Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ichika squinted her eyes when she noticed the first ray of sun peek through the busted glass windows of what remained of the School SEKAI. She stretched her arms out, trying to avoid waking up Saki or Honami, or any of the others who chose to follow her, for that matter… she quietly crept out of the classroom, and into the hallway, looking through the windows of the torn-apart classrooms as she went. It both filled her heart with joy and broke it as she reminisced on all of her memories at this place. Luka, Kaito, Meiko… everyone… they would all be there to greet the girls as they came and worked on their skills as a band, or simply just needed an escape from reality. She ran her hand along a dust-covered wall, revealing some doodles Saki did. How long ago was it…? She lost track of time at about three years. Every day, she just had more hope that soon, the Hatsune Miku would show up, and rid them of their terrible situation. Ichika sighed, knowing that dream was probably unreachable. They had been crying for help ever since the collapse, so why hadn’t she heard them? She was supposed to always be watching over them… so, where was she, huh?! Ichika shook her head as she dug around in a hole in the wall. She had to keep some of this stuff hidden, as some of her followers wouldn’t approve of it. Carefully… she took out a CD with Miku on the front.

She made her way up to the rooftop, where the sun was just beginning to rise over their crumbling city. The borders couldn’t be more noticeable… where Wonderland met nothingness, where an extravagant stage met a back alley… Ichika shed a tear. She’d seen lives being lost at border fights, disputes over… nothing. She and her group were one of the few peaceful groups out there, thanks to Saki’s speech. After losing several people during a fight with the Street Residents, Saki rounded the survivors and ‘taught them the meaning of a human life’, if you ask her. Shiho was… proud. So, so proud of her. Everyone was. Ever since then, the School Residents have avoided fights, and even managed to stop a few involving groups they weren’t even connected with. Ichika was so proud of what she and her friends had done… even though leading was incrediblt stressful.

“Let’s go… here, they’re just cowards.”

“Being peaceful won’t solve everything!”

“I’m going back to the Stage… at least there, I was personally valued…”

Ichika shook her head again, clearing her thoughts. She looked down at the Miku CD she was holding, and pulled a matchbox from her pocket, alongside a candle… she sat the CD in the corner of the roof, setting the candle next to it, and lighting it on fire. The small flame barely lit up the roof… but Ichika wishes she could say it lit up her hope.

“Good morning, Miku…” she sighed, looking towards the horizon. “Things… aren’t getting better today. The disputes… they’re getting worse. The Street Residents are getting bolder, the Empty Residents seem to be getting worse and worse by the day… the Stage Residents… god, don’t get me started. They’re the whole issue. But the Wonderland Residents… I’m worried about them.”

Ichika looked over to the once glorious remains of a theme park, ripped right from a child’s dream. Everything was broken, just like everything else. For a while, the magic seemed to remain, even after the collide… but she knew that slowly but surely, even Tsukasa and his friends were losing their magic. Heck, everyone was. Shiho had become a smoker… Honami is so skinny, she stresses Saki out. Saki… her mental health is getting incredibly worse. Despite the peaceful appearance of the School Residents, they despised the other groups. Without Ichika’s consent, her people decided to stay within their boundaries, and never mention any other group… leaving Saki without her brother. She was fine, but… she really, really wanted to see him. But, thanks to her people, she couldn’t…

“Things… are alright, here… I guess…” Ichika continued, holding back tears. “Saki’s getting better! And Honami finished a whole meal last night. She says it’s to help ration out supplies for the others, but we all agreed she needs to care about herself, too. Shiho’s smoking habit… eh, it’s getting worse. She tells me that every group has, at least, one member with a terrible addiction, but I said that doesn’t excuse it. We… almost got into a big fight.” Ichika stopped, and watched the candle burn out.

“…Just… come get us soon, okay?…”

A tear ran down her face.

“Happy Birthday, Miku.”

~~

Minori sat up, watching the sunrise peek through the door leading to the stage. She stretched, woke her friends up, and then the rest of her people up.

“GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!” She cheered, as everyone yawned and rose to their feet. She smiled, seeing the masked faces of everyone else looking back at her. Airi held onto her shoulder, gave her a thumbs up, as Haruka took the microphone, and began planning their day.

“Okay, everyone… let’s begin with what we did yesterday. Penguin Party, after this, speak to me about what you did in your attempts to escape. Clover Party, speak with Minori. Cat Party, Airi, please. And… Moon Rabbit Party, please see Shizuku. If we want any hope for the future, we must first exhaust every possible chance. Take every possible risk! Yes, we may be spilling blood, but we’re doing what’s necessary. In order to change the future, we must show we mean it! MORE MORE JUMP!” Haruka pumped her fist in the air, followed by all the other residents, chanting the same thing she said. 

The Stage Residents… despised by everyone else. Instigators. That’s all they were. At first, their mission was great. They had partnered with the quickly-advancing Wonderland Residents to find a way of escape, but soon, they became violent. Nene pulled out of that deal, not wanting anything to do with them anymore. And that’s exactly what not to do. Soon, they became public enemy number one to the Stage Residents, constantly at war. Wonderland had gained support from several groups, but they were still exhausting all their possible chances. That’s when Street stepped in. Ever since then, Stage and Street have been at constant war. Morals fighting morals, swords fighting swords. Akito leads his troops, and Airi leads hers. People are lost, bonds are broken, but nobody wins. Friendships are ruined because Hatsune Miku abandoned the world she cared about. 

But, nobody knew why. In fact, the Empty Residents had given up on escape. They had decided to accept their situation. Many have tried their lifestyle, but it leaves several feeling… well, empty. Unsatisfied. There was a group for every mindset, if you ignored the problems.

For those wanting immediate release, you wanted the Stage. They fight hard for a way to get out, and will do anything to get Miku back. Minori, their leader, has what is commonly recognized as Leader Syndrome. Confidence issues, stress, exhaustion… all the leaders suffer from it. Haruka, the strategist, was slowly losing her grip on her sanity. As the days past, she got bolder and bolder, even suggesting they directly storm the Street, which would be idiotic. Toya and his gang would take them out the moment they got to the second building. Airi was obsessed with her image. She needed to remain strong, remain muscular. She would often pass out in the training gym due to overworking herself. And, Shizuku… she wanted to leave, but she would never tell anyone. To tell these people you don’t agree with them would be like asking for death. She wanted out, she wanted her little sister… but couldn’t do anything. She was forced to watch these innocent people sacrifice their lives… all because they were abandoned. 

For those simply wanting a family, stick to the Streets. They were looking for an escape, but their main goal was to provide a safe community for those seeking refuge. Lead by Kohane, who also had Leader Syndrome, but her biggest issue was her lack of communication with the other groups. For some reason, she refused to speak with anyone outside of her walls, leaving Toya to do it in secret. This caused several issues for her people, but they managed to make due. Next was An… poor, poor An Shiraishi. Overworked, overstressed, over-everything. She’d pass out from exhaustion several times a day, she wouldn’t eat until she could perfect something Kohane couldn’t, and she would risk her lives for people who hated her. As Shiho would say, she’s been blinded by her morals. Akito, out of all the twenty leaders, was doing the best. He was just fighting, but he did have a caffeine addiction. It doesn’t seem bad at first, but there was one time where he almost beat someone to death because he didn’t have one can. Yeah… it was bad. Then, we had Toya… who had begun to distance himself from the group. Disapproving of Kohane’s leadership skills, he was working with An to do what she couldn’t. Kohane knew about it, but didn’t care. She just didn’t know he was doing everything she outlawed. His problem? He gambles his life. He’ll run onto the battlefield for Akito, run between groups for An, and often get shot or stabbed along the way. They’ve managed to keep him alive, but it’s only a matter of time…

For someone wanting a peaceful escape, try Wonderland. They’ve moved underground, beneath the Wonderland SEKAI, connected to Phoenix Wonderland. People knew about them, but granted they had bombs, nobody really tried to mess with them… except for Stage, of course. Scientific advancements are their focus. Tsukasa Tenma, their leader, has an incredibly severe case of Leader Syndrome and anxiety. Similar to Kohane, nobody is allowed to leave their bunker. He has killed people who’ve tried… and those who do leave, he doesn’t even need to. They speak for themselves. Emu… has become the crutch. Whenever someone has a problem, they take it to Emu, who bears it the best she can. Rui’s gotten onto her for it, but she isn’t about to stop. It’s the only way she knows how to help, given she’s useless in everything else… Nene works in their bomb warfare, placing them. She and her group plan out their movements, and she also pilots the survey drones Rui builds. Ah, the pride and joy of Wonderland, Rui. The burnt-out genius scientist who managed to kickstart their revolution. The man, the myth… the alcoholic. So much so, Tsukasa once punched him over a bottle. However, they all agreed to keep in-fighting to a minimum, so Tsukasa keeps his resentment on Rui’s drinking habits to himself. 

And, finally, those who just wanted to have the relief of nothing, Empty Residents. Accepting their situation, they lay around all day doing nothing. Avoiding fights, playing games, and minding their own business. Kanade doesn’t have that bad a case of Leader Syndrome as others, but she still feels an urge to keep everyone else safe. Mafuyu… is Mafuyu. Still unsure of herself, still… Mafuyu. Always will be. Ena strives to get attention from the others, so she often lies to the residents to get them to admire her. And Mizuki was wondering if they were okay with their choice of remaining neutral.

These once joyful high schoolers were now thrown into lives they hated… ruined by the pressure of leading. 

And Miku was still showing no signs of showing up.

~~

“Ugh… good morning, Nene…” Tsukasa groaned, running a hand through his hair. He had shaved the sides, as it helped with the fact he hardly had time to shower. Nene had also taken his advice of cutting her hair shorter, but Rui and Emu were growing theirs out… they never listened to him.

“You look terrible. Did you sleep at all?” Nene put a hand to his forehead, leaning in close to gauge his temperature accurately, leaving the blond blushing.

“Y-yeah, I slept. Where’s Rui?” 

“Where he always is…”

“Alright. Thanks, Nene. I’ll see you later.”

Nene waved Tsukasa goodbye, as he left for Rui’s office. The hallways of their bunker were cramped, but it was better than the surface. Anything was better than the surface. He smiled and waved to everyone he passed, but quickly returned to his sleep-deprived self as he approached Rui’s room. He didn’t bother knocking, since Rui could cry about it… he ran this place, and what he needed was important.

He cracked the door open, and saw Rui sound asleep on his workbench, resting his head on… something. Tsukasa carefully stepped over bottles scattered on his floor, sneering at every one he saw. He tapped Rui’s shoulder, but then resorted to giving him a light smack on the back of his head when he didn’t wake up.

“Morning to you too, Rui.” Tsukasa sighed in frustration.

“Ugh… well? What do you need?” He hissed, clearing off a spot on his workbench, and then heading for the mini-fridge underneath. Tsukasa, however, quickly stopped him.

“You know what I need.”

“Fine, fine, give me a minute… by the way…” Rui paused, and looked up at Tsukasa.

“…What?”

“Are we doing anything for Miku’s birthday?” He asked curiously, reaching for a wrench on his desk.

“Why would we honor the birthday of someone who left us to die?” He responded, leaning against Rui’s doorframe.

“Oh, I dunno… maybe she’d finally see it.”

“…She hasn’t seen anything else. What makes you think she’d see that?”

“…Just curious. I think Emu was planning something, though.”

“When is she not planning something… heh.”

“Fufu… true. Well, I’ll have what you asked for in a second.”

“Alright. Thanks, Rui.”

“No problem…”

As Tsukasa turned and left Rui’s room, the latter took to his desk, and wrote a quick birthday card for Emu’s party today.

“…Just in case today is different. Happy birthday, Miku.” He laughed, putting the card in his pocket, and leaving for the hallway.

~~

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…This is boring.” Kanade sighed, putting her stack of cards down on the hard floor of the Empty SEKAI.

“God, I’m glad SOMEONE said it!” Mizuki cheered, throwing their cards up.

“Can we really keep passing the time like this?” Ena sighed, falling onto her back.

“I mean… we can ask the others what they do.” Mafuyu suggested, turning towards the others in their group, who appeared just as bored as the girls did.

“Oh…! Here’s a suggestion! Today’s Miku’s birthday, right? How about we throw a birthday party?” Mizuki asked.

“Miku would’ve liked that…” Kanade smiled as she remembered her gentle Miku.

“Yeah, and throw a birthday party for the careless bitch who left us? I think not.” Ena complained.

“It’ll pass the time… why not?” Mafuyu looked towards Ena, the only one in opposition. Mizuki crawled up into Ena’s lap, and made a few pathetic, begging faces, until she finally gave in.

“Fine! We’ll do it!… but I’m not drawing anything!” She hissed, pushing Mizuki away from her.

Kanade smiled, and the group of four got up and walked over to different groups, and they began putting their own tribute to Miku together. Today… today was the day.

~~

“What’s FUCKING WRONG WITH YOU?!” Akito shouted, putting his face close to Toya’s, who was avoiding eye contact.

“You could’ve gotten killed…” Kohane seethed, gripping the edges of the table.

“Give him a break… he was only trying to help…” An cried, pushing Akito away.

“…She’s right. We won’t get anywhere like this.” Toya responded, eyeing Kohane.

“I’m trying my best! Give me a break!” Kohane sobbed as she slid down the wall, An walking over to comfort her. Akito and Toya were now left in uncomfortable silence.

“…I’m tough on you, because I don’t want you to get hurt.” Akito kept his eyes on the floor, but he occasionally looked up to Toya.

“I understand… but we won’t get anywhere if we keep up like this. We need to be more direct.” Toya answered, putting a hand on Akito’s chin so he would look him in the eye.

“Direct… how? I’ve been charging more and more with my attacks…”

“You’re not the problem. We need to help Kohane.”

Both boys turned their eyes to a crying Kohane, who was being comforted by An.

“…I get your point, but… how?” Akito muttered, pulling Toya in close to talk in private. Toya just looked towards the ground, and then back to An.

“…Kohane?” She asked, running a hand through her longer, silky ash-brown hair.

“Y-yeah?” Kohane responded through sobs.

“I heard some of the kids were planning a party for Miku. How about you go help?”

“…Party? F-for Miku?”

“Yeah! I bet they’d like to see you.

“Th-they… would?”

“Very much so.”

An grabbed Kohane’s hand, and lead her out of the ruined cafe, and into the even more ruined streets. Toya gave a smug look to Akito.

“…I’m not celebrating her birthday.”

~~

Haruka proudly strolled up to her friends, who were all happily chatting about some of their favorite songs they performed before the collapse.

“Hey, everyone. What are you talking about?” She chimed, leaning over Minori’s shoulder.

“Just… songs… and stuff.” Shizuku weakly responded, looking towards the ground.

“Sounds interesting. Should I have brought snacks?” Haruka giggled.

“Nah, we got some! Come sit with us, girl!” Airi patted a seat next to her, and Haruka quickly sat down.

“So… finished with your group? How was it?” Minori looked at Haruka with the same stars in her eyes, as always.

“You know… what’s-his-face always screws things up because he’s so obsessed with making me proud… some of these people really creep me out, but I’m a little proud to see I’m inspiring them to do their best!” She happily answered, taking a bite out of a two-month-old pastry of some sort.

“Ahaha… glad to see you’re doing better than I am.” Airi sighed, her head hitting the table with a startling thud.

“A-Airi?! What’s wrong?!” Shizuku quickly ran to Airi’s side, who just nervously giggled and insisted she was fine.

“Just… someone in my group wants to celebrate Miku’s birthday.” She answered.

The girls fell into an awkward silence. Shizuku nervously fidgeted, until Minori took a breath, and looked Airi in the eyes.

“Don’t they know she left us?… we really need for forbid her birthday.” She finally said.

“F-forbid…?” Shizuku’s tone was stained with surprise and sadness.

“Yes, forbid! I’m not doing Miku’s birthday!” Minori angrily repeated. Airi and Haruka nodded in agreement.

Shizuku looked at her cup of tea in dejection.

Forbid… Miku’s birthday…?

~~

Ichika slowly crept down the stairs to the roof, until she was met with the foul smell of smoke… and then she made out Shiho’s silhouette. 

“Another Miku party?” She laughed, tossing her cigarette to the ground.

“I told you to stop smoking…” Ichika sighed, walking right past her.

“I’m sorry you’re better at handling stress than I am.” She was right, though. To say Ichika never considered it… well, it’d be a lie.

“Well, how’s everything with you?” Ichika asked, turning to face Shiho.

“Ehh… the same as ever. Forcing Honami to eat, as usual.”

“What’s new…”

“Tell me about it… we’re running low on food. We’re going to have to stock up soon.”

“Where, though? We’ve got nowhere else to go, now.”

“Tsukasa?”

“As if. He’s gotten so paranoid.”

“True…”

Ichika and Shiho continued their talk all the way down the hallway, until arriving at Honami and Saki dividing food amongst the others.

“Well, if it isn’t Ichika and Shiho! Good morning!” Saki sang, giving the girls a hug.

“Morning, Saki…” Shiho sighed, taking a seat next to a few adults she constantly hung out with. Ichika sat next to the kids, as always. Saki gravitated towards the people her age, whereas Honami took the eldest people in their refuge. Ichika found it funny… these people were older than them, yet still trusted them with their life, and to run their government. Stressful as it was, she managed to connect people and find friends, too. 

The rest of the day went as robotic as ever… the School Residents just minding their own business, and foraging for food. The Stage Residents went and picked fights with Street, as always… Street fought Stage, and the other half remained neutral. Wonderland remained underground, continuing their attempt for find an escape via science. And Empty Residents… just sat around, like they always do. 

At night, everyone watched the sun set on another day where they were left. Another day when Miku left them alone, abandoned them. Rui and Emu always snuck out of the bunker to watch the sunset, which Tsukasa knew they were doing, but he wasn’t going to stop. Saki and Honami watched from the roof, while Ichika enjoyed watching the sun rays refract through what glass remained in the windows. Minori was too busy to watch the sunset… and it was the highlight of Mafuyu’s day, watching the colors streak across the sky. 

If there was one thing all the groups had in common, it was the feeling they all knew it would end.

So for now, they’re staying friends.

Chapter Text

Hi guys! I’ve been really busy lately, but I’m gonna update this as soon as I can! Until then, please bare with me! But I’m back from the shadow realm, and I’m gonna try and revive this thing.