Chapter Text
I've loved music ever since I was a kid.
My old friends and I bonded most over our shared love of music. I haven't touched my guitar in years, though.
When I started high school, I felt so…lost. Maybe I still do.
But…music helps me push through it.
Especially Miku's music…something about her has always brought me happiness right when I need it.
One night after a particularly challenging day in junior high, Ichika found themselves sat by their open window, staring out at the stars as the breeze brushed their face. As her eyes closed, something caught her attention. Music, faint and in the distance. Sitting up and opening her eyes again, she moved in to lean out of the window. The melody wasn’t exactly soft or relaxing, but it was nice. It felt…energizing, in a way. Ichika sat with her torso halfway out the window the entire time the music played so she didn’t miss a single note.
***
Ichika huffed softly as she walked out of Miyamasuzaka. What a day…almost comically bad. First she was running late, then she had a test she wasn’t prepared for, then she spilled her drink on herself, and then she was swamped with far too much homework. To top it off, she had been in such a rush that morning she forgot to grab her headphones. She'd just have to get home as soon as possible.
Ichika stared at the ground as they began to walk the familiar path home. Their mind wandered through their entire day, and they were barely paying enough attention to not run into people. Frustration stirred in their chest the more they thought about the last few hours. They had no idea what the people around them were doing, but they figured they probably looked pretty upset walking down the streets.
Ichika let herself zone out almost completely– she knew the route to her house well, after all. What caught her attention again, however, wasn’t arriving at her house. It was…music? Ichika blinked and perked her head up. As soon as she did, she realized she was nowhere near her route home. She was standing in a crowd of people on an entirely unfamiliar street. She blinked a few times as she listened to the music playing nearby. Her expression brightened as she recognized the melody of one of her favorite Miku songs. Quickly turning towards the source of the sound, Ichika then wormed her way through the crowd of people to get a look at the performance. A couple of people had set up on the street, and had attracted a crowd with their performance. Ichika stared up at them in awe, the frustration that built up during the day all at once dissipating. Their voices, their dancing, their stage presence…all of it captivated her. As she watched, her vision became blurry, and that’s when she noticed the tears that had been building up. She quickly reached up to wipe her eyes. She must have moved her arm too quickly or in too big a motion, because she managed to bump a shorter person beside her with her elbow.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Ichika apologized. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay!!” A wide-eyed girl with pink hair turned and smiled up at Ichika. “I don’t- AAAAH!!”
Ichika took a slight step backwards at the outburst. “H-Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Why are you crying???” She shouted, distressed. “You didn’t hurt me, I promise!! Please don’t cry!”
“O-Oh!” Ichika stammered. “No, it’s..it’s not that, I just, um…” She glanced back at the performers and sheepishly wiped away the rest of her tears. “I’ve just…never seen a performance that’s made me feel this way, aha..”
“Oh!” The smile immediately returned to her face. “Isn’t it sooo super-duper wonder-ific?? Everyone is having so much fun!”
Ichika gave a soft laugh. “Yeah…”
The two stood and watched the performance until the very end. There was roaring applause from the audience as the performers waved goodbye and got ready to clean up. Ichika couldn’t wipe the smile from her face. Her awful day was worth it, if it drove her to this performance.
“Hey,” The other girl’s voice caught Ichika’s attention once more. “Do you go to Miyamasuzaka??”
Ichika blinked a few times in surprise. Only then did she notice the uniform under the girl’s pink cardigan. “Yes, I do. Maybe I’ve seen you around and didn’t realize..”
“Awesome!!” She lit up. She then outstretched her arm for a handshake. “I’m Emu Otori! I’ll definitely keep an eye out for you at school from now on!”
Ichika gingerly returned the handshake. “Ichika Hoshino.” She suppressed a wince as Emu shook her hand a little too hard. She cleared her throat, dropping her hand at her side. “Um…I’m not really sure which way to go to get home. Do you think you could help me?”
“Yep!” Emu grinned, seeming excited to spend more time with them. “Where do you live?”
As the two started walking, Ichika pulled out her phone. “I should probably let my parents know that I got lost on my way home…” She mumbled.
“Okay!!” Emu chirped, skipping ahead of her. She luckily didn’t go too far ahead. “Man, those people were so cool!! I wanna get people all excited like that someday!”
“Hm?” Ichika glanced up from their phone. “...Yeah. Yeah, I think I’d like that, too.”
Their attention was quickly drawn back to their phone as a flash of light emitted from it. “..Huh?” They mumbled, holding it a bit closer to their face to look at what had just opened on the screen. Doing so, they stopped walking, which caused Emu to stop to look at them.
“Hoshino?” She hummed with a slight frown. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just..” Ichika kept her eyes on her phone. “My phone flashed, and now there’s a song I didn’t download. Hold on..” She hesitated for only a moment before pressing play on the “Untitled” file on her phone.
The second she did, her vision went white. And when she blinked to clear it, the scenery around her had completely changed. She was in…a room that she didn’t recognize. It seemed like some kind of music producing studio, with several monitors and synthesizers set up around the room.
Looking around, she noticed Emu standing beside her, looking equally confused.
“Huh???” Emu exclaimed. “We weren’t here a second ago…”
“..Hello?” Ichika called out, not expecting a response.
“Oh, you’re here!” A voice responded, causing Ichika to jump.
Someone stepped out from the room beside them, smiling at the two of them.
“Ah-” Ichika’s eyes widened in surprise as she took in the stranger’s appearance. “M-Miku?!”
“Fufu..” A giggle came from behind Miku, and another person emerged from the room, tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear. “It’s nice to finally see you, Ichika, Emu.”
“Woooaah!” Emu gasped out. “Miku and Luka??? And you know our names??”
“Of course!” Miku giggled. “This is your SEKAI, after all!”
“SEKAI..?” Ichika’s brow furrowed.
“A world born of your feelings,” Luka explained. “Once you and the others discover your true feelings, they’ll create a new song.”
“This is our own world?” Emu exclaimed, running to get closer to Miku and Luka. “That’s so cool!!”
“Wait, so..” Ichika’s thoughts were interrupted by another flash from her phone.
“We’ll see you again,” Miku assured.
As Miku spoke, Ichika’s vision went white again.
Ichika awoke in her room, on top of her covers. She didn’t remember falling asleep..she must have passed out as soon as she got home. What a day…and a weird dream to boot. Then again…that’s right, she did get to see that performance and meet someone new. Maybe it hadn’t been such a bad day after all. If only she could feel the way that performance made her feel forever…