Chapter Text
-🌦️-
The rain outside was slowly starting to turn into a storm. On the inside of a house, a former idol sat in front of her computer screen. She sometimes struggles to use the computer, but her few months working with her circle helped her to improve. Right now, she's stuck on what the next lyric to a song could be. She naturally asks her partners what they think.
"I have a question."
"What is it?"
"What do you all think this song is about? I'd like to implement your suggestions into my lyrics."
The call went silent, as there was a lot to unpack about the song. The girl sat there, waiting for any responses.
"I think the song would be more of a 'I want to escape this reality' type of song."
The person who said this was named MinoSoup on Nightcord, the platform that they all used to call and send files. MinoSoup was... an interesting character. She had sometimes let it be known that she wanted to be an idol. According to her though, she had eventually gotten fed up with the amount of rejections she got. Apparently, each rejection stung more and more until she finally gave up. She was on the 59th rejection, so it might've been for the better that she saved the last remaining portions of her sanity.
"Mino, didn't you make the song?"
"Yes, I did. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Shouldn't your interpretation be a little more... set in stone?"
Very good question from Nenic, the video editor and singer for the group. MinoSoup took a while to think about it, but she responded.
"Songs shouldn't be stuck to one interpretation. I'd like to hear what y'all think about the song's theme!"
"I personally think that it has a vibe of wanting the pain to be over," Enanan said.
Enanan was the artist of the group. She was slightly reserved, but still talked when prompted. The idol believed that Enanan had a younger brother, just assuming from the way that she would sometimes mute her mic, almost as if someone were coming in to be annoying. This was all speculation on her part, though.
"See Nenic! People have different interpretations of the song!"
"Gee, I get it. Anyways, if I had to guess, the song is sad."
"I inferred that from the other members."
"I know, RainForest. It's just that I can't exactly pinpoint what the song is about."
"Okay, okay, thank you for the suggestions!"
"You're welcome!"
RainForest was able to start thinking of lyrics after her intelligence gathering. Her flow was unmatched, and nothing could stop it. At least, anything physical couldn't. Her mind was still a minefield, patiently waiting for the day she trips and explodes everything. That day hadn't come yet, but she could feel it was ever approaching. The day that everything would fall apart.
She had fallen out of her flow after her mind played these tricks on her. She knew she needed a break to get back, so she called herself off the call. She paced around her room and eventually had the bright idea to check the time.
"3:45... I need to get some sleep for tomorrow."
She was correct about this realization, as in approximately four hours, she would have to go to school. It's not as if she paid attention in class anymore, but she had one thing that was calming. The rooftop of the school, which had been her unofficial home ever since she left Cheerful * Days. No one went up there, so she was spared from the whispering of everyone around her.
Today was different.
-⚡-
Minori woke up in the morning partially energized. She knew that joining her current music group would lead to losing some of her previous energy, but recently it had been getting worse. She wasn't sure why, but every day felt like a drag, only exacerbated by the fact that every time she checked her email, the taunt of her 59 rejection letters would stare back. She'd already given up hope on the hope of becoming an idol, so it was hard not to question why it still hurt.
By the time she was finished mulling over her thoughts, Minori had already reached school. She went to Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy, one of the highest ranked schools in her area. She walked through the school's main doors, but to her surprise everyone was staring at her. It was almost like they had spread a rumor around about Minori, as some were giggling and some simply just stared. It was starting to get uncomfortable, so she stopped focusing on the people and walked to class.
The staring had lessened, but people would still look at Minori, notice that she was staring at them, and turn around quickly just to snort. She was getting very uncomfortable even while focusing on other things, so she eventually made an important decision. She would try to listen in on their conversations. The first one she overheard was almost unintelligible, but she could piece some things together.
First thing she put together was that a number in the 50-59 range was said. She had heard the word "fifty", so this was a pretty safe bet in her eyes. Second thing was that it had to be related to her, because everyone wouldn't stare at her if it wasn't about her. Finally, she heard the word "letter". Unsure if it was in the terms of a character or a written piece of literature, she kept trying to piece things together.
This time, the banter took place in the hallway between periods. From this one, she couldn't exactly link it and the first one together. She heard this one more clearly, but they weren't talking about 50 of something. Instead, what she heard made her heart drop.
"Didn't she SA someone?"
"I think so..."
She hadn't done anything of the sort. Never in her life had she ever thought "Oh, you know what? I need to go and SA someone!" It was a pretty safe bet the rumor had already spread far and wide, but there was a chance it was just a spur of the moment rumor. She walked up to them and asked one of the girls a question.
"Hi! Where did you hear about me assaulting anybody?"
"Through the grapevine. Why would you even do that?"
So this was at least one of the reasons why everybody thought she was weird. Someone had randomly created a rumor about her that wasn't even close to true. Why would they target Minori, though? She wasn't well known, and it wasn't like she had anything to hope for anymore. What she was trying to say was, she isn't a good target for harassment. She still had to respond though, so she said,
"I didn't do anything! Who told you I did anything?!"
"Real discreet way to sweep it under the rug. You obviously did it, she even gave us proof."
"Show me."
The student pulled out her phone, and went to her videos app. She chose one video, and opened it. The video that Minori saw was... terrifying at the least. It was hard to notice, but the entire video was AI generated. In it was "Minori" and a girl that she had never seen before. It was easy to assume that the other girl was the progenitor of the clip, but she couldn't come to any conclusions.
By the time that it finished, Minori was not only on the verge of puking, but also sobbing. She ran away, her legs taking her anywhere they could find. Her eyes weren't even attempting to hold back tears as she ran up a flight of stairs. When she finished running, it was obvious where she was. She was on the rooftop. Luckily enough, there was what looked like no one else up there at the moment, so she sat down and curled up into a ball.
Her wet eyes had barely noticed a girl staring straight at her. She didn't fully register that she was a human, so Minori took it as time to cry a river's worth of water out. Minori felt a poke sensation in her leg after a while, which after a little bit of feeling had turned out to be a hand. She uncurled out of her ball position to see a girl that she'd been able to recognize as Hinomori Shizuku, former idol group member. Surprisingly enough, instead of taunting her about the fake evidence, she simply gestured a hug. Minori nodded slightly, and a few seconds later, she was wrapped in a hug.
"Don't y-you know?"
"I think I know... it was obviously fake though."
"Didn't seem like anyone else knew."
"Of course they wouldn't. They just want a new person to tear on."
"Why me though? Why me out of everyone?"
Minori was let out of the hug, reorientating to see Shizuku. She had stopped sobbing.
"Am I fine to talk about everything that was leaked?"
"Go ahead, I guess."
"Okay, so from what I can guess, there was a girl who wanted to become an idol. She noticed that you were attempting as well, so she wanted to ruin your chances by spreading a rumor that would make you less desirable."
"Why could she have not fought against me?"
"I believe she thought you were too persistent?"
"Me? Persistent? I already quit trying to become an idol."
"You did?"
"Yeah, because I've gone through fifty or so rejections. One more and I'd become insane."
"Interesting. Are you still pursuing music?"
Minori nodded.
"I work online now, though. I hope that the rumor doesn't affect our music."
"Our? You work in a group?"
"Yeah! With three other people. They're so nice... I hope they don't hate me."
"Why would they hate you?"
"I just feel inferior to them. It's such a weird feeling, but I don't think that someone like me would have enough skill to work with them."
Shizuku contorted her face, obviously thinking about what she wanted to say.
"I don't think they hate you. In fact, I'm willing to bet they probably have the same issues as you."
"They seem so perfect though. I don't think I compare to them."
"They chose you to work with them, did they not? There's something about you that they liked and believed in."
"I'll take your word for it... what happened to you though? Why'd you quit being an idol?"
"Someone decided to spread rumors for about the same thing you're dealing with right now."
"Why would they do that against you?!"
"For the same reason as you, Minori. They obviously didn't have a valid reason. You can't control what people think of you, and I believed that Cheerful * Days would be better without the stress of PR."
"But you were such a good idol! I think they would go through thick and thin for you!"
"Ah, but we'll never know now. I've taken my leave, and you can't change the past. And so I've been running for the future.
Minori looked at her with a slight smile. Shizuku was looking past the building to the sky. It looked as if she was in deep memory about something. Until she said something.
"Minori, what is the name of the music group you work for?"
"I've been told not to tell, sorry!"
"That's alright."
"Shizuku, do you work in music now?"
"I do."
"What group?"
"Can't tell you, sorry."
"Hehe! What can you tell me?"
"Well, there's..."
And they both chatted with each other until the final bell rung.
-🎶-
The songstress walked into Kamiyama High School's main building. She didn't expect for today to be a great day, as most were neutral days where she'd play on her phone all class. It didn't matter at all if she paid attention or not, because she would still have to learn on Kumon after school anyways. Might as well make the most of the time she had in class, right?
She eventually made it to her first period, where she sat and played a new shooter game named "DC Enemies". She used a cloud gaming platform to play the game, as it was only playable on PC. She still sucked at the game, but she would get better over time. Everything gets better with time, right?
She barely noticed that class had started. She was in the middle of a match, so she would turn it off in a bit. As previously mentioned, she did learning outside of school as well. There wasn't much of a rush to finish this fight and turn off the game.
"Nene?"
"One second."
"The teacher is staring straight at you."
This got Nene to look up almost immediately. As true to her friend's word, the teacher was deadpan staring straight into her eyes.
"Kusanagi?"
"Yes, teacher?"
"Would you mind answering the question on the board?"
As she stared into the question, she realized that they had likely started a new unit. This was only verified by the fact that Nene could not figure out a way to answer the question.
"I don't know."
"Hand in your phone, Kusanagi."
Expected.
"I do tutoring out of class, I'll learn there."
"Tutoring is a complement to learning in class. As said, hand in your phone."
Just before she forfeited the argument, her phone screen flashed white. Seeing an opportunity to leave class before she would be forced to lose, there was only one good option left.
"Can I go deal with the fact my phone is attempting to blind me?"
"... Sure. Get back in a few, I still need your phone."
She stepped outside the classroom and tried to figure out what had blinded her. While she was scrolling through her Nightcord, she noticed a new file. It wasn't sent by anyone, but it read "Untitled".
*Untitled? Weird. I might as well listen to it, right?*
When she pressed play, a huge flash of light blinded her completely. When the light faded, she was in an area that couldn't even be described as a school hallway. It actually looked more like a liminal space corridor, infinite in length. There was only one way to go from here, so she started pushing on.
It took a few minutes, but she eventually found someone. They had blue twin tails, a gray suit, and black dress pants. Nene thought that she recognized the unknown figure as Miku, but she put off the thought for now. When Nene got close, the figure spoke.
"Oh, someone finally decided to visit!"
Well, the figure actually decided to scream. They spun around extremely fast, looking at Nene.
"Hello, Nene! Welcome to your SEKAI! I'm Miku, but you might've put that together already."
"You're Miku? Did I get laced by someone...?"
"No, no! You played Untitled, right?"
"Yeah, then I got pulled over here."
"Exactly! Your SEKAI and Untitled are born from your feelings! Or, to be more specific, your groupmates's feelings."
"A world born from feelings? Damn, they put some strong drugs in that food."
"It's not drugs! Just... let me explain."
"Okay, but I have to get back to class soon."
"Got it! So this is a world born from your group's feelings. I'm here to help you find those feelings and birth them into a song!"
"Am I dreaming or..."
"No, you aren't! Either way, that's all I need to explain. So if you want to leave, stop Untitled."
"Oh. Then I guess I'll be seeing you?"
"Hopefully!"
Nene pulled out her phone, opened Nightcord, and waved to Miku. She waved back, and Nene left SEKAI after. Miku then promptly called out to someone.
"Why did you not come out, Rin?"
"I'm scared..."
"Makes sense, I guess. Next time though, right?'
"If I can."
"Mmkay! No pressure!"
Back in the real world, Nene was in the same spot that she left in. Everything was normal, except for the fact that a brown-haired girl was sneaking around her. Shock enveloped the girl's face, Nene concluding that seeing someone reappear from nothingness might be a little shocking.
Although, she had never seen this girl before. Not once while walking through the school. It was almost like she wasn't supposed to be here.
"Who are you?"
"How did you just... reappear like that?"
"Long story; who are you?"
"Oh, um, you don't need to know!"
"I won't tell anyone that you're here."
"Ugh. I'm Shinonome Ena. Usually I would be in night classes, but I left something in my last class."
"Wouldn't being here ruin your sleep schedule?"
"I already stay up to 4 AM making music, so not really?"
"... How much sleep are you running on?"
"Like thirty minutes; I didn't come to get berated, so don't say anything."
"Okay, well don't tell anyone you saw me condense into existence."
"Will do!"
And she tiptoe-ran away. Such a weird character, and how was she even running on thirty minutes worth of sleep? That's a criminally low amount of sleep to get. Nene recognized that she was being a hypocrite though, as she would stay up until about three doing the same thing.
Now that Nene thought about it, her voice sounded familiar. It was almost like--
"Kusanagi?"
Oh right, she had been out of class for a while. She walked back into class, just to be met with the teacher having her hand out, almost beckoning for something.
"You're done, right? Hand me your phone."
Nene had forgotten about that. Now though, she had been able to formulate the perfect excuse.
"I'm pretty sure it's damaged anyways, I couldn't use it well even if I wanted."
"Show me your phone then."
Never mind. It was one hundred percent over. Well, at least--
Then her phone started glowing again. She took this as a sign of divine intervention.
"Ah. Keep it then. I don't want to see you use it during class ever again."
"Got it!"
As she walked back to her desk, her phone turned off. Just to make sure, she turned on her phone while the teacher wasn't looking, and it still worked. She'd just hit the absolute jackpot.
-🎨-
As Ena left the school, she had forgotten something crucial. She'd left her phone in her art class. Unfortunately for her, when she tried to reopen the doors, they were already locked. How convenient. She tried the buzzer.
"Let me in!"
"Are you a teacher?"
"Yes?"
"Show your badge."
"It's been like five minutes!"
"Show your badge, please."
"Okay, but what if I'm a student?"
"Come back when you have classes."
Not great. Instead, Ena came up with a plan to sneak into school during the daytime. It involved a chance of getting suspended, but if she didn't run into any goody-two-shoes, she'd be fine. That would mean avoiding An, Toya, and anyone else she could possibly think of.
She went home after that. Nothing else to do at Kamiyama past this point. Since her house was a while away, she wouldn't be able to meet on Nightcord. She used her watch to relay this.
MinoSoup:
Dw we understand!!!
Nenic:
no we don't how did you even text us
Enanan:
My watch
Nenic:
???
Enanan:
shhhhhhh
Ah, the way Nenic was always confused. Either way, she was still a solid hour away from home, which would leave her with about forty five minutes to sleep. Not a lot, but it beat not sleeping at all.
Enanan eventually reached her house. Inside was a sleeping brother, no parents (She was used to this; they always had some extra work to do), and a bed that she wouldn't be able to use for longer than 30 minutes. All great, except for the third part.
...
Her sleep was not refreshing. She'd woken up a sweaty mess, and now she had to somehow blend into the class. She cleaned herself up, threw on some abandoned clothes (It was just sitting there, unfortunately it was the male uniform), and went to school.
Nothing went out of the ordinary on the train ride, so now she was face to face with her biggest stealth mission yet. Walking into school.
This should be easy.
She walked into the school with some weird looks being thrown to her. It was obvious why, but Ena could've sworn there was someone else who would have the same type of looks thrown to her. She eventually decided to camp in the girl's bathroom until the beginning of first period.
Once she heard the bell and all the echoing footsteps of the hallway died out, she was on the move. First thing was to go up the stairs, then down the Class 2-A hallway. After that, it'd be a pretty easy straight shot to the night classes.
She made it up the staircase fine, and was now walking down the 2-A hallway. This was until she saw a girl with green hair come out of a classroom. She fumbled around with her phone until she was enveloped with a bright white light. After the flash bang had lowered, she noticed that not only was the green hair girl gone, but there was a beam of light now attempting to chase her.
That's just my luck, isn't it? Can't run because someone's bound to recognize me.
She then got hit by the beam, blinding her vision. She awoke in a bedroom of sorts. It looked like it was ripped straight from a hotel. It did look awfully familiar though...
"Oh? Hello, Ena."
In front of her was a man with blue hair, a blue scarf, and pajamas. He looked similar to KAITO, but Ena couldn't fully confirm this. She looked around, confused by where she was.
"Hello...? You are KAITO, right?"
"I am. Welcome to your SEKAI."
"What's SEKAI?"
"It's a place created from the feelings of everyone you hold close. Most specifically, your group mates."
"Anything else? I still need to get my phone."
"Oh, you didn't come here through Untitled?"
"Untitled?"
"How did you get here?"
"A beam of light chased me."
"So someone nearby you must have similar feelings to you. I find that surprising."
"You find what surprising?"
"The fact you've already met one of your group mates."
"... You aren't lying?"
"I don't believe so."
"Interesting. Is this a dream world?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because it doesn't seem very real that I'm talking to KAITO, a vocaloid that I only really knew for singing."
"Oh. I wouldn't believe that either if I were you. You can trust me if you want. Do you want to go back?"
"Yeah... I still need my phone."
"Makes sense. See you soon!"
KAITO put his hand on Ena's shoulder, making her disappear with a huge flash. There were nothing but loose triangles left in her place. KAITO stretched, getting ready to sleep in.
"Time to get some rest, then."
Ena woke up in the same area that she was. She shrugged the encounter as a vivid daydream, and started back down the corridor. She noticed the green-haired girl hadn't reappeared yet, so she took that as her sign to start moving. At least, until the girl suddenly reappeared right in front of her. Ena felt her face naturally contort into shock as the girl stared into her brown eyes.
...
After a small conversation with her, Ena was able to stay in secrecy on the request that she wouldn't divulge any information on how the girl magically teleported into existence before her. Ena also could've sworn that the girl sounded a lot like Nenic, but that couldn't be confirmed. She eventually reached the night class hallways, and tried opening the door to her art class.
Keyword, tried. Every attempt she had at opening it returned no results. Luckily enough, she still had her watch. Using a very small browser, she learnt how to use earrings as a lockpick. After a few attempts, she finally got the door open. She turned on the lights to look around, but her phone was nowhere to be seen. Her watch was almost dead from the video watching, but she had enough battery to be able to ring the device. One of the dressers vibrated, which she took as where her phone was.
Using a little memory recall, she was able to open the drawer after a long string of unsuccessful lockpicking attempts, one of them even leading to her earring bending. She grabbed her phone, and began to leave. That is, until she saw a hall monitor staring straight into the room she occupied. Not great for secrecy.
"How did you get in here?"
Ena had two choices.
"It was unlocked."
"I tried opening it earlier and it didn't open."
Talk her way out of it,
"Then someone must've unlocked it and forgotten about it."
"The doors auto lock."
Or run away as fast as possible.
"Am I in trouble?"
"... Yes? You are currently trespassing on school grounds."
Oh screw it, it's time to flee.
Ena started hightailing it out of the room. Obviously, the hall monitor noticed and gave chase. Luckily enough for Ena, she had memorized the ro--
Fuck, which way did I use to get here?
As said, Ena knew exactly--
Is this a dead end?! How did I even...?
She knew the exact route out. Or at least, the route to the nearest dead end. She'd already lost her pursuer due to her frantic moves, but that peace wouldn't last long at the rate she was going at. She had to find some sort of cover, like a busy area--
The lunch bell rung. Perfect timing for her, as that would provide a crowded area that she couldn't be identified in. After that, she could simply just walk out the building. Likely. She wasn't actually sure of this plan's success rate, but her current rate was already 0%. She might as well risk it.
She quietly observed the students walking to lunch. She had to attempt to blend in at the least, since she was wearing the male Kamiyama uniform. Most females didn't wear the male uniform, so she had to look for deviants.
After a little, she identified traits that would help her escape. Some such as talkative, bubbly, probably hiding something... Almost like the person standing right in front of her. Actually wait, exactly like the person in front of her! It was Ena's time to go and act as if they'd seen each other before.
"Hello!"
"Oh- hi! Who are you?"
"Shinonome Ena, pleased to make your acquaintance! What may be your name?"
Ena finally realized how much she hated faking a persona.
"Akiyama Mizuki! What class are you in?"
"I'm in Class 3-A! You?"
"Ah, I'm in Class 2-B. I guess that makes you my senior?"
"Hehe, it does! Why'd you come up to me, Shinonome?"
Ena leaned in and turned off the persona.
"I'm actually in Night Class 3-D, not 3-A. Sorry for lying, but I do need to... evade some issues I started."
Did Ena give away too much information? She hoped not.
"Ooh, like what?"
"Every hall monitor is currently tracking me down like I murdered someone, so I'm trying to leave. I don't even have classes at this hour."
"You know, I am actually friends with a member of the Disciplinary Committee. I could totally snitch on you~"
Fear flashed across Ena's face, quickly covered up with a smile.
"Ah hah, don't."
"You haven't been disturbing me, so I don't see a point. I am eating with the aforementioned member though, so I believe your stop is here?"
Ena just noticed that their conversation had spread long enough to allow her an easy escape to freedom. One last thing, though.
"Can I be your friend?"
"Sure, but you don't go to Kamiyama until two in the morning, so how are we supposed to speak?"
"Do you have Nightcord?"
"I do. It's uh... you know what, just tap my phone and be done with it."
While Ena got her username, Mizuki asked a question.
"Where'd you get the male uniform anyways?"
"I found it in a random restroom stall."
This evoked some sort of reaction in Mizuki, but Ena didn't care nor really need to care about it. She just needed to get out of this school.
"Finished. Thank you!"
"No problem!"
Ena ran out the school, likely making some random hall monitor enraged. It was too late to catch her though, as she was already off school campus. Mission success! Even if it led to a few errors and somehow making a friend. After making it to the train, she had a few minutes to recollect her memories of the scariest run of her life.
Okay, so I made a friend. Akiyama.
She (? Ena had forgotten to ask.) now has my username.
... Oh my god, please tell me I didn't just leak that I'm in a music group.
Actually wait, we aren't that popular. I think we'll be fine.
As soon as she finished that thought, a text was received on Nightcord. She opened it, hoping it was just MinoSoup having nothing better to do. MinoSoup just randomly does stuff like that, and Ena wasn't sure why.
She noticed it was from someone named Amia. Ena recognized that name, so she opened their bio. In it were their pronouns, general info (They were an ESFJ, which Ena found surprising. It wasn't really), and the profile picture was a light blue circle, followed by a pink circle, into a full white circle. In the middle was the English letter A, written in cursive. This felt like it was from Mizuki, so she opened it.
Inside was a simple "Hello", a tried and true opener. She responded almost immediately, having nothing else to do but either wait or text them.
--
Enanan:
hi hru
Amia:
Im doing fine thank you. Are you?
Enanan:
yeah im not dead so it worked out in the end
Amia:
Were you expecting to die???
Enanan:
i dont run that much i had to run al the way to the train
all*
Amia:
Whyd you run all the way to the train 😭
Enanan:
for fun idk i wasnt even late
Amia:
whar
Enanan:
shhh.
Amia:
Oh yeah about that uniform
I used to own that exact one I think
--
Shock was visible on Ena's face when they said that.
--
Enanan:
WHATTT
WHYD YOU OWN A DUSTY PAIR OF MALE KAMIYAMA CLOTHES
Amia:
Uhhhhhh idk
Enanan:
Oh wait do you want them back
Amia:
Nah you can keep them I dont use it anymore
Enanan:
thank u
would you date me
recite the bible in English if yes, breathe if no
Amia:
[1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
[2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
[3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
[4] And God saw the light, that it was good...
Enanan:
WHAT
Amia:
i would date you yea
Enanan:Uwaaaaaaa
Okay.
Amia:
I have Daycord you cant hide that edit from me
Enanan:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
--
As she sent that text message, her stop finally arrived. She had to let Amia know at least.
--
Enanan:
oh wait my train arrived
bye c u soon
Amia:
buh bye!!!
--
Ena got off the train mere seconds before the doors closed. She thought that Amia, and in conjunction Mizuki, was fun to talk with. They weren't ever that pushy about stuff; in fact it slightly felt like they weren't really pushy for anything during that conversation. Except the uniform. That was an important exception.
She looked around for any familiar faces, and pushed forwards on her journey toward getting more than thirty minutes of sleep. Speaking of her sleep, the lack of it had started to catch up to her. Ena could've sworn she saw floating stars, even though she was at an enclosed train station. Now that she thought about it, she felt really dizzy. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to--
She fell over unconscious on the floor. Panic set in for everyone nearby, including one specific person. A person who was skipping school to avoid the hurt of rumors. A person who had successfully created an online and offline persona just to ensure that no one ever found out about her.
-⚡-
Minori ran to the incapacitated girl's side, checking if she was still alive. Her breathing seemed normal, and her heart rate wasn't fast or slow, so it was likely that she was sleeping. It wouldn't hurt to have her brought to a more stable area, like the infirmary in the station.
*She's sleeping. That would be cute under different circumstances.*
Just before she asked someone to call for help, a phone started to glow. Everyone in the radius was positively scared for their lives. Suddenly, Minori's line of vision turned white, forcing her to close her eyes. When her eyes opened, she was in a hallway, laying down before a woman. She had blue hair, a blue tie, a gray suit, and black dress pants. Something about her felt familiar, though.
"How did she even pass out, Minori?"
"I don't know? She honestly kind of just passed out."
"You don't know? I thought she told you what she was doing?!"
"Did she? I don't think we've even met before."
"I'm sure you have, Minori. After all, this world is made from all of your groups feelings."
"You mean Tri-Clover?"
"Yeah! What other group would I be talking about?"
"Maybe one of the 59 idol groups I got rejected from? Where am I anyways?"
"Oh yeah! Let me do my introduction. I'm Miku, and this is your SEKAI!"
"That explains why you looked familiar. What about the girl you just stole me from, though?"
"She's here, but with KAITO. I think she's still sleeping."
"She kind of needs it to be honest."
"I'm aware. But you two do know each other, I promise!"
"Well, from what you make it sound out to be, it sounds more like she fell over due to a lack of sleep."
"Exactly!"
"Well, I need to go back now. How do I leave?"
"How did you get here?"
"I think the other girl's phone fell out of her pocket and brought us here."
"Ah, so Untitled won't be playing for you."
"Untitled?"
"When all of you find your true feelings, a song will be born! It's called Untitled for now, since you all still have such a long way to go."
"Hm. Can you send me out now?"
"Okay! Next time you come, bring everyone else with you!"
"Everyone else? What does that mea--"
The bright light came back again, forcing Minori to cover her eyes. She was back in the train station, with a crowd of people still watching her. The other girl had disappeared, but guessing through the crowd's shock seeing her reappear, the girl must've been having the time of her life sleeping. Even though she knew what just happened was a miracle in of itself, she still let out a shocked expression to blend in with the crowd. She could've sworn that a few weeks ago, she would've been in real shock.
No time to think about that now though, for she had to save face. First things first would be to clear up any suspicion that magic was at play. She could do that in a few ways, but she chose the most effective.
"Are you okay?"
She started talking to air, attempting to get everyone to believe that they were going insane, not her. It seemed to work, as her peripheral vision saw people with their faces scrunched trying to reset their vision. The second part of her plan could come into play, which was to ensure no one thought it was on purpose. The people who didn't fall for the first trick would surely fall for the next. The plan was...
"You!" she screamed, pointing at a girl with light blue hair. It was the former idol that she had made friends with, and they were both skipping together.
"Yes, madam?"
"Can you take care of her while I go and get a medic?"
"Okay!"
-🎨-
"Huh? Where am I?"
Ena awoke in a familiar place. She was in a bed that seemed well kept. On the other side of the room was a blue haired gentleman who she immediately recognized as KAITO. She couldn't remember how she was sent here, but it felt like she had a really good rest.
"Good evening, Ena."
"Good evening, KAITO. Why am I here?"
"You passed out in that train station. I believe someone else sent you here."
"Do you know who it was? Why would they send me to SEKAI?"
"They're a member of your group. Naturally, they have the ability to send you here."
"How do I keep meeting people who work with me?!"
"Honestly, I don't really know. It's probably luck."
"I know that, it's just...! There's literally only three people who work with me!"
"Blame the higher forces, not me."
"I will! Ah... so I came here from the middle of that train station?"
"Precisely."
"How am I going to get back without looking like a weirdo?"
A knock could be heard a few seconds later. KAITO started walking to the door.
"I'll get it."
There were two people standing at the door. One who had blue twin tails which Ena guessed was Miku, and a girl around Ena's age. The girl looked like a friend of a friend, if Airi's reports could be trusted.
"Hi Ena!" Miku practically screamed at her.
"Ouch. Hi, person I believe is Miku based on context clues."
"I am in fact Miku, so I guess you'd be right!"
"Oh, you're Shinonome?" the other girl asked.
"I mean, what does it sound like?"
"It's just that... I think I've heard your name from a friend."
"I might know her. Is she Airi?"
"Yeah, her."
"So you're Hinomori?"
"I am. She really likes to praise you, y'know?"
"I could say the same for you too! Apparently you worked as an idol?"
"I used to, yeah. I got forced out by false rumors though."
"Oh, that's unfortunate. Side note; are you RainForest?"
"Yes I am. I guess you're Enanan?"
"Oh, that makes so much sense. I am Enanan, yeah."
"Nice to know. Have you met anyone else?"
"Not that I fully know of. I think there was a green-haired girl at my school that came here, though?"
"Oh, are you all talking about Nene?" Miku interrupted.
"I guess? I didn't actually catch her name," Ena replied.
"Wait! Shizuku, didn't you come to do something?"
"Oh yeah! Hold my hand Shinonome."
"Uh, sure."
"Send us back, Miku!"
"I got it!"
Suddenly, both of them were enveloped by the white light. Ena had become used to seeing it, so she didn't flinch at all. Looking at Hinomori though, she was obviously not used to it. Ena awoke laying with her face on the concrete. As she got up, the crowd of people looked shocked. Not surprising, since she probably just appeared out of thin air. Hinomori looked shocked as well, but it obviously wasn't real.
Ena stretched once she fully got up, ensuring to hit every muscle group possible. It felt good to just... let out built up pressure. She looked around and saw a brown haired girl jump while beckoning for both of them. When they started to approach, the girl ran down the stairs.
"Who is that?"
"Friend of mine."
"Why is she so jumpy?"
"I don't know. She kind of just... changes on the fly?"
"Oh. So is she bipolar or...?"
"No, no, she changes in the span of like 2 hours sometimes."
"Hmm."
They finally reached the base of the stairs, where the girl was ready to meet them.
"Hi, Shizuku!"
"Hello, Minori. It looks as if your plan worked?"
"It did! You played it off so well! Oh, and hello... what's your name?"
"Shinonome Ena."
"Hello, Shinonome! Can I call you Ena?"
"Go ahead, you sound familiar anyways."
"Oh, but I don't think we've met-- Wait, are you in Tri-Clover?"
"Are you?"
"Yeah!"
Ena turned to Shizuku.
"Can I trust her?"
"Yeah, she's in Tri-Clover. From her face, I think she's trying to figure out who you are."
"Ena?" asked a questioning Minori.
"Yes?"
"Why is your Nightcord name... so boring?! Really? Enanan?!"
"Shut up! I couldn't figure out a cool name."
"Well anyways, I guess that leaves one more person we haven't met!"
"I think I've met her."
"Oh? Do you think you could bring us to her?"
"Why do you think I passed out in a train station? We'd have to wait for the next train, which might be after school lets out."
"Then let's drive there!"
"How do you have a driver's license and a car?"
"Oh, I don't!"
"You don't?"
"Hop in!"
Ena once again turned to Shizuku.
"Is it safe to trust her here?"
"Honestly, on the way here, yeah. Now that she's jumpy... I don't think I would trust her."
"How did y'all make it here without dying?"
"She wasn't in her happy mood? That's the only answer I can think of."
Ena turned toward the car. It didn't look stolen, so the only answer she could think of was that it was her parent's car. And Mizuki would be at school right now...
"I'll ride."
"Yay! How about you, Shii?"
"Please don't call me Shii; but sure."
"Sorry! I'll make sure to never do it again!"
The two of them got into Minori's car. It was spacious and luxurious, a change from having to ride in a train to school.
"Lead the way, Ena!"
"Eh?! Use the console's map!"
"Oh yeah, I could do that..."
And their adventure to the 9th ring of hell began.
~🌦️~
"Shizuku, why are there rumors spreading about you?"
"What rumors?"
"The ones about you sexually assaulting someone."
"I never did that!"
"I would believe you, but there's video evidence."
"Show me."
Her current manager pulled out his phone. He scrolled over to the video and played it.
...
...
Shizuku had to go and use the restroom.
...
She returned once again.
"Can you explain that video?"
"It's AI."
"How do you know?"
"... I don't. You would need to send me the video."
"Why would I send a video of this nature to you?"
Shizuku started to feel light headed.
"So... I... the video might have something?"
"Are you sure? I'll let you use my phone if you can prove that it's AI."
"Okay."
She was handed her former manager's phone.
"The download source?"
"Wha-- Oh, it does say it's from an AI site."
Even though she was safe, she still felt light headed. She was about to pass out.
"Is that all?"
"I believe so. You are dismissed."
She couldn't work here, even if her PR team did anything.
It was just going to happen all over again.
Nothing good ever happened to her anyways.
She really wanted to disappear.
Scratch that; she wanted to die.
-🌦️-
"Shizukuuu!"
"Huh? Yes?"
"Are you okay? You're sweating a lot."
Shizuku felt her forehead. Minori was right, there was a lot of sweat.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm okay, Minori. When have I not been okay?"
"Now, because you're speaking weirdly."
Why do they trust me at all? I'm lying straight to their face.
"As I said, I'm okay. Let me go back to sleep."
"Is that the best solution to a nightmare? You know you're shaking, right?" Ena chimed in.
She looked down at her arms. They were shaking quite a bit. Luckily enough, her sweater sleeves weren't pulled up.
"I'll probably have a dream when I go back to sleep."
"If you say so."
Shizuku put her head back on the side of the car seat. She just needed some rest after a long day. A long four hours. Shizuku wasn't even sure if it was past noon. That didn't matter though, as she drifted off to sleep.
~🌦️~
She curled up on her bed. Her parents had noticed that she didn't come out of her room much anymore, except for the occasional bathroom break. They eventually decided to start giving her food in her room, but it wasn't like Shizuku ate any of it.
She just balled up, hoping for the world to forget about her. She wanted to die, but ruining her sister's morale sounded like too big of a risk for her to take. Shiho's life was worth more than hers.
Her cravings for pain only got worse the longer she dragged on her life. Originally, she would just bite into her skin, which usually fended off any mild cravings. Slowly though, the threshold raised. It evolved into scratching lightly, to scratching with force behind it, to using sharp objects to lacerate her skin.
That was, until one day. She hoped it would be the last one that she had to live through. She wished for this day to come, the one where she could finally get Shiho off her mind, and focus on herself. First, though, she had to write a few notes. A pencil was grabbed from the sidelines after she walked to her desk. Using two sheets of paper, she wrote to her parents and her sister. They were heartfelt, at least Shizuku thought they were. She grabbed a bottle of pills and prepared for what would be the last time she ever breathed.
She chugged all of the pills down, making sure to pick up any that fell over on the floor. After about 30 seconds, she started to feel dizzy. It became progressively harder to stand up, until her legs eventually gave out. She hit the hard floor, but she was still conscious. The last thing she remembered seeing was her sister screaming. Was it her sister? She didn't know or care.
-🌦️-
"Shizuku!"
"Huh? What, Minori?"
"You're not fine."
"What do you mean?"
"You were scratching yourself while sleeping. How do you even do that?"
She looked down at her wrist. It was infact scratched, with the sleeve of her sweater having been pulled up.
"Oh! I'm sorry--"
"Don't apologize for it, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to fall back asleep."
"But I'm so tired..."
"You were also having a nightmare which invigorated your subconscious to start scratching yourself. Just drink coffee or something..."
"Ena, I would but I've sworn off coffee."
"I think it's worth breaking your pact so that you don't end up a bloody mess in the back of the car."
"Maybe..."
I'm such a pushover.
What do I even do for our group?
Should I quit?
"You're thinking of quitting something?"
She said that out loud, didn't she?
"No, no, it was just a rogue thought!" She forced herself to laugh.
"... Okay."
When will the pain end? Will I have to deal with this forever?
I believe disappearing would be for the better.
For everyone around me. I keep making them worry.
For myself. These thoughts pester me in every way.
I should disappear.
For now though, Shizuku decided to force herself to be happy. Maybe that one video she watched in second grade about faking it till you made it would work.
Or maybe she'd give up.
-🎶-
It was a surprisingly quiet day for Nene. Except for the surprise meetup with the other Shinonome, everything was going about as planned. That was until she saw a familiar brown-haired girl signal for her to come outside her classroom.
"Shinonome?" Nene whispered.
Shinonome raised up her hand to her mouth, signaling her to not talk. She then beckoned for her to come over.
"Teacher?"
"Yes, Kusanagi?"
"May I go to the restroom?"
"Sure. Be back soon, we're going over new content today."
"Okay!"
She left the room slowly. Once the four of them got out of the sight of the teacher, Nene needed to know what was up.
"Why did you pull me out of class, Shinonome?"
"Call me Ena; do you know what Tri-Clover is?"
Of course she knew what Tri-Clover was, she was in it! She wasn't sure if they should know, though.
"No."
"Let's test that theory!"
Minori pressed play on the song named Untitled. Suddenly, all of them were covered in a blanket of light. Nene flinched from the sudden change of environment, but eventually realized that they were going to SEKAI.
They wanted to bring me to SEKAI?! In the middle of class too? Ugh...
The group found themselves standing in the middle of a hallway. Nene recognized this portion as the one that she had originally been sent to earlier in the day. The first Virtual SINGER to find them had yellow hair, a ripped idol outfit, and a somewhat perpetual look of dread. She probably had seen better days, if that was even possible.
Shizuku was the first to talk.
"Rin!"
"Hi, Shizuku. You brought the rest of them?"
"Technically Minori did, but yeah."
"Hello, Rin! Are you the real one?!" Minori screamed.
"She's annoying." Rin responded.
"Aww... what did I even do to deserve this?"
"Be annoying; You all know what SEKAI was created for, correct?"
"I believe so?"
"Ena, do you know?"
"It's a place where all our feelings are, right?"
"Do you know what it gives?"
"... I think KAITO skipped over that."
"Of course he did. The rest of you know, correct?"
"Yeah!"
"For our uninformed member, the song Untitled will eventually fill with your true feelings. Two of you are on the verge of finding your feelings. The other two are repressing their current emotions."
"Who is it?"
"If I told you, those members would likely find a drastic action to do. I wish not to be the progenitor of their death."
Everyone looked at each other.
"Do not think their feelings are exclusive to them. All of you have the same feeling, it's just that two of you are likely to crack under the pressure."
"... Rin?"
"Yes, Ena?"
"Is the shared emotion the wish to disappear?"
"... That is for you to find out. Minori and Shizuku, would you follow me please?"
The two of them walked off with Rin to a place unknown. Now, Nene and Ena were left alone.
"Ena?"
"Yes, Kusanagi?"
"Please just call me Nene; but what was that guess about?"
"... To be honest, I don't exactly know."
"Are you mentally okay?"
"I don't think any of us are. And I'm not saying that in a joking sense."
"... I hope you're incorrect about the disappear thing."
"Do you wish to disappear?"
"I don't want to say."
"Okay, but I will say that the guess was based on our trip to Kamiyama."
"... I have to go back to class."
"Wait!"
"What?"
"What do you think happened to the other two, though?"
"I cannot say. I hope nothing bad. Bye."
"See you."
Nene opened her phone to find that Untitled was playing. She didn't remember starting it, but she could stop it, so it didn't matter. She pressed pause and was taken back to Kamiyama. She walked back to class, attempting to hide that she was shaken from the experience. School was about to end anyways, so it wouldn't be hard to keep it to herself.
-⚡-
No.
Minori did not want to disappear.
Why would she ever want to disappear?
Her life was perfect, so why would she need to disappear?
...
Her life... was perfect.
It hadn't changed though.
She didn't want to disappear.
Nothing could make her change that stance.
Even if it was her inner thoughts.
...
She used to question why people wanted to die.
It used to be a novel concept to her.
Now though, she cries for help into a void that doesn't respond.
Sometimes, she could see that video in her vision.
...
She couldn't log on today.
--
MinoSoup:
sorry guys i cant log on today
RainForest:
It's fine.
--
It wasn't fine, though. She just wanted to escape her thoughts.
Nothing could be fine anymore.
Her life was crumbling to pieces in front of her.
She was sure that she was reaching the best of times.
Just for that to be pulled from under her.
How pathetic.
How stupid of her for thinking times were good.
Life could never get better for her.
After all, isn't she the one who SA'd someone?
Even if it wasn't real, she still felt the guilt.
She wished she could disappear.
Never be one with the earth again.
All it did was lead to suffering.
She felt her phone ring as she got up from her bed. She'd been laying in it for the last nine hours, berating herself for something that she never did. Tearing herself just for a cruel prank someone played on her. Her reputation at school was already in hell, so logically no one would care for her if she did commit.
She should commit suicide, right? Was it even worth it to live anymore?
Minori walked to her closet and grabbed the rope that laid there.
...
...
She'd fully prepared herself for her last breath. Everything was in place. She put her head through the noose, ready to take her own life. She didn't feel a need to write anything to her parents, as she thought that they wouldn't care about her after death. No one else would, right? As she kicked the chair underneath her, her mom walked into the room
The last thing that Minori remembered hearing was her mother scream.
-🌦️-
--
Enanan:
mino isn't getting on today?
Nenic:
apparently not
i hope she's fine.
Enanan:
me too, she didn't seem fine when we left
RainForest:
I think she wasn't okay in the first place.
Random mood swings, being able to access our SEKAI in the first place, and a lot of other minor details.
I'm going to go and check up on her.
Enanan:
good idea, please keep her company.
--
Shizuku switched to her DM's with Minori. It said she was online.
--
RainForest:
Are you okay?
Especially after today.
Minori?
--
Please be fine.
Please be fine.
Please be fine. Please be fine. Please be fine. Please be--
She's not fine.
--
RainForest:
She hasn't responded to any of my texts.
Enanan:
she hasn't? that's not good
Nenic:
it says she's online, but i don't think she'll respond
she probably wants to be left alone
RainForest:
As we've established, she isn't okay.
I hope she's still alive, because I wouldn't put it past her to...
You know.
Enanan:
I find it unfortunate that death is even an option.
Nenic:
yeah, cause i think enanan was correct
we probably do have a case of wanting to disappear
Enanan:
So you've felt that feeling before, Nenic?
Nenic:
it would not be an overstatement to say that i felt it when we left sekai.
--
I hope she didn't end up like me back then.
Yet I can't shake off this feeling that she did.
Wait. I know where her house is!
It might be weird at this time of night, but here goes nothing.
--
RainForest:
I'm going to go and check up on Minori at her house.
Enanan:
Good luck.
She set off for Minori's house. It wasn't a long run, about 15 minutes in fact, but at night with the looming possibility that she might've just made the worst decision of her life, running was a bit more stressful than usual. She knew that she shouldn't be out of the house at this time of night anyways, it's always when the crimes of Shibuya occur, but if this was about a friend, she'd do anything.
When Shizuku got to Minori's neighborhood, an ambulance could be seen driving away. She prayed that it wasn't what she thought it was, but it likely was. It would explain all of the missed texts. She didn't give up though, so she kept running. When she made it, Minori's mother could be seen crying outside her house.
"What happened?!"
"Ah! My... my daughter..."
"... What happened to Minori?"
"She... she attempted..."
No.
She didn't.
"She attempted suicide."
Shit.
No, this had to be a dream.
Shizuku pinched herself with the hope she'd wake up. Nothing happened.
Maybe she was in a coma?
There weren't any lamps nearby to check.
Or maybe she finally lost it, and imagined Minori's mother. She pulled out her camera app to check.
She didn't disappear on the camera.
Shizuku broke down in front of the house.
"Minori... why'd you do it?"
-🎨-
--
Enanan:
It's been a while since RainForest was online, right?
Nenic:
it has. i hope that's not a sign of terrible news.
Enanan:
Right, but didn't she say Minori's house was nearby hers?
Nenic:
i don't want to think about it to be honest.
Enanan:
Wait, RainForest is back...?
RainForest:
Please get into the call.
--
Ena felt a rising sense of dread coming from the lack of pleasantries that Shizuku sent. She'd at least start with a hello, but she immediately went to a request. Ena didn't want to join the call, but knew she had to. She had to see this through.
"Hello everyone."
"Hi, RainForest."
"I'd like for you to use Shizuku during this call."
Oh. That's not normal.
"As you all know, I went to go and check on Minori."
"..."
"My investigation has returned some less than desirable results."
Oh no.
"Minori is currently in the hospital. She attempted suicide."
I'm done with real life.
Can't pray for better times when God sends down nukes.
"Are you serious, Shizuku?"
"Yes."
I can't right now.
"Send my regards to her mother. I need to think about this."
"Understood, Ena. Good bye."
Ena couldn't deal with the amount of people in her life who had attempted suicide.
First, my brother, now my group mate? Who's next, me?
... I shouldn't make that joke. I need sleep.
And she slept.
-⚡-
...
...
Seven days had passed since the incident.
Seven days Minori spent on the brink of death.
Seven days worth of Tri-Clover worrying incessantly about her.
If she was awake, she wouldn't want any of this.
But she wasn't.
At least, until the eight day.
Minori regained consciousness at 10:13 AM on a Monday.
Her eyelids felt heavy, so she tried to focus on any sounds. The first thing she listened to was a beeping sound. She couldn't make out what it was coming from. Her mind was too frazzled from some event. She couldn't fully remember what it was...
Didn't I die? Am I in heaven now?
But what would the beeping sound be if I were in heaven?
And why do I feel like I'm in a bed?
...
Wait.
Didn't my mother come into the room?
Oh.
I'm screwed.
She opened her eyelids. To her surprise, there was only one person in the hospital room at that time. She knew her mother would probably be unable to take off more than two days to see her, so it wasn't surprising that she wasn't there. Tri-Clover should be at school right now, but it wasn't like she knew the time. The sun pattern looked almost as if it were around 11 AM-ish though, so she couldn't come to any conclusions about who was there. Or, Shizuku skipped school again. Honestly, it was probably the latter, she would skip school to see Minori wake up.
Why did she attempt suicide if she knew someone would be there for her? She had lost the answer in the seven day knockout she experienced. She only remembered that her mother walked in as soon as the chair was kicked. What even had her feeling down?
"Minori?"
That sounded like Shizuku if she'd ever heard her.
"Hi."
Shizuku initiated the most crushing hug Minori had ever experienced in her life.
"Ack! I'm still weak..."
"Sorry... welcome back though!"
"Thank you for the welcome...? What time is it?"
"It's about 10:17."
"The time trick you taught me actually does work!"
"See, someone with the word sun in their name knows how the sun works!"
"Ah hah... so you don't hate me?"
"No? Where'd you get that?"
"Well, I probably made you worry for the however long I've been on this bed."
"Don't worry about that! I only care that you aren't under a gravestone."
"Aww, thanks."
"You're welcome."
"So the rest of Tri-Clover--"
"Is at school? Yeah. they can't miss classes. And Ena is currently dealing with her own demons."
"... Is she going to end up like me?"
"Probably not? She's just reminiscing on her incredibly terrible luck."
"She has bad luck? How?"
"You'd probably have to ask her yourself."
"At least it fits that she's in a group named 'Tri-Clover'."
"Well, you have incredible luck it seems."
"Speaking of me, don't you have to go and call a nurse so they do their checkups or whatever?"
"Oh yeah! I think I can just press this button...?"
"That calls a nurse?"
"Seems like it."
"Neat!"
"It is!"
Five minutes later, a nurse came into the room.
"Hello!"
"Hi."
"Hanasato, do you feel okay?"
"I think so?"
"Okay, well we'll need... Hinomori to leave. It'll only be for a little bit, we need to do some checkups."
"Alright. See you Minori!"
"Bye!"
--
RainForest:
GUYS!
Nenic:
what
RainForest:
MINORI!!!!!!!!!
Enanan:
hhuh?
she's awake???
RainForest:
Yeah! Ena, you should come!
Nenic:
i wish i could come
Enanan:
Shizuku, look behind you.
--
"Wha-- How did you even...?"
"Ah, don't ask about it. Minori is alive?"
"Yeah. Apparently they're doing checkups-- How did you obtain hospital attire?!"
"I work for the hospital as a nurse. Don't look into that claim."
"Uh..."
Ena put her index finger to Shizuku's lips.
"Shhhhh..."
"I'm not even going to question it."
Once the nurse finished, she came out and allowed them to go in. She said hi to Ena, which was reciprocated.
-🎶-
She was coming. She'd already "left school early", which entailed skipping to go and see Minori. Apparently the other two were already there, so she was the only one not there. Using a few shortcuts she knew, Nene had cut down the run to the hospital from an hour to about thirty minute marathon. Unfortunately, trains didn't run to the hospital at this time of day, and hijacking a car was likely to get her a felony. Not worth it.
She made it to the hospital, out of breath and sweating like a tiger had just chased after her. She walked up to the check-in desk.
"May I see... Hanasato Minori?"
"What's your relationship to her?"
"Friend and co-worker."
"Alright, she's in room 329. Floor 3."
"Thank you."
She limped to the elevator, and pressed the up button. She had to wait for a solid minute, but the elevator eventually came. She'd been able to regain her composure a little from the break, allowing her heart rate to stabilize. She reached the 3rd floor and started looking for room 329.
She found the door and knocked.
There was a little commotion from inside until someone got up from what Nene assumed to be a chair. They had a weirdly regal way of walking, so Nene assumed it was Shizuku.
"Hi Shi-- Ena?!"
"How did you think I was Shizuku?"
"When did you start walking like a queen?"
"So somebody finally noticed! I refined my walking style so I could be called a queen."
"Oh... kind of sad that it worked."
"It's a good thing!"
"No it isn't."
"Ugh! Just come inside."
The room had three people inside. First was Ena, who had just let her in. Second was Shizuku, who was in deep conversation with the third person, Minori. It seemed as if the two of them had a lot to catch up on, so she didn't interrupt their conversation.
Once Minori looked up from her conversation, she noticed Nene almost immediately.
"Nene! Why'd you not say anything?!"
"You two looked like you were having a fruitful conversation. Nice to see you're not dead."
"Just interrupt our conversation, we had already strayed to talking about the lore behind crystals in a gacha game."
"Ehhh, you should know I'm not the type to interrupt conversation like that."
Minori dropped the argument to talk about Nene's life for the past seven days.
"So, what happened while I was having the best nap of my life?"
"Nothing important. I mean, Ena had a mental breakdown--"
"It wasn't a mental breakdown! I was simply just recalling bad memories!"
"Sure... So Ena had a 'recall of bad memories', but for me nothing really happened."
"Nene, are you sure?"
Minori stared into her eyes with a slightly sad undertone behind them. Nene couldn't figure out why.
"Yeah?"
"Okay... well, nice to see you!"
Suddenly, all of their phones flashed at once. Miku appeared out of Minori's phone.
"Hi! Thank Miku that you're still alive, Minori!"
"Are you thanking yourself when you say that...?"
"No! I'm thanking the higher force of Miku. Either way, I came here to relay news!"
"What is it?"
"Untitled became a real song! Listen to it!"
"We finally discovered our true feelings?"
"Exactly! I'll leave you now! Bye!"
"Bye!"
When Miku left, all of their phones turned off. Nene was the first to check Untitled, which she put in a special folder. As Miku said, the song's empty cover was replaced with a sunset.
"It's different."
"What's it named now?"
"Keys of Perseverance."
"Play it!"
...
...
"I mean, it's a pretty good song."
"Did anyone else get a feeling that they could sing the entire thing?"
"Yeah... but we haven't listened to it once, right?"
"I guess that's what happens when a song is made from combined feelings?"
"Maybe. Do you guys want to dance to the song when Minori gets discharged?"
"Sure. By the way, when are you getting discharged, Minori?"
"In a few weeks. They need to make sure I don't try again."
"So after those few weeks, when you're free, please to come to SEKAI!"
"I'll try."
-🌦️-
Three weeks had passed. It was about 6:00 in the afternoon, so Shizuku was just listening to some of her favorite music artists. It beat being on her bed sleeping. She decided to look on Nightcord.
--
MinoSoup:
I have some free time!
RainForest:
Great! Let me just...
@Nenic
@Enanan
Nenic:
-> I have some free time!
cool so are u in sekai?
Enanan:
im in sekai where r yall
RainForest:
I'm going there now. How about you, Mino?
MinoSoup:
I'll be there in a second!
--
Finally, the day had come! Shizuku found the new Untitled that had spawned in place of Keys of Perseverance. Once she had reached SEKAI, she saw Ena and Nene. They were both sitting on the floor playing with Rin. It looked like... cat's cradle?
"Hello!"
"Hi, Shizuku."
"How tired are you, Nene?"
"Not that much?"
"Why'd you say hi in such a deadpan voice then?"
"You made me lose my shape."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it; where's Minori?"
"Right behind you!"
"Wha--"
Nene subsequently was folded in half.
"Why'd you do that?!"
"Because it was funny."
"No it wasn't!
"Shizuku, was it funny?"
"It was pretty funny."
"See?"
"No I don't see why breaking someone's back is funny!"
Rin then spoke up.
"Are you all not here to do something?"
"Oh yeah! Follow me real quick."
Ena led the way with Rin following in the back.
"So there's this whole dance hall that spawned when we made plans to come here! Isn't that insane?"
"I mean, not really? SEKAI is based on our feelings, right?"
"The idea that our feelings were strong enough to warrant SEKAI creating a dance hall though... Is that not grand?"
"No."
"Oh, shut up Nene! Anyways, here we are!"
She opened the door to show a huge ballroom.
"Oh, you did not say it was this huge..."
"Well, now you know! What are we waiting for? Let us have this dance!"
The song played. Shizuku suddenly felt as if she could sing and dance the entire song perfectly. The song also noticeably lost the lyrics, being replaced by Tri-Clover.
...
Everyone held their hands up to the sky, with Minori being in the middle, holding a key up.
"Oh my god... that was perfect!"
"Did anyone notice the song was off-vocal?"
"Yeah, is that normal?"
Rin responded.
"It is, I think it noticed that you were attempting to play it."
"That's interesting."
"It really is! So, I guess this is the real beginning of Tri-Clover?"
"You could call it the true beginning or the bloom of the next leaf."
"Can clovers do that in real life, Shizuku?"
"I don't know, Minori. You have to search it up."
"I like the idea though! I've already had my streak of luck in the last month, so I guess we all will sometime soon?"
"I hope it's not in the same way you received it though."
"Well, it'd be weird if someone wished it that way though..."
Tri-Clover had just begun.