclaimer: Vocaloids? Me? No, I don't own them.
｢Oh, such a pitiful motion
Wearing out my tension
It works, it works, better than I thought…｣
"Miki-neesama! Miki-neesama!" the distinct voice of one of the resident twins was slowly pulling Miki from her deep sleep. Onee-sama? That term of supreme respect was the only thing that the sleeping redhead was groggily able to comprehend before she was pounced on by the elder Kagamine twin. With a groan, she slowly opened her red eyes, unsurprised to see Rin's blue eyes staring back at her, wide-eyed.
Rin was grinning from ear to ear, and her blonde hair was quite messy. Miki could only assume that the twins had just woken up. "Did you really see Gumi-nee kick box the crap outta Meiko-nee?" the blonde girl asked, her words rushed together. "I bet Gumi-nee really gave it to Meiko-nee—"
"Rin-chan…" Miki began slowly, as she closed her eyes, and pressed one hand over her right eye. She laced her fingers into her red bangs.
"Yeah, Miki-neesama?"
"H-how did you know I was sleeping here?" It was surprising that the twins knew she would be in Luka's room. After all, they had fallen asleep during last night's hectic events. And though her eyes may be closed, it was easy to picture the look of excitement on Rin's angelic face. The sight was something that Miki had grown accustomed to. And sadly enough, she had also grown accustomed to the obscene amount of chaos and mischief that this angelic looking blonde could cause if she were allowed to run rampant. "I don't think I told you I would be in Luka-nee's room…"
"Eh? Oh, Gumi-nee told me. She was heading to the kitchen to get some ice from the freezer," Rin answered dismissively, as if the information were boring news. "She said something about wanting to fight Meiko-nee again. So I asked what she meant by again, and she just said she got into a fight yesterday. Which is so FREAKING COOL!" The young girl couldn't contain her excitement. "Gumi-nee's so awesome! I didn't think anyone would ever get in a fight with Meiko-nee!"
Miki opened her uncovered eye to look up at Rin. "Mm? But if she's so awesome, how come you don't want me to date her?" she asked, amazed that Rin failed to see the flaws in her own logic. But somehow, Miki wasn't surprised that Rin's thought process made no sense. Rin did have a pretty one track sort of mind.
At this the blonde folded her arms across her chest and puffed her cheeks out. "Because you're my Onee-sama. I don't want to share you with anyone else," she muttered, acting as if she were a child. "If you ended up dating Gumi-nee, Len and I would barely see you. And I like getting to see you whenever I want to." Her sapphire eyes met Miki's ruby ones, and it was clear from the flustered expression painted on Rins face that the blonde was a little uncomfortable about being so open with the elder girl. "It only matters so much 'cause you've been like a real big sister to me and Len. So if you started ditching us for Gumi-nee, then we'd be kinda lonely. Plus we wouldn't have a lot of sleepovers 'cause you'd probably end up staying in Gumi-nee's room. And you're the only one that doesn't really get mad or anything when we pull a prank." There was a short pause as Rin scowled and her tone became very serious. "Plus, I don't want Gumi-nee to hurt you the way Iroha-nee did last year. At least Iroha-nee didn't live with us, so it was easier for me and Len to get you to forget about her… But since we live with Gumi-nee, it'd be harder for us to make you the happy Onee-sama that you usually are… If Gumi-nee hurts you or if she's just playing games…" Her hands clenched into fists, tightly gripping onto Miki's nightshirt.
The redhead smiled slightly, touched by the young Vocaloid's concern. She sat up, and shook her head. "Rin-chan—"
"So, uh, yeah! That's why I don't want you to date Gumi-nee!" Rin said quickly, her expression now guarded. The blonde surprised herself with how much she had opened up to Miki just now. The only personwho knew why she was so opposed to Miki dating Gumi was her brother, and even then she had to threaten Len to keep his mouth shut. "Okay? You got that? It's not because I don't want you to be happy or anything. I just don't want you to get hurt—Huh?"
Miki had wrapped her arms around Rin and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you, Rin-chan," she said quietly, eyes closed. "You're a good imouto-chan, you know. Growing up, I was an only child, so I never knew what it was like to have a little brother or sister. But then I came here and met you and Len-kun. And I was just so lucky that I was able to meet the both of you!" She giggled when she recalled how the twins had immediately latched themselves to her side when she entered the mansion for the first time, declaring that Miki was their sister. "Since then, every day has been so much fun. I love you and Len-kun very much. So you won't have to worry about me leaving you two! I would never do that, because you two are family now." The ahoge'd girl leaned back and gave Rin a wide, warm smile. "You're my little sister, and nothing will change that." Her ruby eyes opened and she giggled. "Don't you ever forget that I love you, okay, imouto-chan?"
The blonde girl stared at Miki, cheeks flushed. The corners of her eyes were stinging with fresh tears, and Rin was quick to wipe them away. "Wh-wh—… I love you, too," she mumbled. "And I'm not 'imouto-chan'. That's Len," she corrected grumpily, while she squirmed out of Miki's embrace. Rin stood up and folded her arms across her chest, looking quite embarrassed about how genuine Miki had been.
"Sorry, sorry!" Miki laughed, the smile still on her face. Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers through her hair, pushing back her bangs. "But as for Gumi-nee… I appreciate that you're worried about me. It's nice to know that you're only trying to look out for me," she added. "But I don't think you'd have to worry about Gumi-nee hurting me. She isn't the type of person to play games with people."
"Yeah, but what if she-!"
"She won't," Miki insisted, her voice firm. "I know she won't."
Rin scowled. "How would you know?" she retorted, sounding every bit like a child throwing a tantrum.
"Because she fought Meiko-nee over that," Miki answered. "The whole reason they got into a fight last night was because of Lily-nee and Meiko-nee making that awful plan to use our weaknesses against us. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, right?"
The blonde stiffened, and was quick to look away. "Uh…"
Miki shook her head. She wasn't angry with Rin's involvement in the plan, because she knew just how easy it would have been for Lily and Meiko to sway the young blonde over with bribes. "It's fine, I'm not mad at you for what happened. I'm still a little upset with Lily-nee and Meiko-nee, but other than that, you have nothing to worry about…" She paused, and shrugged a shoulder. "But like I was saying, that's what Gumi-nee fought Meiko-nee over… Because Meiko-nee started talking about me and Miku-nee, and it made Gumi-nee angry."
"So Gumi-nee thought she'd fight Meiko-nee?"
"…Well, yes," Miki answered. "I don't think Gumi-nee was thinking about it, though. She just sort of tackled Meiko—"
"Tackled?"
"…Y-yes…"
"WOW! THAT'S SO COOL!" Rin's blue eyes shone with excitement and admiration for the green haired girl. "Seriously! That makes her the coolest freaking person ever!"
The redhead stifled a giggle. "Does this mean I can date Gumi-nee, then?"
"HECK YES—Eh?" Rin blinked several times. "Only if you make me breakfast."
"…S-sorry?"
"Make me breakfast. Waffles, and orange slices," the blonde nodded her head, and grinned down at her Onee-sama. "If you do that, then I'll be a-okay with you dating Gumi-nee!"
Miki smiled and stood up, her head shaking. "You drive a hard bargain there, Rin-chan," she joked. "But alright. I'll make you breakfast."
"YAY!" The younger girl bounced up and down several times before she sped out of the room. "WAFFLES FOR BREEEAAAAAAKFAAAAST!"
The redhead laughed at her 'younger sister's antics. Her ruby eyes glanced at the bed, unsurprised to see that it was already made. "Ah.. Luka-nee's already up," Miki murmured to herself, before she exited the bedroom. "I wonder where she could have went…?"
｢Repetitive questions, but no one wants solutions
I hate, I hate, I hate this restraint｣
The stainless steel door to the freezer was thrown open, and she glared at the monstrosity within. Packages of easy to make Western meals, such as pasta, were crammed on the shelves, as well as ingredients for traditional Japanese foods. Her emerald eyes were having a hard time sorting out the items on the shelves as she desperately searched for the icebox. It had been some time since she actually peered into the freezer. Gumi rarely cooked meals for the entire house on a whim, and only did so when she was specifically asked to. And as a direct result…
She had no fucking clue what she was looking at.
"Where the hell is the damned ice box...?" She growled as she shoved her way through the plastic packages. It was already difficult enough looking for the ice box with a swollen black eye, courtesy of the resident drunk. It had seemed that overnight, her bruised eye decided it would swell up to the point where she could barely see out of it. With a frustrated sigh, she continued her search in vain. Gumi was vaguely aware of someone opening the door to the fridge beside her. Shifting came from the fridge, and then the fridge door was shut. "Where.. The… Hell…"
"Nya, Gumi-san~ What're you looking for? Do you need any help?"
The green haired girl stiffened. Slowly, she withdrew her head from the freezer, and slowly looked over her shoulder. Emerald eyes met gold eyes.
"…No, I don't need any of your damned help," Gumi snapped at Iroha, who was seated on the countertop beside the sink.
Iroha smiled slightly, and took a sip from the small carton of milk in her hand. "Are you sure? It must be difficult to find what you're looking for with your eye like that," she pointed out, as she kicked her legs in the air like a child. "I don't mind helping you out, you know—"
"You really wanna help me?" Gumi asked, her emerald eyes narrowed as she gave the cat-like girl a deadly glare.
"Un! Of course I do!"
"Then you can start by getting the hell outta here."
"Nyaaa… That's not very nice, Gumi-san," long haired girl sighed, yet her smile did not waver. "I was only trying to be nice."
"Nice?" Gumi repeated in disbelief. The door to the freezer was slammed shut, and she turned to face Iroha. In only a few short steps, she closed the distance between them, and shoved her face in front of the other girl's. "You want to be nice?"
"Mm.. Well, yeah!" Iroha answered, completely oblivious to the dangerous aura that Gumi was giving off. "I thought we might as well be civil if I'm going to move in—"
"I don't want to be civil! Especially if—Wait… What?" Gumi's rage instantly vanished, and her expression was that of complete and utter disbelief. "You're… No, you can't be…"
Iroha shrugged her shoulders, and turned her head away from Gumi's so she could take another sip of milk. "I might be," she corrected herself, a sly smile on her face. "I've been thinking about it for a few days now, and it might be in everyone's best interest if I do move in. And if I do move in, it'd be easier for me to see that person that caught my attention—Oh?" Her gold eyes looked down at the pair of hands that were gripping onto her shirt tightly. The knuckles, she noted, were beginning to turn white from the tension.
Once more, Gumi shoved her face in front of Iroha's. "No. You can't move in," she hissed, venom dripping from her voice. "I won't let you."
Sanrio's Vocaloid had been expecting such a reaction from Gumi, and it was easy for her to remain absolutely calm. "Why not?" she asked, clearly feigning innocence.
"You know why."
"Mmm… Nya, sorry, I don't."
Gumi shook Iroha once. "Don't play stupid!" she snarled. "I don't want you doing anything to hurt Miki-chan. If you play any more games with her, I'll beat the shit out of you."
Iroha held her hands up as a gesture of surrender and peace. "No, I wasn't going to do that," she said, her smile fading. "I don't want to hurt Miki-chan anymore, either."
"…What?" The grip on the shirt slackened.
"I don't want to hurt Miki-chan," Iroha repeated, as she gently tried to pry Gumi's fingers off of her shirt. "After seeing your fight last night, I decided I was done with this game. It's twisted, and I don't want to have any part with it anymore." She met the gaze of those distrustful green eyes. "Just… Just believe me when I say that I want to help you guys.." Her tone was pleading now, the playfulness gone.
Gumi couldn't believe what she was hearing, let alone seeing. For as long as she had known Nekomura Iroha, the pink-haired girl always had a smile on her face. But right now… Iroha looked desperate, like she wanted Gumi to believe and trust in her. It was a look that Gumi was not accustomed to seeing on Nekomura's face, and she wasn't sure how she felt about seeing such an expression. "You… No," Gumi shook her head. "This must be another trick—"
"It's not!" Iroha interrupted, sounding slightly frustrated. "I promise! I just want the games to stop, and I want everyone to be happy again. All of you are so different now…" She frowned at the green haired girl. "Maybe I'm the only one that can see that, since I'm something like an outsider. But you're angrier than before… Miki-chan's terrified that you and Miku-san will get hurt… Luka-nee's absolutely confused. And Lily-nee… She's… Lost. Things are wrong, and they shouldn't be this way."
At this, Gumi snorted. "So what if things are all sorts of fucked up? What do you think you can do about it?" She demanded, as she gripped onto Iroha's shirt once more. "You fucked things up—You helped Lily-nee fuck things up! There's no reason for me to believe a word you've been saying!"
The cat like girl sighed, and shook her head. "I know that… But, you just need to trust me on this one. I'm trying really hard to make amends." It was hard for Gumi to ignore the pleading look in Iroha's eyes. For once, the cheerful girl was completely serious. "I want to help you guys fix things. I want to set things right."
Teeth clenched together, Gumi gave in. "Fine. Fine. I'm trusting you on this," she snarled, and brought Iroha close so their foreheads were touching. The look in Gumi's eyes became venomous as she glared into those golden orbs. "But I swear, if you do anything to hurt Miki-chan, I will hunt you down."
Iroha smiled slightly, her expression lightening up once more. "Nya, nya, I'd be surprised if you didn't—"
"WHOA! GUMI-NEE'S GONNA KILL IROHA-NEE!"
"G-Gumi-nee! What're you doing…?"
Both Iroha and Gumi looked over at the newcomers.
Rin looked absolutely excited that a fight may potentially break out. Her blue eyes were wide with anticipation, and she was jumping up and down. Beside her, Miki's ruby eyes watched in horror.
"What—No, I wasn't going to—" Gumi stumbled over her words as she tried to explain the situation in as few words as humanly possible.
Iroha laughed softly, and pried her shirt out of Gumi's grip. "Nyaaaa~ Gumi-san wasn't going to fight me, Rin-chan," she explained, as she picked up her carton of milk. Golden eyes were filled with amusement once more, and it caught Gumi completely off guard. It seemed that Nekomura Iroha was a master of her emotions, able to pull a complete 360 when necessary. "We were… Talking."
"AAAAWWW!" Rin groaned, and folded her arms across her chest. Cheeks were puffed up with air as she gave Iroha an extremely disappointed look. "That's not fun…"
"You know what would be fun?" Gumi snapped. "If I could lock you up in the freezer for a day or two. That'd be fun. Maybe the mansion would be quiet, at least for a little while."
Miki gasped. "Gumi-nee!"
Rin paled, and hid behind Miki. "MIKI-NEESAMA WOULDN'T LET YOU DO THAT!" she shouted from behind the redhead. "Right, Miki-neesama?"
Miki nodded slowly. "R-right… Gumi-nee, you shouldn't threaten people like that—Ah, your eye!" She immediately ran over to Gumi, and halted before the startled greenette. "It's swollen… Does it hurt—Of course it hurts," she answered herself, as she carefully traced the outside of the bruise.
Gumi flinched, and withdrew away from the touch. "Geez—Quit it—"
"Let me get you some ice!" Miki scurried over to a drawer, pulled out an empty ice pack, and then hurried over to the freezer. She threw the door open, and was quick to locate the ice box, much to Gumi's amazement. The bag was filled with ice cubes, and the redhead was back at Gumi's side. "Here."
"Er… Thanks…" Gumi took the ice pack from Miki, and carefully pressed it against her throbbing eye. Her cheeks became a faint shade of pink when she noticed the smile that had suddenly appeared on Miki's face.
"You're welcome! I told you that I'd be here for you, Gumi-chan! I want to help you get better, in any way possible."
"Sometimes I really don't get you…"
"Huh? What's not to understand? Do you want me to explain?"
"Yeah, that'd be nice," Gumi answered, almost sarcastically.
Miki paused, and nodded. She lowered her voice to a whisper, and leaned forward, having to stand slightly on her tip-toes to reach Gumi's ear. "Mentally, emotionally, physically… I just want to help you and let you know that you're not alone anymore," she whispered shyly, as if this were a secret meant only for the two of them.
Instantly, Gumi felt her face explode from an unexpected blush. "Wh-wh—Don't say things like that," she stammered, unsure of what the proper reaction was for something like this.
Miki giggled, and one of her hands reached out and grasped Gumi's free one.
Iroha watched in silence, and the smile on her face widened at the exchange between the two. She took another sip of milk, and hopped off of the counter. "Ne, ne, Rin-chan!" She went over and nudged the 14 year-old. "Aren't they cute?"
The young blonde watched her older sister interact with Gumi, and sighed. "I… Yeah, maybe," she admitted, her expression softening ever so slightly. "But if Gumi-nee messes this up, I'm gonna shave all her hair off..."
"Kya~ Rin-chan! You really love your Onee-san!" Iroha laughed, as she patted Rin on the head. "You remind me of someone just as protective of Miki-chan."
"Eh?" Rin turned her blue eyes up to look at Iroha. "Who's that?"
"Mm… Someone with a good heart, that's all," the cat-like girl answered, before she walked away from the group. "I should get going. I have somewhere to be. Bye-bye!"
Rin blinked several times as she watched Iroha leave the kitchen. She looked extremely confused by the older girl's words. Who the heck could Iroha have been comparing her to?
And then she realized something extremely important.
Her blue eyes turned to see Miki hugging Gumi tightly, her face buried into the green haired girl's shoulder. Gumi's face was dark red, and the icepack was still pressed against her sore eye. She awkwardly had one arm wrapped around Miki's waist, and her emerald eyes (well, eye), was wandering the room, unsure if she should look at the girl that was attached to her, or focus her attention elsewhere.
Rin wasn't sure if she wanted to go "aw" and grin at the pair, or go over and separate the two.
"Onee-sama!" She whined.
"Mm?" Miki's slight reply was muffled by Gumi's t-shirt.
"Make me my waffles!"
Silence.
"Ah! Waffles! Right!" Miki tore herself away from Gumi, and ran towards the cupboard in search of the proper ingredients.
Gumi sighed. "I—I'm just going to go head up to my room…" she said, before she turned to leave.
"No!" Miki ran over to her, and nearly tackled the greenette. Her arms were wrapped around Gumi, and she looked up into confused emerald eyes. "Ah—Th-that is… Why don't you have breakfast with us?" she asked, embarrassed. "I—I was going to make breakfast for Rin-chan and myself… So… It wouldn't be a problem if I made breakfast for you—"
"I get it, I get it," Gumi sighed and gave Miki a lopsided smile. "I'll eat with you guys."
"Ah! Really?"
"Yup."
"Yay—"
"WAFFLES! MY WAFFLES!" Rin interrupted, as she threw her arms up into the air, clearly impatient.
"Ah—R-right!"
"You have to let go of me if you're going to cook, though," Gumi added, as she pointed this out to the redhead.
Miki's cheeks flushed, and she removed herself from Gumi and frantically hurried back to the cabinet.
The green haired girl shook her head, and pressed the ice pack against her eye once more. "Geez…" She blinked when she felt a tug on her shirt. She looked down to see Rin glaring up at her. "Eh?"
"I'm going to shave your hair off if you break Miki-neesama's heart."
"…"
"Seriously." The blonde folded her arms across her chest and walked away from Gumi. She climbed up onto one of the stool seats that were found by the island counter.
"… What the hell…" Gumi shook her head, and went over to the breakfast table. She took a seat at the table.
Rin turned around once more, and stared Gumi down. "Seriously."
"…."
｢I switch on to "Loneliness" and begin to pray
"Oh no, oh stop it, please…"
Uncontrollable dreams…｣
That morning, Lily had woken up early. Though she was one to enjoy her sleep and spend her mornings sleeping in if possible, a restless night had caused her to slip in and out of sleep. She woke up, exhausted, and with a headache. Last night's events had drained her, and she wanted nothing to do with the other residents of the mansion for the day. As a way to avoid any run-ins with her house mates, she left, and went directly to the studio. Her producers were surprised to see Masuda Lily around the studio when she didn't have to be there.
"Masuda-san! You're not scheduled to come in and work on your new single until next week," the spectacled receptionist said, as she pulled up Lily's work schedule onto the monitor of her computer. "Ano… Did you want to practice?"
Lily gave the receptionist a grin, and rubbed at the back of her neck. "Ah—Yeah, yeah," she laughed. "Something like that."
"…Y-You really want to practice?" the receptionist asked in disbelief. "Eto… Masuda-san?"
"Eh?"
"Are… Are you feeling okay?" she looked extremely concerned. "If you're sick, you should stay at home and rest, not come to the studio to practice."
Lily's ocean blue eyes stared at the receptionist.
"I know the big guys upstairs want you all to produce amazing music, but you shouldn't overwork yourself! It isn't healthy—"
"No… No, that's not it at all," Lily laughed, and shook her head. "I swear I'm not sick." The smile on her face widened into a cheeky grin as she put her hands behind her head. "I just wanted to get outta the house, to tell ya the truth," she explained, with a slight shrug. "Things are a little crazy at home, so I figured I should go out and… do something productive."
"'Do something… productive'?"
"Yup."
"… I'm going to call you a cab to take you home—"
"I said I'm fine, geez!" Lily snickered, and walked down the hall towards the recording booths. "I'll be in the usual one." She stopped in front of a door and twisted the knob. The door swung open effortlessly.
"Okay-.. Oh! But that one's-.."
Thud.
The door to the booth was shut, and the receptionist sighed. She clicked a window on her computer which showed her who was in what booth and at what time. With a few quick key strokes, she added "Masuda Lily" to the name that was already listed for booth "5". "This is surprising," she murmured. "That they would both decide to come in just to practice…"
Light chatter filled the coffee shop, oblivious to the pair that had walked into coffee shop. The shorter of the two grinned and went to get their drinks. The taller of the two slid into a booth, and leaned back into the seat. He hoped his outfit was casual enough, as to not be spotted by rabid fans. Khaki slacks, brown shoes, black pea coat over a white button down, a pair of fake eye glasses… Yes, Gakupo was sure that this outfit would allow him to pass as an average person. He closed his eyes, and sighed. It was a good thing that he had decided to go out for coffee rather than stay at home that day. After that fight between Gumi and Meiko last night, he wasn't sure if he would be able to stay calm when it felt like the house could blow up at any moment.
His companion slid into the seat across from him, an arm outstretched. "Oi, Gakupo… Your drink," Kaito said as removed the sunglasses that hid his blue eyes. Dressed in a white and navy blue zip-up fleece, dark slim fit jeans, black sneakers, and a white and navy baseball cap, Kaito looked every-bit the handsome young man that his publishers made him out to be. "… Oi… Gaku—"
"Shh!" Gakupo snatched the Styrofoam cup of coffee from Kaito, and was quick to glare at his friend. "Don't call me that when we're out in public!"
"Huh?" Kaito blinked several times, utterly confused. "What am I supposed to call you then? It's your name… So… Of course I'd call you that…"
The purple haired man shook his head quickly. "You can't! The last time one of us Vocaloids decided to call themselves by their name, I was attacked by fans!" He shuddered at the recollection of the memory. "Just… Call me something that has nothing to do with my name."
The blue haired man set down his own cup, and folded his arms across his chest. "Eh? That's stupid…" Kaito muttered. "But, okay, whatever. How about… Eggplant?"
"… Nani?"
"Un. Eggplant-sama," Kaito nodded at this, as if he were approving his own idea. "Sounds good to me."
"Wait—That's absolutely—"
"Perfect, right?" Kaito laughed, and took a sip from his cup. "But—Ne, ne, let's talk about something better."
Gakupo felt his temple throb. For some reason, Kaito was reminding him of a certain tealette…
No wonder Gumi complained that she used to get headaches when she first moved in. There must be something within Miku and Kaito's family that made them irritate the shit out of their best friends.
"Like what?"
"Like the situation at home!" Kaito exclaimed, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. "You know… with that whole fight yesterday and everything."
"Oh… Right."
The blue haired boy drummed his fingers against the side of his cup. "Uh-huh. I know Gumi-chan must've talked to you about it when you brought her to your room to calm down," he said. "Mei-chan was completely out of it when I brought her to my room after that little fight. Your little cousin definitely laid it on her."
"Don't sound so proud of that… Your girlfriend got her ass handed to her…"
"Eh, I know that," Kaito shrugged. "But she must have had it coming if Gumi-chan was the one to fight her. Gumi-chan may be short tempered, but she doesn't seem like the type to get into a serious fight like that unless she had a good reason to." He paused, and blinked a few times. "Which is funny… 'Cause right before that fight even happened, Miku-chan came into my room to talk to me."
Gakupo raised a brow at this. "Really? Miku-chan came to talk to you, of all people?"
"Oi! What's that supposed to mean? I'm her Nii-san, ya know!"
"I know, but… You're an idiot—"
"Am not!" Kaito huffed. "Look—She just talked to me about what she should do with Luka-chan and Lily-chan." He frowned slightly. "I think she's considering giving up on Luka-chan just so Lily-chan will leave her and the others alone." It was clear he wasn't happy with this, for he shook his head and took a sip from his coffee angrily. "I told her she shouldn't do that, since she's got some pretty strong feelings for Luka-chan. I told her it'd be best to keep trying until Luka-chan comes up with a decision."
"Well, the choice is up to Luka-chan—"
"I know that!" Kaito groaned. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."
Gakupo gave his friend and amused smirk before he sipped his own coffee. "Then how about we raise the stakes?"
"…Huh?"
"Our bet," Gakupo clarified, before he drank from his cup once more. "You placed a bet on your younger cousin, and I sided with Lily. How about we raise the bet, and bet on what they'll do?"
The blue haired man's frown twisted into a grin. "Yeah? Okay then. I'm doubling my bet on Miku-chan. From 1,000 yen to 2,000. She'll end up with Luka-chan, find a way to get Gumi-chan to admit her feelings to Miki-chan, and end up becoming friends with Lily-chan."
Gakupo snorted. "That last part won't happen," He scoffed. "After an intense rivalry like that, you think they could become friends? Impossible. 2,000 yen on Lily. She'll be the one to date Luka-chan, become protective of Luka-chan, and rub it into Miku-chan's face. As for Gumi-chan and Miki-chan… I agree, they'll eventually become a couple. Probably."
"No way! I think Lily-chan'll figure that she'd just want to be best friends with Luka-chan. Or something like that…" Kaito shrugged. "I dunno. I just know my cousin is going to win."
"Impossible."
"Possible." Kaito grinned and held his hand out to Gakupo. "You're the one that wanted to increase the bet. You feeling lucky?"
Gakupo stared at the outstretched hand. He grinned as well, and shook the hand. "Just watch. I'll win this."
｢There's nothing you can't buy with money in this world｣
Lily stepped into the room, and sighed. Although she did find it amusing that the receptionist thought she was sick, she couldn't help but feel slightly irritated that everyone thought she was lazy when it came to work. Sure, she came in to work normally dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, but that was only because she wanted to be comfortable. It wasn't because she was too lazy to find a proper outfit to wear. And besides… When she did go in for work, most of her time was spent in a recording booth singing. If she had to do a photoshoot that day, she would wear clothes selected by her personal stylist, modeling clothes that were appropriate for her next single or music video.
With a shake of her head, she slid the backpack off from her back and set it down on the floor. Lily plopped down beside her bag, unzipped it, and began to search for the sheet music for her latest song. Normally she would be excited about looking over new music… But she had a bad feeling about this song when she read over who she would be collaborating with.
"Oi, what're you doing in here?"
Confused, Lily looked up, only to stare into the brown eyes of one Sakine Meiko. "Eh? This is my usual booth," she answered with a slight frown on her face. "Why are you in here? Aren't you hung over or something? Or in any pain?"
Meiko shrugged her shoulders and put her hands on her hips. "I didn't want to be at home," she replied. "And yeah, I've got a hangover, and yeah, I'm in pain."
Lily's ocean blue eyes looked Meiko over, noting the bruises along the older girl's exposed arms and face, as well as a bandage that covered part of her swollen nose. Gumi had dealt quite some damage to the brunette. "You should've stayed at home then," she muttered, before she went back to digging through her backpack. The papers rustled as she shoved her way through the countless sheets of paper that were sloppily crammed into the bag. "Singing doesn't help a hangover ya know. It'll just make things worse—Ah, there it is." Triumphantly, she pulled out a set of papers that had been stapled together. "Plus your nose looks freakin' horrible. Gumi-chan definitely kicked your ass—"
"Shut up!' Meiko snapped, as she sat down across from Lily. She sat cross-legged, looking every bit like a kindergartner, albeit a hung over one at that. "If I wasn't drunk—"
"Wasted," Lily corrected."
"Whatever. If I didn't drink, I could've beaten her."
"Gakupo said she knows how to kick box and learned some martial arts here and there."
"I still could've—"
"You would have lost either way."
Meiko clenched her teeth together as she glared at the blonde before her. "Shut up! It's not like you did anything, anyway!" she snapped. "You're still in the same shitty situation, aren't you? No Luka for you, and you're still competing with Miku."
The blonde stiffened and looked up from the sheet music in her hands. "Things'll get better," Lily mumbled, before she went back to memorizing her lines. "I'm going to end up with Lu-chan one way or another…"
"Yeah? Doesn't seem like it," Meiko scoffed.
"Shut up! That whole thing with Iroha was your idea!" Lily snapped, as she threw the sheet music down. "If I didn't listen to you, I'd probably be with Lu-chan by now! And she found out, ya know! Lu-chan knows what was going on and why Iroha suddenly decided to show up around the mansion." Her blue eyes narrowed as she glowered at the brunette. "Now everything's all sorts of fucked up and there's not a damned thing I can do about it!"
The brunette snorted, and leaned back, using her hands to support herself. "So what? Why should I care? I got what I wanted, and that was to see Gumi get hurt—"
"She's not hurt anymore, now that she knows what we were doing! I'm pretty sure her and Miki-chan are gonna get together!"
"At least there'd be a happy couple by the end of this whole thing," Meiko shrugged.
"What the hell—What about me?" Lily stared at Meiko in disbelief. "I thought you wanted to help me—"
"Eh. Nah, not really," Meiko shrugged once more, her expression that of indifference. "I don't care who Luka ends up with anymore. I just want everyone to shut the hell up and move on with life." Her lips twisted into a condescending smirk. "What? Are you surprised? I told you I just wanted to see Gumi get hurt and squirm around a bit in pain. And I pretty much got what I wanted… But…" She raised one hand and gingerly touched her sore nose. "Now I kinda want to kick her ass."
The blonde could only continue to stare at Meiko, unable to believe what she had just heard. "Are you kidding me? You just used my situation as an excuse to—"
"Get back at Gumi? Yup."
"Manipulative son of a—"
Meiko tsk'd, and wagged her index finger at the fuming blonde. "It's your own fault, you know," she added. "No one told you to listen to me. Hell, if I were you, I wouldn't have listened to me once I heard that plan. It's kinda stupid," she snickered. "Effective, but stupid 'cause it was bound to backfire one day."
Lily's hands clenched into fists, and it was taking every ounce of her self-control to keep herself from throwing a punch at the already injured brunette.
"Anyway… Whatcha gonna do now, huh?" Meiko continued on, oblivious to the rage that the blonde was exuding. Her brown eyes looked up at the ceiling. "You still gunnin' to be Luka's girl?"
"Of course!"
"Figures…" Meiko shrugged her shoulders. "Hey.. What do you got to lose with this whole game between you, Miku, and Luka? And what're you gonna win?"
"I'd lose my best friend, and I'd win my best friend's heart."
"Eh? But if you guys are best friends, neither of those matter," Meiko said pointedly, as she rubbed at her temple with one hand. "You've known each other for forever, so there's no way you could lose her as a friend. And you're her best friend, so she already loves you that way—"
"Just shut up."
"It's true. At least, that's how I see things. But I guess idiots will be idiots."
"Then what does that make you?" Lily hissed.
"A happy drunk."
Unable to take any more of this, Lily stood up and crossed the room, heading towards the door. This was ridiculous. How could she have been so oblivious to Meiko's true nature? And how the hell was she going to practice her part if she was going to waste her time talking to someone hung over? Still fuming, she yanked the door to the booth open and stormed out.
Behind her, she could have sworn she heard Meiko's mocking chuckle, followed by, "You're gamblin' a lot here, Lily~ Hope you know what you're gonna do next, or you'll lose big time."
Those words replayed in her head as she walked further down the hall in search of a recording booth out of reach from the rest of the world.
｢Or if I were to rephrase, in my own terms:
"Everything is for sale, just put the price tag on."
Oh loss or gain, why should I care?｣
｢It shows little by little, the raw truth is subtle
So sly, so sly, not pretty to the eye.
Now I can see the true sin, strip down to your bare skin…｣
It was quiet in the room, and Luka was content with that. She had escaped the mansion in order to do some thinking in peace. After yesterday's revelation, and the full-blown brawl between Gumi and Meiko, Luka wasn't sure she could handle the tense atmosphere within the mansion. After passing by a battered and bruised Gumi in the hallway this morning, she had decided that it would be best to leave the mansion before anything else could happen. What made things worse was that she knew that she was the center of the entire conflict.
If she hadn't fallen for both Lily and Miku, then maybe things wouldn't have come to this. Maybe if she and Lily had stayed strictly as best friends, then tensions would not have escalated to war-like levels. No matter which angle she looked at the situation from, it all led back to her. And Luka absolutely hated it.
A sigh escaped her as she began to massage her temples, willing her headache to go away. Her light blue eyes looked down at the music stand before her, and they quickly skimmed over the sheet music.
No matter how many times she tried to memorize her lines, her thoughts always returned to yesterday's events.
From Miku's revelation, unmasking Lily's actions… The sense of betrayal she felt when she had confronted Lily… The sight of Gumi's swollen eye, mouth spewing swears and threats towards a drunk Meiko, who suffered from a bloody nose… To that last chat with Miki…
The thoughts haunted her, and she struggled to find a way to make things within the house hold peaceful.
But that seemed to be an impossible task by this point. Things could only be settled by her ultimately deciding between her two suitors.
Suitors…
Luka closed her eyes, and shook her head. What was she going to do about them? She would have to decide sooner or later…
And right now, sooner seemed to be best. If she were to put it off, Luka was sure all hell would break lose within the mansion, and there would be another brawl between her house mates.
But who to choose?
Lily?
Her best friend?
It was true, she did feel safe around the blonde. And the blonde's sense of humor and idiotic antics managed to bring a smile to her face. But lately, things had felt different with Lily. Luka no longer felt the sense of calm, amiable companionship she had once felt when she was near the blonde. Things were tense, and it made Luka nervous.
"Probably because there are feelings involved now," Luka reasoned with herself, as she sighed once more. Feelings complicated things. Not only was Luka afraid to be hurt, but she was afraid to hurt others as well.
And what exactly did she feel for Lily? Yes, a strong feeling of friendship was there… They had grown up together, after all. And Luka did find Lily to be physically attractive. But did that mean she could be in a relationship with her best friend?
Maybe…
Yet, after Miku's revelation, Luka was unsure if she could trust Lily at the moment. The blonde had gone behind her back to hurt Miku, Gumi and Miki. It was something completely underhanded, and something Luka wholeheartedly disapproved of. Lily was still her best friend, that was certain, but there was a lack of trust within their friendship…
｢It reeks, it reeks, this shameless act｣
So what about Miku then?
The tealette had proven to be trustworthy, and Miku was certainly more sensitive than Luka had expected. It had come as a surprise to find that Miku was quite protective of her friends, and despite her secretive ways before… The teal haired girl was simply trying to protect herself from a world of pain. From what Miku had mentioned in passing, and from what Luka had gathered from subtle hints and intuition, Miku had hurt Gumi. Miku regretted it. And now Miku would stop at nothing until she was able to make things right by pairing Miki with Gumi.
An admirable act, in Luka's book.
But Miku's tendency to play Cupid aside, where did that leave things between them?
Luka was positive she had strong feelings for the teal haired girl, possibly stronger than what she felt for Lily. The pinkette felt a sense of trust with Miku, and she knew that trust was reciprocated. Their short conversations of reassurance had become more frequent, and it was almost second nature for Luka to find something comforting to say to put the teal haired girl at ease. Knowing that she could make Miku feel better was something that Luka had come to enjoy. Relieving Miku's pain and setting her at ease was something Luka wanted to do. And likewise, Miku had been able to say things that Lily couldn't. Miku had been able to say that she would be perfectly fine if they were only to be friends if it came to Luka selecting Lily. Although Luka had seen the hurt in Miku's eyes when she spoke, it was clear that the teal haired girl meant it.
And that was something that Luka could not ignore.
Miku may have built herself a reputation around the house of being aloof, secretive, mercilessly annoying (according to Gumi), and narcissistic at times… The teal haired girl was capable of showing her soft side when it counted.
The silence of the room was disturbed by a click as the doorknob to the studio twisted open. Luka opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder, surprised that someone had decided to come in to practice as well.
｢Looking for the one out of place and "perfecting the world"
It's this, it's that, it's them
So which do you want?｣
｢Spit out the old love that has lost its flavor
And just take the fresher mint without a fight
You thought that the jigsaw is hard to fit around
But my piece seems to fit anywhere.｣
"Ah, sorry, this room is-… Mi…ku?" Luka stammered, as she stared at the pigtailed girl.
Miku smiled slightly, and rubbed at the back of her neck. "Ah, Luka-senpai! I didn't know you were in here—I'm sorry, I should have asked the receptionist if someone was using this booth," she apologized, her teal eyes avoiding the gaze of those familiar blue ones. "I'm sorry if I interrupted you while you were practicing. Ah… I'm just going to go find a different booth and—"
"W-wait! Don't—No, it's fine," the pink haired girl sighed, and returned Miku's smile. "It's alright, Miku-chan. I wasn't practicing. Well, not yet, at least."
"Oh…"
"Mm." Luka nodded once. "Ano… Can we talk?"
The younger girl gave her senpai a cheeky smile, one that was normally reserved for her teasing moments with Gumi. "We're talking now, aren't we?"
Luka's cheeks became tinted with a light shade of pink. "That's—Yes, we are," she mumbled. Taking the jest as a sign to continue, she took a deep breath and locked eyes with Miku. "How do you know when you're in love?"
The grin was wiped off of Miku's face, and was replaced with a blank stare. "…Eh?"
"How do you know when you're in love?" Luka repeated, her expression that of embarrassed seriousness.
"Eto… In love?" The tealette scratched her cheek with a single finger, and looked up at the ceiling as she formulated a proper answer. How the heck was she supposed to answer that? "How.. do you know…" Miku was at a loss for words. "You're asking a really hard question, Luka-senpai."
"I'm sorry… But, I just need to know…"
"Mm…" Miku thought it over for a moment more before she smiled. "Ah. Most people will tell you that your heart beat starts to speed up, right? That's pretty much true when you first fall in love… But after being in love with the same person for a while…" A short pause. "Well, you just feel really comfortable around that person. And you aren't afraid to open up and tell them what you're thinking," she explained to the best of her abilities. "Things you would normally be embarrassed about, or would want to keep a secret… You know you would be able to trust this person, so you would be able to go to them for anything. And you want nothing but the best for that person, because you want to see them happy." She looked at Luka, and her smile widened.
"'See them happy'…?"
"Yup!" The younger girl put her hands behind her back, and nodded her head. "Seeing them happy is all you want in the world. It just feels… Right. When they're happy, you're happy. Love is unconditional and there's no real reason behind it," she added. "But when you're in love, you'll know. You'll think about them a lot, and you'll want to make them happy—Oh!"
"H-huh?"
"My dad told me that when you're in love, you'll want to take away the pain that your loved one is feeling," Miku pressed onwards. "Take their pain and make it your own… That's how you know you really love someone… Because you feel everything that they feel. But instead of letting them suffer, you do everything that you can to lift them up."
The pink haired girl mused over those words. She nodded slowly, and gave Miku a small smile. "Ah… I see…"
The younger girl nodded, and skipped over to Luka's side. "Uh-huh. But, I gotta ask…" She looked up into those cool blue eyes. "Why did you ask me about that? Is something wrong?"
Luka was quick to shake her head, and she giggled. "No, no, it was just something that I had thought of just now," she answered, surprised that the real answer wasn't obvious to Miku. "Don't worry about it, Miku-chan."
"Er… Okay…" Miku shrugged her shoulders, and glanced at the sheet music on the music stand. "Oh! This song!" A wide smile spread across her face as she picked up the pieces of paper. "We're supposed to sing this with the others, aren't we?"
"Yes, we are."
"That's going to be exciting," the younger girl laughed, as she flipped through the parts. Her teal eyes quickly looked over who was singing what lines, and at what time.
Luka raised a brow. "'Exciting'?" she repeated. "I think it'll be dangerous, if things are still this tense when we have to record together next week."
"Things will be better, I think," Miku said, unable to mask the spark of hope within her voice. "I'm looking forward to be able to sing with you, though." She looked up at Luka and grinned. "Maybe after this we can do a duet together?"
The older girl blushed and looked away. "M-Maybe…"
"Ne, ne, Luka-senpai! Since we're both here, do you want to go ahead and just practice our parts?" Miku asked, as she pulled out her iPhone and her own sheet music from the tote bag that hung from her side. "I had the instrumental version for the song on my phone already, so we could sing along with it and just practice."
Luka nodded at the offer, and took her own sheet music from Miku's other hand. "That—Yes, I'd like that," she answered, her smile widening ever so slightly.
Out in the hallway, Lily stood beside the open studio door. Her arms were folded across her chest as she eavesdropped on the conversation between Luka and Miku. The corners of her mouth twitched into a frown as she debated on whether or not to storm in and interrupt the two. She figured she could easily drag Luka out of the room.
But…
It felt wrong to do something like that.
Scratch that. Lily knew it was wrong.
She sighed, and began to walk away from the recording room. Hands laced behind her head, she looked up at the ceiling with her deep blue eyes. Lily allowed her mind to wander, and she found herself thinking over what Miku had said about love.
If what the teal haired girl said was true, then…
｢Sailing in a never-ending storm
I threw away my anchor, now there's no stopping
Life, is a rough sea journey
So let's give a name to my ship that's fitting…
Such as "REGRET"｣
｢"Obstacles", you ask? Then shall I name them off?
Our hearts, our morals, a sense of what's right?
Even if you plan to put a giant wall up front,
We will take a roundabout and say "Hello!"｣
They collided in the hall mid-way down the hall. The taller of the two had been lost in thought, blue eyes focused on the ceiling. And the newcomer?
She looked up at the blonde with gold eyes. "Ah! Lily-can~" Iroha sang, as her mouth curved into a cat-like grin. "I didn't know you ended up coming here!"
Lily looked down at Iroha, and felt her eye twitch. She was just running into everyone, wasn't she? "Yeah… Thought I should get away from home," she mumbled, as she strode past the grinning golden eyed girl.
Iroha followed Luka, her curious grin only widening. "Nya~ Lily-chan!" she called after the elder girl. "You look like you're thinking about something serious."
"Sort of."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
The blonde sighed, and shut her eyes for a second. Of course Iroha would ask. "Since you probably won't leave me alone until I tell you, sure," she said in defeat.
"Okay! So what is it?"
"What is love?" Lily mirrored Luka's question. Unlike her best friend, Lily wasn't looking for a way to sort through her feelings for two different girls. Lily was simply trying to make sense of… Everything.
The question caught Iroha off guard, for the cat like girl had opened her mouth to answer, and then shut it. "Ah.. Love?"
"Yeah. What is it?"
"It's… An emotion?"
"…Gee, thanks."
Iroha laughed, and put her hands into her pants pockets. "Mm… It's a complicated thing. It makes you do things for a person that you didn't think you would ever do," she began slowly, carefully selecting her words. "There are different kinds of love, too. Family love, friend love, and romantic, of course. But, if you really want to know, all you have to do is look around you."
At this, Lily raised a brow. "What?"
"At the mansion, I mean," Iroha clarified. "Like Miki-chan and Gumi-chan are romantical love… And even Rin-chan feels family love towards Miki-chan…"
｢"What is love?", would you rather hear the truth?｣
The redhead happily cut up the waffle into several pieces. A smile was on her face as she plunged her fork into one of the soft pieces, and held it up to the mouth of a flustered green haired girl. "Open wide, Gumi-chan~" Miki sang, as she giggled at the expression on the other's face.
Gumi's cheeks only darkened as she began her protest. "This is stupid! I can feed myself—Mmf?"
The forkful of waffle had been promptly shoved into her mouth, for Miki had taken advantage of the moment. Gumi's face became scarlet, and she turned her head away from Miki as she chomped down on the waffle in her mouth.
Being fed by someone else.
How embarrassing.
Seated across from the pair at the breakfast table sat a wary young blonde. Rin's blue eyes watched Gumi carefully, waiting for the green haired girl to mess up. The young blonde loved her Onee-sama, and she would not allow Gumi to cause Miki any sort of distress.
-0-0-
"And you can even look at Kaito-san and Meiko-san," Iroha continued, a thoughtful expression now plastered onto her face. "He loves her, and so he accepts all of her faults. And vice versa… Heck, even Luka-san and Miku-chan are a good example, too."
｢It's something that you can LOse or giVE straight out.｣
Their voices harmonized as they sang through the chorus, a comfortable atmosphere taking hold of the recording booth. For the first time in a few weeks, Luka was completely at ease. The smile on her face was wide as she continued to sing the melody, her blue eyes shut.
Beside her, Miku wore a smile as well. She was simply happy to see that the tormented expression that Luka had been wearing when she first entered the recording booth was long gone. The smile on the pinkette's face was enough to bring her satisfaction. As they continued to sing, she reached out and laced her fingers with Luka's.
Both blushed slightly at the contact, but neither pulled away.
-0-0-
Lily looked at Iroha, almost amazed that the cat like girl could say such things with a straight face. Wasn't Iroha known for being light-hearted? Since when was Iroha able to make a conversation serious? She certainly wasn't the same Iroha that had first become a Vocaloid…
"Nya~ I guess that's the jist of it, Lily-chan," Iroha shrugged. "Love is complicated and it doesn't need a real reason to take a hold of someone. " Her gold eyes looked up at the blonde expectantly. "So… Yeah."
The blonde was quiet for a moment. She looked down at Iroha, somewhat skeptically. "And what about me?" she asked.
"That's easy," Iroha laughed. "You're going through a mix of romantic and friendly love. Towards Luka-san, that is," she added. "But you're confused and aren't sure which one you're feeling. I can tell you now it's definitely a friendly, protective love, with lots of lust."
The blonde snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like you could figure me out so easily…"
Iroha only grinned and shrugged her shoulders.
"So what about you, then?" Lily asked suddenly.
｢I don't need a diamond that's solid and bright…｣
The cat like girl's brows raised at the sudden question. "Me?"
"Yeah. What kind of love would you say you're going through right now?" the older girl asked, as she dropped her arms to her side.
The grin that was on Iroha's face vanished. In its place was a shy smile. "Nya… What kind of love would I put myself under?" Iroha repeated. "Mm…"
"Well?" Lily asked.
"Romantic, I s'pose. But I'm definitely not looking for a fairy tale ending, or a perfect love," Iroha said dismissively.
"…Huh? Romantic-!"
Soft lips were suddenly pressed against Lily's. Blue eyes widened as she foggily comprehended what was going on. The pair of lips were quick to pull away and curve themselves into a Cheshire grin.
"Wh-wh-what the—Iroha—you-?" Lily stammered, her cheeks red. "What the fu—"
"Love doesn't have a real reason for taking hold of someone," Iroha laughed, as she sped down the hallway and entered an unoccupied recording booth. "Nya~ I guess I'll see you later, then!" The door clicked shut behind the cat like girl, and left the blonde standing alone in the hallway.
Masuda Lily quickened her pace, darting past a startled receptionist. A finger pressed the down button for the elevator, and the stainless steel doors slid open. She stepped inside, and leaned back against the wall. She closed her eyes, and put one hand over her heart.
Those beats…
It suddenly dawned on her…
Her heart was racing.
｢"Crackless perfection," why should I care?｣
Extremely long Author's Note:
And that's the end of chapter 21. I'm trying to steadily bring things to a close. I want to end at 25 chapters. And man, I really hope I can do that. XD;; But… Who knows…
I'm very grateful that you made it to the end of the chapter!
While working on this chapter, I honestly had the song "1925" on repeat. X_x; I didn't realize it was on repeat until my friend said "Uh. Hey. We've listened to this song like.. 10 times already. I get that you like Vocaloids, but can we listen to a different song now?"
Whoops.
But yes, I did try and incorporate the lyrics into the song. (^^;;) As many of you have probably noticed, I do try to pick a Vocaloid song that's relevant to the chapter contents. Originally, I wasn't going to add the lyrics throughout the chapter, but I realized just how perfect these lyrics were for the outline that I had typed up for this chapter. And then I decided that they needed to be a part of chapter 21.
Aside from that, I'm planning on writing a sequel to SoL in the future. As it stands, I'm already working on Matryoshka!, the prequel to SoL. So I figured there might as well be a sequel. But we'll see how that goes. XD; After all, I still need to finish up my other works!
After posting Chapter 20, I realized I should have just made a poll asking you all who your favorite character was. And I did just that. There's now a poll to see who everyone's favorite SoL character is! (^o^) ~ If you haven't cast your vote, go ahead and do so!
AND… For those of you who were wondering how I did on my exams last week… for my Japanese test (which caused the delay on this story)… I PASSED! :D My grade on the speaking test was a 90, on the listening portion I received a 86, and on the writing I got a 80. (^^)b Yaaaay! Studying pays off! I was hoping for higher, but I tend to mix up my particles, so I lost points on those. X_x;
Reviewer Replies (There's a lot of them. I love you guys, and I hope you can find my reply to you if you left a review!):
PaperCutVictim: THIS. IS. SPAAAAAARTAAAA! I honestly imagined Gumi dressed as the guy from 300 (OTL I forgot his name), kicking Meiko into the pit. And I really laughed my ass off. Seriously. As for your war drums… Hopefully they don't break… XD;; Anyway, thanks man! I always appreciate your input! :D
Masaru2509: Ah, no, Reaper-Gumi wasn't inspired from that song. XD; Actually, I hadn't realized that Kaito had his own song for the Seven Deadly Sin series until I read your review. Then I looked up the song and went "OH. THAT'S WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT!" XD;;; It was a good song, though! Although, Daughter of Evil is still my favorite song from the Seven Deadly Sins series. But the composer, AkumaP, I think, is absolutely brilliant. And thank you!
Jak656: OTL Yes! That was a typo. Thank you for pointing that out! (^^) It makes me happy to hear that you enjoy my story! I must say, I'm looking forward to the next chapter for your story! :D I'll be sure to be on the look-out for it!
Scarlet eagle: It's okay if you only start to review now! A review is a review, and it's always appreciated! ;w; It's just nice to hear from the people who read my works. And hearing (well, reading) what you said about my fanfic being one of the best written… That means so much to me! ;w; Thank you so much for your support and kind words!
Toolazytolog: After reading Lily's dream sequence after a week of having the last chapter on the site, I must admit… I creeped myself out a little bit, and I was the one that wrote it! XD;; I can definitely understand why you'd find it creepy! And thank you for your support!
Major Mike Powell III: Yup, this is definitely the last arc for SoL. I'm kinda sad to see that the end is getting closer and closer… But yup. A lot happened last chapter, huh? It's gonna be like that for every chapter until the end, I think. At least, that's what I'm planning on doing. Thanks for the support!
LukaFan: LOL. I like how a lot of people are catching the Higurashi shout-out. It's my brother's favorite series, and that's the only thing I can remember from when I did sit down and watch an episode with him one day. And yes, I do know wanderlast. It's not one of my favorites in particular, though it is a good song! I'll be sure to check out the piano version! … SHOOT. I WISH I SAW YOUR REVIEW SOONER! OTL I didn't realize… a streamed concert…. I'm kinda bummed….. OTL aw man…
Ah! Really? K-ON! is my favorite series of all time! (^o^) And it's funny that you should mention it… After I finish writing SoL, Matryoshka!, and my K-ON fic, I was thinking about doing a cross-over with the Vocaloids from SoL and then my portrayal of the K-ON characters… XD
Aside from that, I do have some more ideas for more future Vocaloid fics.
Rocketman182: Hahah! From the other vocaloid fics that I've seen around this sight, I noticed that Gumi was either a pervert or an otaku, or a mixture of the two. XD I wanted to do something different with her, because the first few Gumi songs I had ever heard were pretty intense. (^^;;) But thank you so much! Watashi no monogatarai wa subarashii ja nai! (=^o^=) Demo, arigatou gozaimasu! Nihongo o hanashimasu desu ka?
Chaseo Neos: Ah, really? Hm, Pink Floyd, huh? They're a good band, in my opinion! (^^) Thank you very much for your support!
Rnk1900: Ah! OH MAN! I can't believe I made that typo! What an awful place to mix up Luka and Lily… XD;; Thank you for pointing that out! And thank you for reading and reviewing! :D
NyanNyanL: Don't worry about your English! It's very good! :D And thank you for your support! It seems like a lot of people like Gumi. (^^)
The last into dark: (^^;) To be honest, I only have a general idea of how many chapters it will have. I'm planning on 25, and I'm really hoping that I can stick to that plan! If not, that's okay, because I know enough Vocaloid songs to be able to continue naming my chapters through song titles. XD;;;
DG-05: ….. TTwTT That's one of the nicest reviews I've ever read since I joined this website… Thank you so much for your support! The fact that you said that this is one of the best that you've read really means a lot to me! I hope to hear from you again!
Meislovely: Kuro, you should be paid to take care of Shiro. I'm just saying! And Shiro… LOL XD Oh man…. I think Miku and Lily wouldn't be able to be in a polygamic relationship with Luka. Only because Lily and Miku would end up being jealous of each other, even though they would both be with Luka. Who knows.. They might end up starting a war over her (even though the mansion is already a warzone)!
LSDawson: It's okay if you hate Miku. XD But thank you for your support! :D I'm glad to see that you enjoy it and you're still reading it!
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OH! And I just remembered, I ordered Project Diva 2 Extend. I'm super excited for it to come in. *-* I'll be glued to my PSP for a while…
BUT ANYWAY.
I'd really like to thank all of you for your support! Honestly, you're all great people for reading, reviewing, and supporting this story. It means a lot to me! ;w; I would give all of you a hug, but geographically speaking (and due to the plain fact that I'm communicating with all of you through the internet), it isn't possible. But just know that I love you guys!
Thank you! And I'll see you all in the next chapter!