Something was about to happen.

He found it hard to put it in coherent words. It was a gut feeling for all he thought. If he had to explain this to someone else, the conversation would only end in tangents. There was only agitation as he himself did not know the reasons for it.

Maybe all this boredom is getting into my head, the young man thought. His left hand rested on his cheek with his elbow on the desk. Dull eyes stared aimlessly ahead of the minimal movement by the teacher. That dreary voice did not help with the dozens of mathematical equations discussed on the board.

Oh dear heavens, save me from this agony. The young man—Kaito silently pleaded.

He was not alone. Most of his classmates in the same room had similar thoughts inside their heads. More than half of them were desperate to cover up their procrastination and distractions. Others boldly showed off their lack of attention to the one-sided discussion at the front. Repercussions, a warning word or even detention, be damned at that point.

The amount of students who actually engaged with the Advanced Maths teacher were the brave and fierce soldiers that could be counted with one hand. They carried the torturous battlefield of classroom boredom.

The insurgent attack was fueled by the teacher's disappointment, after he received blank stares and cricket-silence from his futile attempt to engage the other seniors. His eyes squinted and transitioned to a glare to whoever met his icy glaze. What could have been the last blow to heighten the silent war was dodged by a lone warrior.

"Miss Shimoda, what is your final answer to this equation?"

"...It's the square root of forty-seven." The young woman's voice was monotone at best.

The teacher expressed his impressed sentiment towards the young lady from the few rows of seats at the front. The student herself merely nodded off the praise and returned to her pen and paper.

Damn, trust Rin to save the whole class with one answer. The young man had a faint smile on his face. He stopped twisting the pen with his hand and copied the equation with the final answer. All it needed was for him to just write, without any more brain cells to sacrifice.

The battle still raged on. Some of his allies changed strategies, while others were still stubborn (or just in their own zone) to let go of familiar tactics. One of them was a tall student in the middle of the last row—long, purple locks tied in a high ponytail—who continued to paint in a canvas paper with his calligraphy brush. He wrote non-alphabetical characters with all concentration; not a care with everything around him. His work in progress was concealed by the textbook for Advanced Maths as a deception to the enemy on the front.

Another tactic was done by a girl with long, teal locks in twin tails at both sides of her head. Positioned on the farther left side at the last row, the same textbook in front of her table covered her deployment of nutrient reinforcements—food for herself. Of course, the boredom in the dreaded Advanced Maths class burned energy, thus required replenishment.

A fellow senior in the next table had his palm discreetly outstretched to the girl. An unspoken plea for replenishments in the middle of the silent war. Yet there was tension amongst the troops. She returned his request with a glare.

"Screw off, mate. Go get your own food!" The girl whispered harshly, The handful of her food moved away from the said classmate to her side, as if to protect it from more intruding hands.

On to the middle rows, a young man with ash-blond hair and wound dressings on his left eye directed his gaze at the activity on the board for a few moments. He then lowered his head and focused on the paper on his table.

It was another deception tactic to convince everyone he was a diligent student who properly wrote his notes and paid attention to class. But a closer look revealed doodles of dragons and sparrows on the margin of the page, with unfinished equations left unsolved. At the least, until someone else finally solved it for the class and the complete solution was on the whiteboard.

At the farther right side of the room, a few students chose the offensive approach. One face was not visible. But her long salmon-pink locks that hung loose from the table were recognisable by every person in the class. From the teacher's perspective, only the crown of her head was visible. Her hands underneath acted as support and cushion on the weight of her head. Signs of life were evident on the slow rise and fall of her shoulders. The teacher could have directed his attention to her. But countless attempts in the past made it futile. So on was the young woman's journey in her dreams.

Just an ordinary day for Kaito and his friends. Thankfully Rin was still on fire to not let the teacher rage at the lack of engagement (as was usual) in his class.

Kaito's thoughts fled away from the classroom.

I wonder what ice cream flavour I should try next?

Everyone was aware of his fondness for ice cream. It was odd for someone in their senior year, but his friends had their own quirks here and there. So technically, he was not the only oddball.

His intricate decision making for his next ice cream abruptly halted. The teacher dropped the ultimate bomb, and destroyed all of their defences and offences combined for a ceasefire.

"Here is your homework for next week's sessions."

The collective groan was synchronised, despite the varied range and pitch of the students' whines. Its sheer volume resonated throughout the room. A few whispers of complaints were residues afterwards.

"Are you kidding me!?"

"Damn it."

"For fuck's sake!"

Kaito sighed as he brought his left hand to finger comb his dark blue strands. So much for him to assume he had more free time at home.

After the teacher finalised the details for next week's homework, the bell rang to start lunch break. He finally packed his things and left the room ahead of the excited crowd of students in the hallways.

Several of the students stood from their chairs and stretched their limbs. Others immediately went to nearby tables, or crossed to the other side of the classroom to socialise.

"Yes! Freedom!~" The man with the long, purple ponytail, Gakupo, stood up. He stretched out his arms and loudly proclaimed his relief.

"Woohoo, lunch time! I can finally eat my lunch!" The girl with teal twin-tails cheered. Arms up in the arm before she packed up the remnants of her finished snacks.

"Miks, didn't you just eat your lunch throughout class!?" Her friend, the young man with ash-blond hair and bandages, chuckled.

"Oli, that wasn't my lunch! That was just my allocated snacks for AdMaths! That old geezer should be grateful I made some effort to be awake in his boring class." The girl, Miku, explained herself after she put down a tupperware filled to the brim with a rice meal on her table.

"Yo! Luka just slept through the whole class without getting called out!" Gakupo had his finger pointed to the classmate in between laughter. The seniors nearby joined him with their cackles. Kaito was amongst them from his own seat.

"What the hell—What's with all the noise?!" Luka raised her head from the table and spoke for the first time in a groggy manner. She rubbed the remaining sleep from her eyes with a glare to the amused seniors.

"Welcome back to earth, sleeping beauty, it's lunchtime now. You just missed out on the new homework." Oliver teasingly replied to Luka who just yawned.

"Fuck are you for real, Oli?" Luka's eyes widened as physiologically possible. She seemed to have lost all signs of slumber into her by that point. "Holy crap! Did someone remember what we're doing for homework?"

"Lu, I can tell you about the homework." Rin's voice, despite being soft, was clearly heard by everyone within the vicinity of Luka's spot as she slowly approached.

"Oh you're a god-sent, Rin!" Luka immediately opened her notebook (a miracle there was no puddle of saliva left from her slumber) and brought out her unused pen to dot down the homework dictated by Rin.

Meanwhile, Kaito sprinted to the cafeteria for the new mango flavoured ice cream. He assumed it was a warm day, so he prepared for tough competition at the queue. But the warmth from his scarf made him ignorant of the actual cold temperature today.

The threat in question was nowhere to exist in the first place. He only realised it too late just after he arrived and no one held any mango ice cream. People mostly bought hot food—instant noodles, porridge, and pies fresh from the microwave.

A quick glance on the front of the cafeteria was a small sign that advertised the mango ice cream for a cheaper price. This case only occurred whenever there was still more stock that needed to be sold before the end of the school day. Kaito beamed. He just got a sweet deal for that well-deserved treat.

The trophy ice cream in his hand, Kaito went to the open space on the fifth floor. It was where students relaxed and socialised outside the classrooms, and where he would meet his friends soon.

He saw Rin was beside Luka who wrote seriously on her notebook at their shared table. They worked on the homework as she wanted to get a headstart on it whilst she was around classmates to ask for help.

Alongside their friend group in the area were students from the horticulture course who tended the petite plants in the space. It was part of their final assessment at the end of the year. It brought a sense of serenity to the students who stayed in the area to relax and unwind from the stress of schoolwork. Evident with the smiles and laughter that resonated in the leisure area.

That's right. We're in our senior year. Kaito had a realisation to himself.

As much as he was excited to finally finish school and start university, he knew he would miss being with his friends, like today, and not stress with life as a functioning adult. When he turned eighteen a month ago, there was already a sense of dread as he had to embark the inescapable chaotic roller coaster of adulting. For now, it did not look that chaotic for Kaito.

But once he graduated from secondary school at the end of the year, that was where the carriage would soon drop from the slope of the track.

A quick few glances at the students that joined them in the open space was all it took for Kaito to know they were the only seniors. From the few juniors, to the multiple sophomores and the ever-dominating freshmen. Or as Gakupo liked to call them—the foetuses.

Kaito was so immersed in his daydreams about the looming end of senior year that he left the ice cream unattended on his hand. Usually he had the muscle memory to eat the ice cream even if he did not focus on scooping and savouring the dessert.

"Hello? Earth to Kaito, your ice cream's melting!" The distant voice slowly became coherent enough that it startled Kaito from his daze.

"My ice cream isn't supposed to melt!"

Gakupo merely pointed a finger to the tub of ice cream. "Well, it slowly but surely does."

True to his word, the shape of the ice cream began to melt. It was a cold day, but Kaito was right under the sun's rays that could have explained the melting. The man desperately grabbed spoonfuls of his dessert. If the ice cream melted, its quality could deteriorate and Kaito would never let himself experience such a tragedy on a delightful treat.

"Kai letting his ice cream melt? Now that's a sure sign something weird is going on." Gakupo started a running joke that was right in some way, proven by past experience.

"I was just distracted, that's all. I was thinking of something else." Kaito shrugged off Gakupo's attempt at the running joke, in fear more attention would be focused on him.

"Or maybe, you've been thinking of someone?~" Miku wiggled her eyebrows and completely backfired Kaito's attempt with her tease.

Kaito was meant to dispel her insinuation. But his mouth let out stutters. How could he explain this awkward situation to his crush, of all the possible people?

"Woah, easy now dude. Didn't mean to choke you on your ice cream." Miku dropped her teasing tone, and chuckled after. They sounded like bells to Kaito's ears. He pleaded to the heavens that he did not make a fool out of himself in front of his crush.

"Miks, it wasn't anything like that! I'm not interested in anyone right now!"

"Hmmm… I think you're lying!" Miku retorted and smirked. She rested both hands on her hips. "Hey Rinny~ Has Kai been eyeing someone recently~?"

"Kaito likes something far beyond ice cream?" Rin removed her gaze from Luka's notebook. "Miku, that's a bit far-fetched now that you asked me…" She looked at Gakupo, Kaito, and Miku from the other side of the table.

"Awww Rin, you're no fun!" Miku pouted in a playful manner.

Rin was a saint to bury the secret just as she promised her long-time friend. After she discovered Kaito's feelings for a certain girl obsessed with leeks all by herself.

"Well, I guess I have to give up." Miku sighed. Everyone thought it would be the end of the conversation. Until she made a sudden comeback.

"BUT! Only for today! This is not the end. I will figure out who is competing with ice cream for Kaito's love! I will have my day!"

"We'll see if you can bear some fruit in your humble quest, dear Miku." Rin had a small smile. Her head leaned against her palm, supported by her elbow on top of the table.

If Kaito died one random day, Rin would most likely be mentioned in his hypothetical will of deeds. That was how much he trusted her. Compared with the rest of their friend group, they had been friends for a longer time. This amount of trust was not for nothing.

They have been each other's classmates since seventh grade and became close friends. It continued when they both transferred at CFH last year and met Luka, Oliver, Gakupo, and Miku. Overall, Kaito and Rin spent six years together, one of the longest friendships he had.

A short burst of wind blew towards them, and several pages of the notebook were erratically flipped. The harsh contact of multiple papers echoed in the open space. Thankfully it did not fly away from the table.

Everyone's hair also followed the direction of the wind. Rin's blonde hair and her white ribbon did the same. The movement of her locks was obvious with its length that reached her waist. Kaito knew her friend let her hair grow for the first time at the end of tenth grade, a year and a half ago.

"Hey Kai, have you done the work for Science twelve?" Oliver brought the dazed Kaito once more to the present.

It was the group activity assigned by pairs in class. Kaito was away that day to take care of his mother after she had a medical emergency. That left Oliver to fend for himself and be forced to navigate the project without any help from his supposed partner.

"I already finished it yesterday night, mate. I'm going to submit it tomorrow." Kaito replied. To this day, he felt guilty when he left Oliver all by himself throughout the process of the project.

His friend already assured that he was not mad and understood the circumstances at the time. But it did not stop Kaito from the awkwardness. He was all the more determined to do his part properly.

"That's awesome, Kai! Thank you." Oliver smiled and gave his partner a thumbs-up. If it were not for Rin to call Kaito on his phone about the pair-project right after they got dismissed, he would have still crammed on it until now.

I don't know how I'd survive that day without Rin, honestly. Kaito breathed a sigh of relief at the thought.

A light thud on the table was made by Luka after she slammed her notebook closed with newly solved equations. "Hallelujah, no more homework to think of!" She turned to her tutor-slash-friend. "Thank you Rin!"

"No worries, Luka." Rin smiled. Now she was able to pick up her book of the week and zone out from her surroundings.

As Rin went to her book, the group of friends engaged in separate conversations with each other.

Luka naturally gravitated towards Miku. Them being best friends since primary school made sense for them to know each other like the back of their hands.

Kaito and Oliver listened to Gakupo's latest adventures with his samurai training—his passion to embody the spirit of the samurai earned him raised eyebrows, blank stares, and moments of doubt on his seriousness.

It was often a wonder for anyone who just met him on why he, a young adult in the twentieth century, would be so invested in the ways of a samurai from ancient history. Even his parents had to wrap their heads around their son's intense dedication. But as the classmates who grew up with Gakupo since seventh grade, they shrugged it off and let him do his own thing.

The multiple conversations were abruptly stopped when a loud giggle from a certain someone was heard.

"What happened to the book that made you laugh like that?" Luka's snickers towards Rin was merely harmless, as she smiled and waited for the reader in question to calm down.

Rin put down her book and made a certain face all too familiar to her friends.

They all knew. Once she made up her mind to be a walking book analysis website and dissect a book, there was nothing to stop Rin.

"It's just this couple's relationship is so well-developed! The interactions of these two characters did not feel fake nor forced. And the male love interest especially doesn't have a one-dimensional character! It's a fresh breath of air, if you ask me. He is not a douchebag towards expressing his affection to the female character. They're just two mature people working on a healthy relationship and I very much appreciate it! Honestly books and fanfictions with relationships like these convince me there is still hope and salvation with romance compared to all the mess I see in real life." Rin continued to expand her opinions. They were extended to the justifications on why she got immersed in the fictional prose.

The stares of everyone else in the friend group were not demeaning. But their lack of visible reaction was an indication this was a regular occurrence; for Rin to go around in different segways whenever she was given the opportunity to talk her heart out.

"With how fast you practically absorb a book like sucking gelly, I'd be surprised you get any decent amount of sleep." Gakupo chuckled.

"Technically you're not wrong there. I slept at two o'clock in the morning last night, I mean this morning ." Rin cheekily replied.

Several eyebrows were raised; mainly by Miku and Oliver.

Luka muttered, "Girl, how are you not a monster in the morning?"

Gakupo made a sound like he choked, if anyone was less than wise to be aware of the current topic.

"I mean, there would be times I sleep earlier than that, like twelve or one o'clock. I think my latest was three-thirty a.m."

"In the middle of a school week? On top of all the studying you do like the genius you are. Geez woman, at this rate how are you supposed to do other things? Like dating around." Gakupo teased.

"Me? Dating anyone? Please, I never see myself like that." Rin grimaced as she diverted, grabbed her book to avoid the uncomfortable topic.

"Why the long face? You're pretty much date material. Is there something we don't know?" Miku leaned her head forward as close as she could at Rin's line of vision.

"Miks, no one has ever liked me that way. So I don't think I'm 'date material', as you say." Rin scrunched her eyebrows in discomfort.

"Lies! I'm sure there's someone who's too good at hiding their feelings for you!"

"Nah, she's right, Mimi." Luka contradicted her own best friend. "I haven't heard someone, or at least a rumour, that they want to date Rin." Everyone at the table trusted her word. She was the most widely connected to learn of any juicy information, gossip, in their school community. Therefore, she was the main source for any update.

"Bullshit. They might not even be from here in the first place!" Miku raised an eyebrow. Then her sight moved to someone who knew more about Rin than all of them combined.

"Kai, mate! You know more about Rin! Tell us the truth that she's just being too humble, and she has a secret admirer even she herself may not know!" Miku enthusiastically asked.

Kaito's hand with the spoon paused mid-air; that was about to meet his mouth for the scoop of ice cream.

"Lu is right, Miks. I don't know if anyone likes Rin that way. At least nothing from what I know?" He awkwardly answered as he danced around Rin's favour and his enthusiasm to please Miku's curiosity.

"See, Kai just repeated the truth." Rin raised her shoulders and her palms in a calm and poised gesture.

"But I do agree that maybe someone out there wants to date Rin. We are none the wiser to know who." Kaito quickly added to the glee of Miku who cheered.

"Oh come on, Kai! Don't enable her with ideas like that!" Rin whined. "I swear, no one wants to date me. I never received any confession note nor been flirted with in my life, full stop! Works for me so I'm at peace with my reading!"

Kaito held himself back from calling out the lie. He knew Rin was not fond of recalling the past.

"Okay we get it! But you can't possibly deny yourself the chance to date, Rin!" Miku reasoned out.

"... Nah. I just have too high expectations with relationships. You know, from all the reading I do. So I want to save myself from the stress and lowkey the cring e. Fiction is better than reality, as they say." Rin made a poor attempt of a chuckle by the end of her statement to dispel any more continuation.

"That's what sad girls would say, Rin. Are you okay?" Luka's concerned gaze joined Miku's. Rin closed her book and shook her hands to wordlessly assure them.

"I am! No worries at all! I swear it's just good ol' me! Hahahaha!" Rin chuckled, albeit awkwardly.

While the four friends were invested in Rin's weird dodges, Oliver noticed something odd. His focus moved from the girl with the awkward assurances and the others, to Kaito who just stared at the lively interaction in front of him.

The ice cream he so desperately tried to salvage from melting was left untouched once again. Oliver knew Kaito was usually the one to start dissing Rin out of fondness in the group banter. If not, then he made a big deal out of it with the rest of their gang. This behaviour he witnessed right now was weird, to say the least.

Before they reached the topic about Rin's hesitation on dating, the conversations his friends had were merely background noise as he focused on his ice cream. Yet the moment Miku pulled him in and he witnessed the unease in Rin's body language and tone, he was concerned.

Rin's flustered and awkward responses to deflect Luka, Miku, and Gakupo's scepticism triggered something in Kaito—a memory. He began to draw back from a distant past where Luka's statement was once actual reality.

"Shut up everyone, we have five minutes before the bell! I don't want to get locked out by the next teacher!" Miku stood up to cut off the conversation and rapidly packed her tupperwares. She and everyone else gathered rubbish to be thrown out on the way to the exit. They quickly organised themselves to leave the open space and rush to their next class.

"Gakupo and Luka! Can you please clean up your mess properly!?" Rin scolded and picked her own rubbish, not before she called out the specific names. The two mentioned friends went on to reprimand their small mistake and apologised.

Old habits die hard with Rin's discipline , Kaito thought. Even though Rin eased off her uptightness since last year, she still had moments such as now. They were remains from their shared past.

"What are you staring at, Kai? Let's go now!" Rin prompted her friend with a smile. Kaito returned the gesture as he joined her side to walk to their next class.

The group of friends managed to sneak back in their classroom before their teacher, notorious for being harsh to latecomers, could stand behind the door.

It was currently Twentieth Century History class. It was not Kaito's best class, but also not his worst. For that reason, it guaranteed his focus on the discussion to drift away.

The teacher's words blurred into muffled noises. As someone in the farther row of seats and beside the window, Kaito glanced at the scenic sky to avoid the bouts of sleepiness. Since the seating arrangements were different this time, he sat with his other classmates that were farther from him at the previous class. This allowed him to be right behind Rin, his closest friend out of all his seatmates within the vicinity.

Most of the time, Kaito faced the back of Rin's head as she gazed towards the teacher at the front. He also noticed subtle movement in her right forearm when she wrote. There were times she turned her head to the side at the window and stared at the sky. It assured him even the most engaged student in class could still lose focus from time to time.

He was able to notice half of Rin's face. Her eyes stared ahead to the vast heavens. Kaito wondered what could be on his friend's mind, if not to absorb the class discussion today?

Since the windows were slightly opened, a gentle breeze was allowed entry in the room and circulated for ventilation. The soft winds made Rin's long, blonde locks gently sway.

Kaito observed the changes in Rin's physical appearance after they finished tenth grade. She let her hair grow longer than the usual shoulder-length back in the day. She lessened her four hair pins that once maintained the consistency of her side-fringe, with only two left. Her iconic white ribbon was still there. For today, she had her hair on a ponytail so a white scrunchy ribbon completed her signature look of bunny ears on her head since childhood (confirmed by her mother to Kaito on one of his visits to her home).

A huge improvement was her attitude. Nowadays, Rin is more care-free, calm, and optimistic. Back then, she was uptight and carried a bag of nerves every time. It did not help that no one could stop her frequent bursts of self-deprecation that people around them defined her to. Kaito and those who knew her disagreed with that notion.

But as time healed wounds and its passage allowed her to grow in new environments, Rin learnt to be less harsh with herself. Like a flower that bloomed, she taught herself a healthier approach with life.

Kaito was immensely thankful Rin finally managed to recover from the hurt of what was once yesterday. Mainly with what happened between her and a certain someone during their shared past.

With all the reminiscing, Kaito had not noticed the class ended. Fortunately, that was the last session and another school day thus concluded.

Several of his classmates went outside to the lockers in the hallway, with only a few left behind intentionally (took their sweet time to arrange their stuff) or unintentionally (caught up in conversations by friends, or classmates that demanded their portion on group activities). Kaito wordlessly packed up and zipped his bag, then secured his locker shut. Nearby him, Luka was at the doorway.

"Hey, guys! Let's go now!" She and their friends walked together at the school gates when none of them needed to stay back at school.

"Crap wait, do we have any homework for tomorrow?" Oliver scrambled to put stuff in his bag so he could catch up with the rest of his friends in the hallway.

"Nah, Oli. No homework for us tomorrow." Rin stood with her school bag already strapped. She waited for Oliver who sat on his feet for his locker at the bottom row.

"That's a relief, thank you Rin!" Oliver placed the lock on the door of his locker, and stood up to finally join his friends who waited for him.

"Let's get out of here!" Gakupo shouted with glee as he walked away from the classroom. His friends followed on a slower phase.

The weather was merciful without the deadly rays that glared at everyone in the midday, nor any harsh winds for people who made their way across the school gates.

Kaito's friends went on to their usual chatter and banter that later diverted into completely new topics; other occasions ended in silence. It was another ordinary, uneventful day. But satisfying nonetheless with friends by his side.

Kaito watched his friends; smiles on their faces and in the middle of their usual ruckus. He was glad to spend his time with these people who made his last two years of school bearable. Their company was comforting. He did not have to pretend, nor feel the awkwardness with them. Thankfully Miku, Gakupo, Oliver, and Luka also wanted to include Rin after they both joined the cohort last year.

Kaito shifted his focus from Miku, Luka, and Gakupo who laughed about something, to Rin who walked behind and merely watched their interaction with a quiet smile.

The young woman was in front of Kaito, so she was not left behind by physical distance to their group. She smiled whenever a joke was said, and at times chuckled softly. But it seemed Rin was occasionally pulled back from the moment, and then preoccupied with her thoughts alone.

Sure, Rin was never much of a talkative person especially around strangers. But with close friends like Luka, Oliver, Gakupo, Miku, and him around her, she was usually an active speaker. So there was something odd about Kaito's long-time friend.

Kaito was supposed to call Rin's attention when the group arrived at an intersection. This was the first occasion, but not the last, where one or two would separate in their own ways. In this case, it was Rin's time to take the other way.

"Looks like this is my stop. See you guys tomorrow! Have a safe trip home." Rin smiled and waved to everyone. The rest of her friends said their goodbyes and 'see-you-soon'. She waved for the last time, went the other way and never looked back.

Kaito stood still to watch Rin's walking figure slowly disappear in the distance. As the sound of her steps in the pavement faded, he realised something.

Oliver called his friend who seemed to be in a daze. Kaito's spiralling thoughts were halted when he recognised the voice.

He thanked his friend and joined the group on their walk.

There's something really odd with Rin. I just know it.

He laughed along with his friends on their endless stream of jokes and chatters as they approached their own homes. But Kaito occasionally zoned out for a minute and stared at the sky, left with his own thoughts.

Something will happen.


Hello! This is my first Vocaloid fanfic since 2014. This time, I've committed on it for the past year and it's finished. Expect updates on Mondays! I've noticed the fanfic side of the fandom is still active here. So I've considered to crosspost this from AO3. I suggest reading this fanfic on AO3 since I was able to deliver the presentation of this work in its full potential there. The cover art can also be seen in a larger dimension lol

/works/44468923/chapters/111851437#workskin

Our main squad has been introduced! I'm aware High School AUs are the most frequent theme in Vocaloid fanfics. But I wanted to see different things in a High School AU that wasn't inspired by American High Schools, and a setting that I could relate to. This fic will be very self-indulgent, so buckle up. The previous chapter, the Prologue, was inspired by the songs of the same title by Panic! At The Disco and My Chemical Romance respectively. Yeah, I know we're still emo in this good year of 2023.

I am no artist, so I know my art style isn't the best. But the creativity seized me and so I had to do the cover art there. I hope it was interesting! There may be some easter eggs there, so I hope you're able to find some as we go through the story. A huge thank you for my friend who helped me with the adjustments on the art!

Also a huge shoutout on the tutorial for iOS Chat Skin here in ao3 for the codes that enabled the chat layout on the Prologue! There will be more chat scenes with that skin on the next following chapters in the future!