Chapter 24 – Finale.

No good.

The words that stared back at her from the pages of the journal weren't good enough. Her hand flicked across the page in aggravation, and the pen held in her grasp crossed out the words line by line. For someone who had an incredibly easy time with interviews and words, it seemed that this one task was truly troublesome. Lips pursed tightly together as the end of the pen repeatedly beat against the cherry stained wood desk. It was strange… She couldn't find the right way to put what she had felt—what she was feeling— into words. It was of the utmost importance that these feelings were properly conveyed. After all, weren't songs a way to express oneself?

"Ah, this is more difficult than I thought it would be…"

With a heavy sigh, the girl propped an elbow onto the desk and cupped her chin in her open palm. How were those composers able to do it? It seemed that they had no trouble writing lyrics and composing a sample of their song. There was always a stack of CDs waiting for her at the studio to shift through and select what she would want to record. And of those pieces, the lyrics were either clever and taunting, or able to pluck at the strings of your heart. Yet here she was, struggling to put her words on paper. A peek at the clock informed the struggling idol that it was now midnight, and that she had been seated at her desk for a solid four hours. Eyelids fluttered shut over teal irises as Miku let out another exasperated sigh. After struggling for nearly an hour, the idol decided she would never underestimate those composers and producers again. This was far beyond her scope of talent.

But maybe…

One eyelid lifted, and allowed her to glance at the smartphone stationed at the corner of the desk. It wouldn't be wrong to ask for help, right? Especially with something that was deemed to be incredibly important to her. A creak came from the chair as she leaned to one side, the fingers of her free hand extended towards the electronic device. As if on cue, the screen illuminated much to the owner's surprise. Eyebrows raised as teal eyes skimmed over the name now displayed on the phone.

Just the person she wanted to speak with.

A quick swipe and passcode later, Miku replied to the text before she stood up from her perch. Perhaps some clarity would be provided by the sender of that first message. Slender fingers closed the black leather notebook and carefully picked up the treasured item. Armed with pen and paper, she left the safety of her bedroom (and was careful to lock the door lest the resident twins decided to play a prank on her). Long strides led her down the quiet halls of the mansion, her footsteps muffled by the plush carpet that lined the floor. As strange as it was for the building to be as quiet as it was, Miku supposed that couldn't be helped. It was nearing Christmas now, and everyone was frantically scrambling about for holiday themed photo shoots and Christmas singles. Everyone but her. Rather than wait until December to kick off that annual headache, she had requested that she shoot those images and record her single early this year. A wry smile made it's way on her face as she entered the other resident wing. Just like the younger idols, the older ones were busy as well. Except for the one who had sent her a text earlier. Megurine Luka. No, the text was not an invitation, but merely stating that out of the group that had left together, only Luka had finished her tasks for the day, but Miki had decided to wait for Gumi to finish recording before heading home.

A fist was raised to knock on the door of the pink haired female's bedroom, but the sound of a door closing to her left alerted her to the presence of another. Miku turned her head to see who else was home, only to see the back of a certain long haired blonde stride down the hall that Miku had only walked seconds before. Rather than taunt or provoke Lily, the teal haired idol shook her head and proceeded to knock on Luka's bedroom door. From behind the wood, the sound of scuffling feet could be heard as the occupant of the room hurried to answer the door in a timely matter. Within the ten seconds that had passed, the teal haired idol felt her heartbeat quicken. Strange. It wasn't the same way her heart normally felt when she would see the object of her affections. This was a feeling that she hadn't felt in quite some time. Could it be—

"Ah, Miku-chan," Luka greeted the younger girl with a soft smile. Her cool blue eyes noticed the tension that had built up in the other's shoulders, as well as the eyebrows that were creased together. "Is… Everything alright?"

Helplessness.

"N-no… Luka-senpai, I need your help."

"A song? I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm the best person to help you with this," Luka apologized as she set down her cup of tea onto the coffee table. "Maybe you could ask—"

Miku shook her head. "No, I don't want to ask a producer for their help," she interrupted. "I can't."

"Can't, or won't?"

The teal haired girl bit the corner of her bottom lip. "Won't."

At this, the elder girl sighed and leaned back into her seat. The pair was now seated inside her bedroom, and Luka had been quick to serve fresh tea as she listened to what the younger had to say. It was remarkable how different Miku had become since their first date. Miku had always approached her with an airy smile and mischievous eyes. But the way she looked in the door frame was almost pitiful. Furrowed brows, white knuckles which gripped a notebook too tightly, and teal eyes that reflected vulnerability. It was a side to Miku that Luka had never seen, but was understandable once the teal idol poured her heart out. Though things were left vague, the entirety of it could be summarized easily. A song was to be composed on their own, including lyrics, for someone who seemed to be rather important.

"I can't trust them with this. I won't trust them with this. Can't, won't, it's still the same. This has to be perfect," Miku murmured. "She has to be able to understand—I have to make things right. "

Luka ran a hand through her hair as she mulled over the situation at hand. What Miku was asking for was help, but required a certain skill set. And as daunting as this task was, there was no way she could turn her guest away. The look in those teal orbs was heartbreaking. And Luka never wanted to see it again. "Alright… I'll help you as best as I can," she nodded. "Forgive my lack of knowledge, but wouldn't writing lyrics and composing a song be hard? I haven't done either one of those before…"

The positive answer spread a smile across Miku's face. "That's okay! I already have ideas for both!" The black notebook was placed on the table and opened to the page that she had worked on earlier. Hesitantly, she pushed the notebook towards the other. "This—ah, well, it's pretty personal, but I know what I want to say." Several emotions danced across her face as she watched Luka pick up the notebook; nervousness to fear, which hardened into a somber determination.

"Oh? And what is it you're trying to say in the song? Is this going to be a confession?" Luka smiled at her own joke. Honestly, weren't they past something like this? "Or are you trying to write about—"

"Luka-senpai, this song is for—" Miku cut herself short as she fidgeted in her seat. "For Gumi-chan… I want to say I'm sorry for what I did and how I hurt her. And—and how hopefully we can stop ignoring what happened and move forward together as friends."

Teal eyes watched the other girl's face go from surprise, to confusion, and then settle on a quiet understanding. Luka really was the best person to ask for help. After Lily had jumped into the race for the pink haired girl's heart, Miku was certain that Luka understood how difficult it was to continue a "normal" and functioning relationship with your best friend after becoming romantically involved. "That's why I can't ask anyone else for help," she pressed onwards. "You're the only person that I trust with this."

There was a moment of silence as the oldest of the pair processed this revelation.

"Alright," she breathed. "I already agreed to help you, but we won't start tonight."

"Wha—?"

Luka smiled and stood up. In one fluid motion, the teacups on the table were gathered into her careful hands. "You have bags under your eyes," she responded, with a small laugh. "You need to rest, Miku-chan. We'll start tomorrow. I did write a lot of poetry in middle and high school, so maybe that could help us with your lyrics. For now, I think it would be best if you just took notes about what you're trying to tell Gumi-chan. That way we'll have a starting point tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Ah—yes, sure!" Miku beamed up at her hostess.

Pleased to hear that things were now settled, the guest leaned back into the comforting embrace of the armchair in which she sat. It was as if a weight has been lifted from her shoulders, and the feeling caught Miku off guard. It really had been a while since she last reached out for help. A sidelong glance was directed towards the pink idol, who was busy cleaning up the tea set. Normally Miku would be content with observing the other girl while she worked, but there was much to do in order to finish creating the song that was ever present in her mind. From the table, the notebook was plucked up and she quickly began to jot down as much as she could. Admittedly, it was a mad dash to beat the sudden wave of exhaustion that hit her. Since confiding in Luka, and sipping on a relaxing cup of herbal tea, the lack of sleep that this song had been causing her was now hitting her hard.

It was a futile attempt.

After a few minutes, what was once furious scribbling turned into sluggish scrawls, and ended with a pen on the floor. Steady, easy breaths made her chest rise and fall rhythmically, and brought a small smile onto Luka's face. "Oh dear…" she stifled a giggle as she fetched an extra blanket from her closet. Gingerly, the soft blanket was draped over her resting guest. Even though Luka knew no one else was in the room, she still glanced about the vicinity before planting a kiss on the top of the mop of teal hair. A soft "good night" was murmured before the shy hostess lifted her head up and headed to the bathroom to prepare herself for bed.

And so the days passed with Luka frequenting Miku's bedroom. The sight of the pink haired idol hurrying down the hallway after a busy day had become normal, but also managed to gather the attention of the other residents.

"I just don't get it," Gumi grunted between punches thrown at the sand weighted punching bag before her. Beads of sweat dripped down from her chin and onto the matted floor of the workout room. Black gloved fists continued to deal out the frustration that the girl had been feeling lately. Dressed in skin tight black shorts with a sweat wicking white workout shirt, the girl bounced on the balls of sneaker clad feat.

"She hasn't—"

Thud.

"Answered—"

Thud.

"A single one of my texts!"

The exclamation was further punctuated by a roundhouse kick which caused the bag to shake violently. The red, worn down bag swung from side to side until it was stopped by a pair of small hands. "She hasn't answered my texts, either, Gumi-chan," Miki responded, voice soft and patient. Unlike the other occupant of the room, she was not dressed for a workout in the gym. A glance at the oversized faded orange hoodie and heather gray sweatpants hinted that she had merely been lounging about until she decided to join the kickboxer in the gym. "She'll talk to us when she's ready, you know that. I'm sure Miku-nee has her reasons. It'll be okay, I promise."

"Hmph… Yeah, but…"

One red eyebrow arched as Gumi's voice trailed off. "But…?" At this, Miki's soft features were stained with a small frown and a worried, creased brow.

A shoulder was raised lazily in response. "I guess I thought Miku and I… it's nothing."

Emerald eyes met the gaze of ruby red orbs, and a gloved hand motioned for the redhead to step aside. Left without a choice, Miki obliged and released the punching bag before stepping away to a safe distance. Unlike the wild barrage of blows that were thrown before, careful and precise jabs were thrusted at the waiting bag. To Miki, it seemed that the other girl had calmed down a bit. "It'll be okay," she reassured the other. "You can't be mad at her for being busy now. We were busy the past week because of work, too, so it wouldn't be fair."

"Yeah, you're right…"

Satisfied that Gumi would no longer carry on attacking the bag in such a brutish manner, the redhead took a seat against the padded wall and merely observed the training regimen. For now, the pair stayed silent as one continued to take out their stress on an inanimate object, and the other watched and let her mind wander. At least from this view, Miki was able to fully appreciate the view that was before her. No wonder Gumi was so popular with boys and girls… And it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that Gumi had made well on her promise. Little by little, and day by day, the older girl slowly opened up more. Thinking about how far Gumi had come brought a smile onto the redhead's face, which hardly went unnoticed by the attentive kick boxer.

"Huh… Y'know, I'm glad you smile more now," she commented offhandedly as she strode towards the seated girl. The sweating fighter took a seat beside Miki and ungloved her hands before pulling the white shirt was tugged off. It always became too hot for a shirt. At least the air felt cooler on her freshly exposed skin.

Now used to this routine, Miki picked up the water bottle between them, twisted the cap open, and passed it to Gumi. "Do I smile more? I didn't notice." The redhead shyly averted her eyes away from the sports bra and shorts clad fighter. Yes, it was clear as day as to why Gumi was frequently asked to pose for sports advertisements and why she was so popular.

"You do, and it's…" A pause as Gumi hesitated. There was a quick shake of her head, and Miki concluded that the green haired girl was embarrassed. The bottle was quickly snatched up and Gumi took a long drink from the clear bottle. Once she was satisfied, she leaned back against the wall and set the bottle down between her legs. "Anyway, orange hoodie, huh?"

…what?

"The one you're wearing. I don't think I've seen you wear that before, Miki," Gumi explained when she saw the startled expression on her companion's face.

Upon hearing her name without any honorifics, the smaller girl felt her cheeks flush. "W-well, it's, ah, new to me," Miki began to fidget and play with the drawstrings of the hoodie.

The way Miki was acting was quite strange, and was able to leave Gumi confused. Another sip was taken from the plastic container before it was capped. With practiced ease, Gumi stood up without the use of her hands, and began to stretch. "Oh. It doesn't look bad or anything," she added hastily. "It's kinda nice on you."

Flustered, Miki's face became a deeper shade of red. "Th-thank you, Gumi-chan," she stuttered shyly.

"Y'know, now that I think about it, I can't find my favorite hoodie."

Furukawa Miki stiffened.

"It's not like I can't get another, but damn, I really liked that one. Had it for a while, y'know?"

A shaky laugh.

Gumi picked her gloves up and slipped them back on while she strode towards the punching bag once more. It wasn't until the first punch was thrown that a lightbulb turned on in her head. "Miki…"

"Mm…?"

The emerald idol looked over her shoulder at the scarlet girl. "Are you wearing-!?"

"I—I just—when I was—and you—I didn't steal it, you let me borrow it that night we watched a movie in your room with Yuki-chan after recording 'Secret Afterschool'…" Miki whispered before the bottom half of her face was buried into the depths of the orange hood. "I kept it because it still… smells like you…?"

At this, Gumi felt a blush spread across her face, through her ears, and down her neck. "Uh—oh—well— o-okay." When her voice cracked, she quickly looked away from Miki and pressed her forehead against the cool leather in a desperate attempt to make the damned heat go away. The pair stayed silent as they each struggled to think of a coherent sentence to utter.

"W-well, I'm going to—um—go check on Rin-chan! She might need my help with, ah, math homework!" Miki exclaimed as she leapt to her feet. Quavering hands quickly pulled the hood up to cover her head and shield her red face from the other girl. "I-I'll see you later, Gumi-chan!"

Gumi heard the shuffling of feet and the eventual thud of a door clicking shut. It wasn't until she was alone that she immediately sank down to the floor and covered her face with her boxing gloves and muttered the word "cute" under her breath.

By the end of the week, the pair had finally completed the lyrics to the song. With a yawn, Miku leaned back into her chair and rubbed at one eye. "This is it! Here, read it and tell me what you think, Luka-senpai," she requested as she handed the notebook to her companion beside her.

With a nod, Luka received the notebook and read over the words on the paper. To be fair, the younger girl had quite a bit of work with the lyrics. Miku compiled the list of emotions and thoughts that she had wanted to convey through the song as per Luka's request. From there, the pink haired woman brought several books of poems to the younger girl's room and read out loud the poems about heartbreak and betrayal, as well as poems of hope and longing. Together, the duo drafted and redrafted the lyrics until it felt whole. And now that the teal haired girl declared the lyrics to be worthy of a final once over, Luka was quite impressed with how quickly Miku was able to pick up on minute nuances of poetry and apply it to the song.

"This is… very good," Luka murmured. Her gaze lifted from the lined paper and met the gaze of the smiling girl. "It's sad, but the ending is perfect. Here, I think we're ready to make some music." One hand closed the book and held it out to the other.

Delighted, Miku's smile widened into a grin and she stood up. She reached for the book and her fingers brushed against the other girl's. At the contact, both girls looked at the other. The shier of the two quickly averted her gaze, cheeks now a pale pink. The sight made Miku giggle as she took the notebook from her senior. "Thank you," she sang as she walked towards the baby grand piano stationed near the windows of the bedroom. The pianist sat down in front of the black piano and the notebook was placed up so she could read the words while she fiddled around with the black and white ivory keys. Teal eyes looked back at the pink haired woman, and then down at the keys.

Music composition was an intimidating challenge, but years of playing the piano left Miku feeling fairly comfortable with tackling this task. The gears in her head were already turning at full throttle. A simple melody would probably be best. Whole notes in the bass line would be very simple and easy to remember. And nothing complex in the treble range since the piano simply needed to be an accompaniment to her singing. Experimentally, she began to play through various combinations of notes. With each dismissed variation, she scowled and shook her head. There was already a melody of sorts that she had decided upon while writing the lyrics. A deep breath was taken as she continued to press down on black and white keys as she searched for the notes that reverberated in her mind. She hummed the melody to herself as she continued to test out different notes.

From across the room, cool blue eyes watched the pianist at work. It truly was remarkable how talented Miku was with music. The most Luka had delved into music before becoming a singer was in middle school, when she fiddled around with the flute for a few years before a switch was made to choir. With a small smile, she lifted herself from her seat and joined the other girl at the piano. From over the other's shoulder, she watched as polished fingers continued to look for the elusive melody. Luka's blue eyes then looked at the words penned into the notebook as she listened to the repetitive hum that came from Miku. A moment of quiet thought. "Ah, Miku-chan?"

"Mm…?"

"That melody you're humming sounds nice, but it doesn't fit the lyrics well," Luka explained. "The lyrics are serious, and sound very melancholic. A major tone will sound off with what you want to sing."

Suddenly, the ringing of the piano stopped when the pianist looked up from the keyboard to skim over the lyrics. "Oh—good catch, Luka-senpai. Hmm… how to do this, then…" Lips pursed together into a pout as she went back to testing out different notes. "Oh-!"

"That one was good!"

"Right!?" The corner of Miku's lips curved into a smile as she began to play the same notes rhythmically with her right hand, and the left held out one long, somber note. "This is it—we can work with this! Luka-senpai—here, sit where I'm sitting now—yes, just like that! Now here, play these notes over and over…" Teal pigtails bounced as the idol scrambled to grab her laptop and open up the music composition program. "Okay, okay, let me see…" She glanced at the notes which Luka pressed, and quickly put the notes onto the leger lines.

Once she finished those few measures, she reached towards the piano keys with her left hand and played a few more notes in the upper range of the piano. Luka watched, and glanced at the position of her left hand down in the bass range of the keys. She repositioned her finger and pressed down on one note, which miraculously complimented Miku's broken chords. Both girls exchanged smiles, their eyes bright with delight and confidence in one another.

"We make an excellent team," Luka commented, as the younger of the two mad herself busy with the music composition program.

Miku laughed a bit and nodded earnestly. "We really do! To be honest, I wasn't sure how well this song would go," she replied. "But with you, Luka-senpai, it feels like I can do anything." Her left hand continued to press against the ivory keys while she documented each note onto her laptop. "You're something special."

The comment brought another wave of pink across Luka's cheeks. "I'm glad I could be of help." Somehow the sincerity in Miku's voice was more embarrassing than all of the kisses that were stolen over the past few months. Somehow working together like this was far more pleasant than any of the "dates" or moments that the two had shared up until this point.

Though the two had stopped speaking, the room was far from silent. Miku continued to tap out the appropriate notes on the piano, and stopped only to take a seat beside Luka. "Excuse me," she said softly, as she sat almost shoulder to shoulder with her companion. Now both girls' faces were shades of pink, though the teal haired girl's face was noticeably lighter than the bubblegum haired girl. And so they remained like that, sitting together while the sound of the piano echoed within Miku's private quarters. It seemed that the young pianist had stopped paying attention to the laptop. Perhaps she had already completed the song in her mind and wanted to test it out before filling out the rest of the piano score. No matter the reason, Luka continued to enjoy the moment. To be able to be there when a song was composed, played little by little in person, was a unique experience, and she knew she would treasure the moment forever.

After a few minutes, Luka's eyelids began to slowly close, and her body began to lean against Miku. The sudden pressure against her left shoulder startled the pianist, but her fingers continued to carry on the melody. Instead of looking at her obviously drowsy companion, Miku began to softly sing the melody that she had hummed earlier. It was only a few lines, but it was enough to strike a chord of agreement in her heart. This was it. This was how she had imagined the song to be. A smile spread across her face. And luckily she had settled on an easy format, so recording and playing from memory would be a breeze. The measures that she and Luka had composed could easily be used for each verse. Now the only things left were the chorus and the bridge. It was too late to work on those parts, especially since they had spent several long hours perfecting the lyrics today.

"Perfect…" was the only word she uttered before she lifted her slender fingers from the black and white ivory. "Luka-senpai, how was that?" Miku turned her head to look at the older girl, and saw that Luka had fallen asleep while listening to her play and sing. Because Luka was taller than Miku, her head wasn't resting on the shorter girl's shoulder. Instead, the pink haired girl's head was bowed slightly forward while the rest of her body pressed against the teal haired girl's side. "Mm… if you were tired, you should have said so," Miku whispered as she laced her fingers with Luka's.

As nice as this was, there was one problem.

She now had to remain still and allow her crush to sleep against her. After all, it was the universal rule to not disturb a sleeping person that used you as a pillow of sorts.

Fingers played with the ends of blonde locks as she waited in the backseat of the private car. She was set to leave the recording studio, but the driver had informed her that another resident of the mansion was on the way down to head home as well. Lily didn't mind waiting. They were all going to the same place anyway. When the door to her side opened, the blonde scooted to the far side of the car without lifting her head to see who would be riding home with her.

"Ah, Lily-chan!" Luka seated herself in the car and shut it behind her. "When the driver said I would be sharing the car with someone, I didn't think it would be you. You hadn't even left home when I first arrived at the studio today."

Lily released the strands of hair from between her fingers and grinned at her best friend. "Haven't you ever heard about being fashionably late, Lu-chan?" she countered, as she turned slightly so her back rested against the car door rather than against the leather seat.

Her counter was met with a soft chuckle.

"Is it fashionable if you're late every time you have to go to the studio, though?" Luka responded, her voice light and brimming with amusement.

At this, the blonde poured and put an elbow up against the window in order to prop her head up against her palm. "Ah, that stings, Lu-chan," she feigned devastation.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the pink haired girl apologized, though the smile was still painted on her face. The car lurched forward, and both girls were quiet for a few moments as they watched buildings roll by during the ride.

Deep blue eyes glanced back at Luka, and the blonde felt her lips tug up into a smile. At least Luka was joking around with her again. Iroha's little get together had helped both Lily and Luka. No longer was their friendship strained by Lily's sins and ploys to bring about emotional destruction upon Miku, Gumi and Miki. It had taken sometime after Iroha had Lily apologize properly to Luka before the two could speak regularly again, but boy, it was nice to be back to jokes. A thought crossed the blonde's mind after she mused over the past, and a glint of curiousity could be seen in her eyes. "Say, Lu-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Why've you been running to Miku's room every night?" Lily asked. The blonde shifted her head in her palm slightly, and the long locks of hair slipped down from her shoulder. "Are you two—"

"No! It's nothing lewd," Luka interjected, cheeks a bright pink. "She asked for help with a project."

A project? That sounded so… School-ish. It would be far too optimistic of her to hope that Luka simply meant that the younger idol needed help with school work or studying. Didn't Miku take a break from school, anyway? Or, something like that?

As if she had read the bemused blonde's mine, Luka added, "No, it has nothing to do with school. It's something that Miku-chan wanted to do for… A very dear friend of hers." There was a pause, and Lily guessed that her friend was thinking of how to phrase things properly. "A song. She asked me to help her make a song."

Well, that was surprising. The thought of Luka writing a song was an interesting idea. "Yeah? And how'd that go? Didn't you stop playing the clarinet in, what was it, ninth grade?" Lily asked, the smile on her face twisting into a mischievous grin.

At this, the pink haired singer could only scratch at her cheek sheepishly. "It was eighth grade and I played the flute," she corrected. "To be honest, I really only helped with the lyrics. Miku-chan was able to compose the music herself. She's a lot more talented than she cares to admit." The blonde haired girl watched as Luka's features softened as she spoke fondly of the teal idol. "It's been really nice to spend some time with her, too. She's not as, ah, ridiculous as she sometimes sees. Miku-chan is actually quite shy despite how independent she acts, and very sweet when she's not trying to force herself to act a certain way in front of others. The other day she sat still when I had fallen asleep against her! Could you imagine how long she must have sat like that? It was embarrassing, but awfully considerate of her. Oh, and later that evening…."

And though Luka continued to speak of what she had been doing as of late, Lily found it hard to focus on the conversation at hand. It was difficult to watch someone who you cared so deeply for speak so fondly—no, so tenderly—about someone else. Her chest tightened for a moment, but relaxed as she noted how happy and calm the pink girl appeared to be. It was strange to be heartbroken and be pleased to see that someone could make Luka so happy. And somehow, Lily expected heartbreak to feel far worse than she was currently feeling. So why was it that acceptance had come so easily?

"And then she- ah, Lily-chan?"

The sound of her name snapped Lily back into reality. "Huh? Oh, hey, hi," she let out an awkward laugh. From the other seat, the blonde could only watch as Luka let out a sigh and a shake of her head. No, it didn't seem that Luka was annoyed with her. It was as if Luka had expected Lily's mind to wander. Oh well. Now that the conversation had dwindled down, it seemed as if now was a good time to ask the pink haired woman a question."Er- so... You must really like Miku-chan, huh?" Lily lifted her head from her palm and sank back into the seat of the car.

"Ah—well, that's..." A blush spread across her face as she bit her lower lip in embarrassment. "Haven't we talked about this before?"

"Yeah, duh, but something seems different." It would be too hard to speak as bluntly as she normally did when it came to this topic. That obnoxious pain in her chest returned while she pressed onwards. "What did she do to you?"

At this, a pink brow was raised in confusion. "I... don't think I understand what you're asking me," she responded slowly. "Miku-chan didn't do anything to me... we just spend a lot of time together now. I've learned a lot about her."

"That's not really what I meant," Lily muttered. One hand rubbed at the back of her neck as she tried to think of how to phrase her question without revealing her conflicting emotions. "Do you..."

"Do I... what?"

A groan escaped her. "Do you love her? Are you in love?"

The car slowed to a halt outside of their destination, yet both women were unable to move. They held one another's gaze, one surprised by the question, and the other silently yearning to hear the answer. After a moment, the pink haired woman sighed and the ghost of a smile played across her lips.

"Lily-chan... I'm not sure I can answer your question right now. If there's one thing that I know for certain, it's that I would do anything to keep Miku from looking so weary and disheartened." Luka opened the door to the car and placed one foot on the pavement. "I know that wasn't what you wanted to hear, and I'm sorry. Things between us-"

" Aw, geez, don't go there."

"Huh?"

Lily should have expected as much. Her best friend was always careful with her choice of words. Careful and articulate, Luka was always well collected. "Don't apologize," she responded, as ushered Luka out of the car with a push. The blonde grinned when she watched her friend stumble for a few steps before she regained her balance. Unlike Luka, the blonde stepped out easily from the car. "No matter what happens, you're still the same Lu-chan, huh? Hurry up and get inside. I'm pretty sure you're keepin' your little girlfriend waiting."

The blush on Luka's face was the same shade of pink as her hair, and it was quite entertaining to see. "G-geez, Lily-chan! It's not like that-"

"Yet."

Luka's cheeks only darkened as she hurriedly turned away from her old friend before rushing into the sanctuary that their shared home offered. Lily snickered, slowly made her way into the elaborate mansion. Though her heart ached, a sense of calm had overcome her. At least she knew now that Luka's feelings were genuine and her dear friend was left in the care of someone who was more than just a pretty face. Hands clasped behind her head as muscle memory led her down the hallways towards her bedroom. To come to terms with the subtle rejection she had received may take a little while, but things would be okay in the end, right?

Lily's steps slowed when she noticed a familiar mop of long pink hair tied into a ponytail waiting for her outside of her bedroom. "Ah geez," she muttered to herself. Somehow that cat managed to show up whenever Lily had something heavy on her mind. Her jaw clenched as she watched the Sanrio sponsored Vocaloid rock from heel to toe and back again. As she approached the other, her muscles relaxed and she shook her head. No, she shouldn't be annoyed at the younger woman. After all, if it wasn't for her, Lily wouldn't have been able to reconcile with Luka after that fiasco involving Meiko.

"Yo, Iroha."

"Hiya, puppy-chan!" Iroha waved one hand at the blonde, her voice light and singsongy. "I'll be heading in first! Something tells me we've got a lot to talk about!"

The absurd nickname managed to bring about an amused smile on the blonde's face, and she didn't protest as she watched Iroha barge into her bedroom. As vexing as Iroha could be, Lily didn't mind spending more time with the cat-like girl.

Yes, everything would be okay.

Knock knock.

Knuckles tapped against the wooden door, and she waited a moment for the one within the room to answer. "Oi. Are you there? It's rude to make people wait for you after you practically beg them to visit you," Gumi griped at the unresponsive door. There was no response, but she did hear something scrape against the wooden floor within the room. At least she now knew that her supposed hostess was there. Satisfied with this, her raised fist was stuffed within the pocket of her skinny khaki pants. With the other hand, she managed to tap out a quick text message on her smartphone to let a different friend know she would be a tad late before the door opened.

"Ah, Gumi-chan!"

"Took you long enough," Gumi huffed, before she stepped past the pigtailed idol. "So what is it? Any news on Luka-nee—"

"Nope! Well—sort of. I can always talk about Luka-senpai," Miku interrupted as she strode towards the blank piano. The pianist took a seat on the bench, and gestured for Gumi to seat herself in the chair that was placed adjacent to the bench. "But that's not it. I wanted to show you something."

Puzzled, but not in the mood to inquire further, the green idol sat down into the black armchair. Emerald eyes glanced at the sheet music that was placed before her friend. Strange. She hadn't heard any news about Miku releasing a new song anytime soon. Was the other girl working on a collaboration with someone, then? Her attention then went to look at the smiling teal haired girl. Though Miku excelled at exuding confidence, something seemed to be off. The smile wasn't genuine. "Miku, what's going on?"

"Ah—well, let's see, you're here in my room. Alone. Won't that make for a scandalous article! Think of what Miki-chan would think!" Miku laughed a tad too hard at her own joke.

"Miku..."

At this, the smile on her friend's face faded slightly. Nerves seemed to take over, and teal polished fingers rubbed at the back of her neck. "Sorry, sorry," Miku apologized, her voice far too soft and shaky for Gumi's liking. "I'm just really nervous."

Now that was something you didn't hear everyday. Hatsune Miku? Nervous? What could possibly be going on that would give the normally energetic idol a case of the jitters?

Rather than ask, Gumi made a face that clearly reflected her thoughts of perplexion and surprise.

"D-don't look at me like that! This is really nerve wracking," Miku groaned. Her hand fell to the ivory keys of the piano as she avoided the questioning gaze of those emerald orbs. "I wanted to play a song for you. It's new. Very new."

"Okay? You've never been nervous about playing a new song for me before," Gumi responded. "So go on. Play."

At this, the teal haired girl's shoulders visibly stiffened then relaxed. Another nervous laugh escaped her. "R-right. Uh—just listen to it carefully, okay? The lyrics are... Well, they were inspired by something that happened a long time ago…" Her voice trailed off as she gave a sidelong glance at the other girl. A forced smile was now on her face. "Anyway, I'll start now!"

Everything about the current situation was so bizarre. When was the last time Miku acted so nervous about a song? Certainly becoming an idol had whipped Miku up into shape, and her shy, lonely personality from early high school had been polished up. Gumi's lips pursed together as she mentally dissected every word that her friend had uttered, but those thoughts were broken as the notes from the piano began to echo throughout the room. There would be no point in trying to figure things out now. The green haired idol shifted and leaned back in her seat. Arms crossed across her chest, Gumi waited for the pianist to sing in what she expected to be a soft soprano voice to match the somber sounding harmony from the piano.

"You turned your back, and walked away

Without even leaving a single word

Inside my shivering heart, I cried out like a child

'Don't go, don't go, please...' "

With attentive ears and observant eyes, Gumi watched her friend play the piano. Teal eyes were closed, and the pianist sang the melodic lyrics from memory. Clearly, Miku had practiced the song enough to ignore the printed notes on the papers before her. Though something about those lyrics... Teeth clenched as Gumi listened to soprano sing.

"I started walking, turning my back on you
I have to go before my tears drop.
Pretending I dislike being too happy,
I tried to act strong and let go of my ideal future"

"An irretrievable wish..."

"It feels so spacious, this small one room

The gap inside my heart widens,

A mere minute and second feels so long."

A lump in her throat formed. If this song was inspired by something that happened long ago…
Oh no.

"I want to stay with you..."

Knuckles whitened as they gripped the fabric of Gumi's light gray sweater.

"The world won't allow me to wish this, and I wonder

Will one lie that I've told

Lead to your tears?

I've repeated countless sins.

One is that I've touched your hand.

Another is that I've tried to live gently next to you."

"Memory and time are ever increasing,

And it's hard to keep hold of these parts.

The me that you know, settled in your memory,

Erase me."

"Can we ever turn back the clock?

Is this the beginning?

Or is this the end?"

"I'll atone for my sins by bearing the pain of loneliness

Please keep a gentle me in your memories."

"I wish that we'll meet again in another life,

And hand in hand we'll hold on tight.

Until then it's

'See you later.'"

The harmony played out on the piano slowly faded out, and the head of the pianist and vocalist was bent over the shining black and white keys. The heavy air of silence filled the space between the two girls. Neither wanted to be the first to break the silence, yet each was scrambling to put what they were presently feeling into words. The tight grip that GumI had on the sleeves of her sweater loosened as she rose from her seat.

The sound of fabric rustling caused Miku to lift her head up from the keyboard and look at her guest. It was clear that she was in a state of panic as her mouth opened and words spilled out. "Haha, it must not have been very good, huh?" The pianist's voice quavered as she spoked, but Gumi could tell that the other girl was forcing herself to appear as calm as possible. "You never were fond of sad songs like that—this was a stupid idea, I'm sorry you had to listen to that-!?"

Gumi reached out her arm and and put a hand to the back of Miku's head. It wasn't the smoothest of actions, but the teal haired girl's face became buried into the soft, gray cotton of Gumi's sweater. "Thank you," Gumi whispered as her free hand gently stroked the top of the pianists head. The other hand then moved and wrapped around Miku's shaking shoulders. "It must have bothered you for so long…"

Though it was strange to have her best friend's face buried into her abdomen, Gumi knew that the pianist wasn't fond of letting people see her cry. When a choked sob reached her ears, the green haired idol was certain that her best friend must have been terrified at the idea of having to play the song in person. Shaking arms wrapped around her waist, and Gumi felt Miku grip at the back of her sweater. As muffled apologies and staggered sobs were spluttered out, light gray cotton soon turned dark as they absorbed the long withheld tears of Miku.

Comforting people was certainly not a strong point of Gumi's but she remained in place for the sake of her best friend. "It's okay. Don't apologize anymore, alright?" She continued to reassure the other girl with continuous pats on the head. "I'm sorry. I never realized how badly you were hurting after we—"

"Broke up?"

"Yeah," Gumi nodded. "Sorry I was so selfish."

Some sniffles came from the longer haired girl. "It's okay," she murmured. "I'm just sorry I never really explained anything to you."

"Well… that song was a good start."

A giggle. "Yeah, I guess it was, huh?" Miku continued to keep her voice low. "If you ever wanted to know, you didn't do anything wrong. I just… Well, I ended things because of how badly your parents were treating you after all of those magazine articles came out. I thought that maybe if we broke up, your parents would speak to you again. And that you wouldn't have such a hurt look in your eyes anytime you saw the covers of those magazines."

So that's what it was… Gumi sighed and looked up at the ceiling. After all of this time, her ex had only been trying to help. "I see…"

There was a few seconds of silence that passed before emerald eyes looked down to meet teal ones. "You're not… Still upset, are you?" Miku's words were slow and drawn out. "About us?"

For once, there was a small smile on Gumi's face. "No, I'm not," she answered. "I forgave you a long time ago, you idiot. It's… That song meant a lot to you. And to me. So thank you… Really, thank you, lieutenant." The hand that was patting Miku's head lifted to scratch at Gumi's lightly pink tinted cheeks. "Besides…" Now an awkward cough came from the normally aggressive girl. "We both, uh, have other people now… So… Yeah. Can't stay mad at you forever."

At this, Miku's pained expression transformed into a mischievous smirk.

Shit.

"The both of us, hmm?" Miku released Gumi from her embrace and her voice was taunting. "Does that make you and Miki-chan a thing now?"

"Uh, yeah, sorta—l-look, that has nothing to do with your song," Gumi stuttered as her cheeks flared up. "A-anyway, that song was really good—uh, and—why are you—stop looking at me like that!"

Laughter burst out from between Miku's lips as she pulled the cover over the piano keys, and the blush spread from Gumi's face to her ears. "Geez, I should've left as soon as you finished playing your song," Gumi huffed as she spun on her heels and strode towards the door. The echoes of laughter continued to follow her until she was halfway out the door.

"Hey, Miku?" Gumi leaned against the open doorframe and watched as the other idol settled down.

"Mm?"

"Thank you. For everything."

The door was closed before the pigtailed girl could respond, and the faintest of smiles was on Gumi's face as she made her way down the hallway to the game room.

Rhythmic thuds came from the duo who were busily tapping out the proper string of notes displayed on the DDR machine with their feet. Behind them, the young blond watched in silence. It was always a mystery to him as to why his twin would challenge their sister figure to DDR showdowns. Miki always won. When would Rin understand that? The blaring music soon ended and was replaced with the credit theme as all three occupants of the room stared at the scores. As expected, the cherry loving Miki took first place, with Rin's measly score left much to be admired.

Long, red haired swayed as the oldest of the trio looked down at a distraught blonde. "Ah, I guess I won again… But you did a lot better this time, Rin-chan!" Miki tried to be supportive. Her ruby eyes looked back at Len, silently begging for him to help her out.

"Ah—yeah! You did really well!" Len added, his tone just a tad too high and over enthusiastic.

Rin groaned and ruffled her hair up with both hands. "I know when you guys are just being nice!" she whined. One cheek was puffed up with air as she glared up at Miki. "I'll beat you next time! You better look out, 'cause I'll be the queen of dance!"

Miki held both hands up in front of her in mock submission. "Yes, yes," she giggled. "You'll take the throne from me if I'm not careful."

Honestly, Len was relieved that at least Miki was able humor Rin and her absurdities.

A snort came from behind the three. "Yeah? I'd love to see that happen."

The trio looked over their shoulders and saw that Megpoid Gumi had strode into the game room. Though the normally cool idol was dressed nicely (as opposed to a hoodie and jeans), sapphire and ruby eyes noticed darker spots of gray on Gumi's sweater which contrasted the rest of her attire. And let's not forget how the collar of the white button down was upright on one side, and folded down on the other.

Rin's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the newcomer. While she may have given her approval to Miki about Gumi being a good fit for the redhead, she was still insistent upon keeping an eye on Gumi. She then looked up at Miki, who appeared to be pleasantly surprised to see the object of her affections approaching.

"Ah, Gumi-chan! I thought we were going to meet later for our, ah…" Miki glanced at the quiet twins with an embarrassed smile painted on her face. "D-date…"

Len glanced at his older sister, and expected the girl to explode. To his amazement, Rin said nothing and simply leaned back against the DDR machine.

The newcomer shrugged a shoulder and extended a hand to Miki. "I finished up that meeting earlier than I thought," she replied, the ends of her ears turning pink. "So… can we get going now, or what?"

MikI took hold of the offered hand, and gave the twins an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, you two, we'll just have to play more another time, okay?"

"Okay."

"Have fun, Miki-nee!"

The redhead waved at the two before she stepped down from the metal dance pad and followed her date out of the room.

Both of the twins watched the couple leave. Small lips pursed into a theatric look of defeat. "I can see what's happening," Rin whispered.

Her brother stared at her. "Don't ."

"And they don't have a clue…"

"Please, stop."

"They'll fall in love, and here's the bottom line, our trio's down to two!"

Len groaned and walked away from his sister.
Unbelievable.

With the mansion long behind the pair, the two were free to enjoy themselves without fretting over mischievous twins ruining their evening. Tucked away in a corner towards the back of the restaurant, Miki found herself seated across her date. It was difficult for her to keep her heart rate from skyrocketing as she watched the older girl scan through the menu with those rich, green eyes. For a moment, she looked away from her date and scanned the restaurant. The interior was highly modern and minimalistic, with the lighting soft and soothing. Ruby eyes glanced at the other tables, surprised to see that the restaurant served their dishes in a rather, ah, unique manner.

Some plates that came out from the kitchen resembled slabs of granite or even moss covered wood. How unusual…

Yet she trusted Gumi's choice in the restaurant. Countless reviews had praised the chef, though the price was nothing to scoff at. When she had initially been informed of just where they would be dining, Miki protested vehemently. It was absurd for anyone to pay such sky high prices for food, yet her date insisted that they try the restaurant. As if to further press Miki's buttons, Gumi even gave their waiter her credit card before they had even sat down at their table. Rather than scan over the menu and see the prices for her possible courses, she let Gumi select everything. The numbers on the pages more than likely would have given her a heart attack.

A puff of air blew her red bangs away from her face as she looked back at her occasionally vexing date. While she was busy watching the other patrons of the restaurant receive their food, Gumi had gestured for their waiter and placed their orders for the evening. Ruby eyes only saw the back of their waiter's black haired head. The two girls made eye contact, and each waited for the other to break the silence.

"Well?"

Her fingers fiddled with the end of her thick, knit oversized sweater. "'Well'… what, Gumi-chan?" Miki responded in confusion. Thumbs and index fingers stopped moving when she saw Gumi gesture to the somewhat drier patches that had marred the gray v-neck sweater.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask about this as soon as you saw me," Gumi clarified as she leaned back into her seat.

"Ah, well," Miki shrugged her shoulders and released the fabric from her nervous grip. "I wanted to ask, but I thought it would have been better to wait until we were here." She smiled slightly. "What happened that made your sweater get wet?"

"Miku cried."

"Wha—Gumi-chan, did you make her cry!?"

Now on the defensive, Miki watched as Gumi's shoulders stiffened. The green haired girl leaned forward in her seat and placed her forearms on the table, hands clenched into fists. "Of course I didn't! I mean—well, I don't know, maybe I sort of did?" Gumi's brows furrowed together, and the redhead guessed that what had ever transpired was more complicated that she had assumed. "She wrote a song and played it for me."

It was Miki's turn to be caught off guard. "A song? Did that make her cry?" she pressed, her interest in the matter completely captured.

"Yeah, I guess it did," Gumi sighed as she propped her head in one hand. "It was about when we broke up, and how she felt about everything." Emerald eyes closed. "The song was really sad… Good, but sad."

This was one of the few times where Gumi voluntarily spoke about her past relationship with Miku. Miki was quiet for a moment. "Did you finally find out why she dumped you?" she asked softly, unsure if this was the best question to ask. The girl across from her nodded in response to the question, which made Miki assume that it was safe to continue this line of questioning. "Do you… feel better about what happened?"

One eye opened. "Yeah, I do," Gumi answered. "I thought she broke up with me because she was just messing around but…"

"But Miku-nee had a good reason, didn't she?"

At this, Miki watched as Gumi lifted her head from her palm and rubbed at her neck. "She did. She knew my parents had stopped talking to me and basically disowned me after they heard about me and Miku," she explained. "Miku thought that if we broke up, they'd speak to me again." At this, the normally goggled equipped girl chuckled in spite. "Not that they ever did. But they don't matter anymore."

How was she supposed to respond to that? That was far more complex than Miki had imagined Gumi and Miku's relationship to be.

"S-so are you and Miku-nee okay now?"

"Oh, yeah, we're fine," Gumi gave the redhead a smile. "It really caught me off guard—her crying, I mean. But everything is fine. I think that song was what I needed to really get over everything." One of Gumi's hands waved around in a circle as if to add emphasis to 'everything'. And Miki didn't need any clarification to understand what her date was referring to.

One hand reached for the glass of water, and Miki took a sip from it before she spoke. "Well, that's good! I'm glad that you two patched things up." The news came as a huge wave of relief. For months she had been trying to help Gumi move forward, yet the task had been nearly impossible thanks to Gumi's natural stubbornness.

"It is good," Gumi agreed. "And now that all of that is over, we can… uh… well… I mean, you and I can—ugh…"

"Hm?" Miki watched as Gumi's face became a bright shade of pink. Something was muttered ever so quietly by the green haired girl, and Miki raised one brow. What did she just say? Whatever it was, it must have been thoroughly embarrassing because Gumi now seemed to be having difficulty keeping eye contact. "Gumi-chan-?"

"We can be girlfriends or whatever."

"Huh?" Now her face was starting to feel warm.

"O-only if you want, I mean, I'm not that great," Gumi spluttered. "Y-you know, this is bad, I should leave..!" She put a hand on the table and scrambled to get away from the table.

Before the embarrassed train wreck could rise from her chair, Miki clasped her hands around Gumi's. A wide smile was on her face as she laced the fingers of one hand with the other girl's and giggled. "You're so silly, Gumi-chan. You can't leave in the middle of a date. Not again, anyway," she reminded the other of their last fiasco of a date. "Especially now that we're—um. You know…"

"Yeah."

Both girls stared at each other, each certain that their faces must be as red as cherries. They gave each other an awkward smile and laughed in unison.

A glance at the watch on her wrist informed her that she was early by fifteen minutes. Thankfully, she was seated within the café and shielded from the frigid air outdoors. As Christmas approached, it seemed as if her schedule would never have any openings. Thankfully things had slowed down and she found herself able to enjoy her days with minimal stress. Fingers played with the handle of the steaming coffee mug before her as she waited for the other to arrive. As if on cue, the teal haired girl slipped into the seat across from her.

"Hiya, Luka-senpai!" Miku greeted the other with a smile. The red scarf that had snugly been wrapped around her neck was removed and placed on the empty chair beside her. "You're early! I thought I would be the first one here since I figured I'd come straight here after my interview." The girl paused when she noticed the two cups of coffee on the table. "Sorry if I made you wait."

"That's okay, I just arrived myself," Luka replied as she returned the other's smile. "Our server asked for an autograph and rushed to get me my cup of coffee after I sat down. The other one here is for you." She glanced past her companion and waved at a table of middle school girls who were busily snapping photos of the idols.

"Thanks." Curious, Miku followed the other's gaze and saw the other girls taking pictures from their phones. "Ah. Maybe meeting here wasn't the best idea that I've had," she murmured while she put up a peace sign and gave the middle school students a cheeky smile. Miku then turned back in her seat and shrugged at Luka. "We can leave if you want."

Luka shook her head and took a sip from her coffee. "No, no, it's fine," she dismissed the idea immediately. After all, this was her favorite café. She wasn't going to leave the establishment over something as trivial as having some fans take photos of them.

With a shrug, the younger of the two busied herself with her coffee. Some cream was poured into the piping hot cup, and a smidge of sugar was stirred into the light brown mixture. "Well, okay, if you're sure…"

"Really, it's fine. We both like it here, right?" Luka asked with the smile ever present on her face. Besides, this was where it all began.

Miku nodded. "True. And it's where we had our first date!"

A faint shade of pink tinted the older of the two's cheeks as she nodded. "R-right…" Of course Miku would remember something like that. With a small cough, Luka cleared her throat and continued to speak. "Anyway, how did it go?"

"Mm? Oh, fine! The interview was really simple," the pigtailed girl responded after taking an experimental sip from her coffee. More cream was added. "Just the usual Christmas interview. 'What are your plans for the holidays? Have you already given gifts to your friends? What did you buy them?' You know, things like that. It'll probably be printed and released tomorrow knowing them. I don't know why they didn't schedule the interview sooner. It's kind of weird to publish an interview like that the day after Christmas."

"That's good to hear, but that wasn't what I was referring to," Luka replied. "The song. Didn't you play it for her yesterday?"

The sparkle that was normally present in those teal eyes dimmed at the new topic. "Oh. That."

It seemed as if things hadn't gone exactly as Miku had hoped. "Was she angry?" Luka continued. "We don't have to speak about it."

"Oh, no! She wasn't angry at all," the pianist answered quickly. Her thumb rubbed against the handle of the coffee cup while she spoke. "It went really well. Things are a lot better between us now." Miku had the smallest of smiles on her face, but it was a smile nonetheless. And that in itself was a good sign. "You know, I thought she would cry for once."

Well, no surprises there. To Luka, Gumi never seemed to be the type to cry easily. "And I'm going to guess that she didn't?"

At this, the pianist laughed softly. "No, she didn't. I ended up crying," Miku responded. "After I finished playing I just started to cry. Ugh, and Gumi-chan didn't make it any better." A theatrical sigh escaped her as she leaned back into the wooden seat. Her glossed lips pursed into a pout as she met the gaze of concerned blue eyes. The coffee cup was released from her hands while she continued to speak. "She just told me everything was okay and that she already forgave me a long time ago. Geez… I guess I was just all worked up over us breaking up for no reason." One arm folded across her chest and gripped the elbow of her now free arm. "And she was just petting my head, as if that would make me feel better!" Teal eyes broke away from blue ones as they rolled in mock frustration. "I felt like such a little kid."

Though Miku was complaining about the event, Luka could tell that a large weight had been lifted from the younger girl's shoulders. Yes, things must been fine between Miku and Gumi now. Hopefully this meant that Gumi's brash attitude would settle down. "So things went well, then?" Luka asked after Miku's triad ended. "That's good… I'm glad everything is okay."

"Ah—yeah, it went well." Miku's pout faded into a smile. "In the end, I got to embarrass her before she left about Miki-chan-… actually, now that I think about it, she was dressed up to go somewhere."

"Oh, Miki-chan told me that she was going on a Christmas date with Gumi-chan yesterday morning." It came as a bit of a surprise to Luka, but she was pleased that Miki and Gumi had only become closer over the last few months. And she was even more surprised when the redhead came to her yesterday morning to ask for advice on possible outfits for the date. "So maybe that was why-"

"What!?"

The revelation only launched Miku into a barrage of questions. The two continued on with their time at the café in a similar fashion. Luka informed Miku as best as she could about Miki and Gumi's date, which is to say, she was only able to answer only a handful of questions. The pink haired girl hadn't spoken to Miki after the date, and had simply decided to wait until Miki came to her once more for advice. After a few minutes, the teal haired girl settled down and went back to taking sips from her coffee.

"Huh… Well, good for them!" Miku looked very pleased to hear that her closest friends were getting along rather well. "But their date won't beat ours." She beamed up at Luka. "After this, there's something I want to show you." She quickly finished the remaining coffee and stood up. Her scarf was donned once more and extended a hand towards the perplexed older idol.

Luka's brows raised in surprise after she processed what Miku had said. She was certain that they had only mentioned a visit to the café for some coffee. What on earth could this girl have planned? Without raising any objections, she finished her coffee and took the offered hand. Even something as small as holding hands managed to bring about a flush on her face. Though she could feel the gaze of the middle school students on them, Luka followed the other out of the building. The sting of cold air hit her face once they were out the door, and Luka sorely wished that she had brought a scarf with her. A small sigh came from her as she continued to follow Miku.

"Are you cold, Luka-senpai?" Miku asked as she glanced over her shoulder to see the older vocalist bury her face within the collar of her coat. The tiny nod was enough to give her a positive response. "Mm, well, I wanted to give this to you later, but…" A small parcel was retrieved from the depths of her handbag, and was passed to Luka. The pair slowed their pace down to a halt as Luka opened the gift. "Merry Christmas, Luka-senpai!"

In her hands was a white infinity scarf, which Luka hurriedly wrapped around her neck. It only took a couple of minutes for her to feel warm, and the smile on her face was wide. "Thank you, Miku-chan." She gave the younger girl a look of infinite gratitude before she took hold of Miku's hand once more. "I'll give you your gift later."

Miku grinned and went back to leading them through the winding sidewalks of the city. They reached the outskirts of the urban area, and approached a set of worn stairs. Not a question was asked as they continued up the path. Whatever it was that Miku wanted to show her, it was quite a bit away from home. Snow crunched beneath their feet, and Luka couldn't help but be glad that it hadn't snowed in a few days. This trek uphill would have been far more difficult with a few more inches of snow on the ground.

"We're here!"

Luka's silent musings were interrupted by the soprano's voice. She looked up from the white path to see the brilliant lights of the city shining before them. It was a breathtaking sight, especially with the lights reflecting off of the white of the snow. Miku released Luka's hand and stepped towards the railing that was placed up just before the cliff. "This is one of my favorite places. I come up here a lot after a busy day at work instead of heading home right away," she explained.

"It's beautiful," Luka followed Miku and leaned against the railing. "It was definitely worth that short hike to see something like this."

"Right?! And you can see that huge tree by the train station from here!" The pianist leaned forward, stomach against the rail, to point at the train station. "We don't have to fight our way through the crowd to see it."

How clever of her to think of such a detail for their date. Luka couldn't help but be impressed. "Well, I think it's time for me to give you your present," she said. "Close your eyes and hold out a hand."

Teal eyes closed immediately. A small, pocket sized journal was removed from the pocket of her coat and placed into the waiting hand. "Okay. Open."

Miku looked down at the notebook, and smiled to herself. "Is this a replacement for my old one?" she asked, with an amused glint in her eyes. The cover wasn't completely closed, but she didn't investigate the matter.

"Well, yes," Luka let out a chuckle. "You can start fresh with it and carry it everywhere with you."

"Mm? A fresh start?"

"Yes. Ah, you may want to look at the first page." She watched as Miku opened the book to the first page and stared at the key taped in the center of a large heart. The younger girl carefully peeled the tape off of the silver key and held it up to the lights that came from the city.

"A key? I don't really know what this means, Luka-senpai…"

"Did you… did you see the… heart?"

Miku blinked several times and looked back at Luka. "Oh—oh gosh, you're so cute," she giggled. "That's so cheesy! I didn't know you were so cheesy!"

Luka gulped hard and her face turned red. "I—I thought—it was a good idea!" she squeaked. "Because I, ah, I l-l-l-…"

The grin on the teal haired girl's face was far too much for her to handle. "You what?"

"I, ah, I… Um, that is…!"

Arms were thrown around her neck as Miku closed the gap between them. A quick kiss was stolen, followed by another fit of giggles. "I love you, too, Luka-senpai." The teal haired girl continued to beam up at the embarrassed Luka.

Luka tucked the lower half of her face into her scarf. "I love you, Miku-chan… Merry Christmas."

"So, what is this key for?"

"It's a key to my room..."As soon as the words were spoken, Luka knew that this was an idea she may regret.

Miku smirked. "Oh, Luka-senpai, how forward of you!" she sang.

"D-don't make me break up with you right when we get together," the pink haired idol threatened pathetically.

At this, the younger girl laughed. "I wouldn't dream of doing anything to make you- ah, are we a couple now?"

At this, Luka stiffened and nodded slowly. Kisses were suddenly planted on Luka's cheeks and only caused the blush to deepen.

"I love you!"

"I-I love you, too!"

Hatsune Miku had effortlessly stolen her first kiss.
And now, Hatsune Miku had stolen her heart.

Author's Note:

And that's that! After four years, Slice of Life is finally over. I'm terribly sorry about the indefinite hiatus. Hopefully this last chapter was worth the wait.

If not, then I'm sorry for that, too.

Even after all of this time, I don't know what to actually write in these little notes. So let's end this awkward note with a huge thank you! Thank you for all of your messages and positive reviews! Thank you for all of your support!

Thank you all very much.