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It was just supposed to be a normal bike ride.
Neru’s days were usually uneventful, primarily due to a lack of contracts or singing opportunities given to her, so she had to pass the time in other ways. Usually, this meant she was out and about, doing anything physically active. In this case, she pedaled on her old bike down an empty street, headphones in her ears as she nodded her head to a song sung by another virtual singer, making sure to hide her phone so no one could potentially see the album cover, although not many people usually passed by this area anymore. She looked up to see the sun shining down on her, the bright blue sky eliciting a rare smile from her as she continued her peaceful ride.
Through the music in her headphones she heard what sounded like another bike coming up behind her, strange given that she was usually the only one riding on these empty streets. Turning her head around, her peaceful day was flipped on its head as her brows furrowed and her mouth twisted into a frown. Biking right behind her, with her head bobbing side to side to some sort of rhythm, peacefully smiling with that infuriating grin, was Hatsune Miku. She seemed to be in her own little world, as usual, but more shocking to Neru, was how quickly she was catching up to her, and with so little effort too!
Soon enough, Miku had managed to pass her, but not before she gave Neru a wave with a carefree smile, which only served to infuriate her even further. As Miku biked onward, Neru couldn’t let her get ahead so easily, and steeled herself as she lowered the gear on her bike, before pedaling as fast as she could ahead. Her relaxing afternoon stroll was gone, all that mattered now was beating Miku in a competition the blue haired girl didn’t even know was happening.
With Neru giving her all, it didn’t take long for her to catch up to Miku. As she passed her, Neru looked over and stuck her tongue out while giving Miku a wink, causing her eyes to widen as a small blush overtook her face. Neru chuckled to herself before trying to pay attention to the road ahead of her again, continuing to bike at her fast pace to stay ahead of Miku, satisfied with her performance so far in this “competition”.
Unfortunately, one’s hubris never goes unpunished, as Neru quick petaling causes her feet to slip, hitting the road under her and causing crazy shifts in momentum. She swerved for a bit, trying to steady the momentum as best she can, but eventually felt herself tipping to the side, wishing she had brought a helmet instead of headphones when she felt herself hit the concrete. Lying there with a dull pain going through her body, she hears Miku call out her name in concern as her bike approaches closer, making Neru groan as she wishes she could just disappear at this very moment.
“Hey, are you alright?” Miku asked, leaning over Neru to try and get a closer look at her, but Neru turned away from her, avoiding her gaze.
“Never better.” Neru grumbled, sarcasm dripping from every word. “So great in fact I’d like to ride the waves of this good mood in peace.” Miku gave her a frown in response as she gave a light sigh.
“You don’t have to be like that, Neru… Can you let me help you out?” Miku asked, such genuine concern laced into her words that Neru couldn’t help but feel a bit dizzy at it.
“I-I don’t need your help!” Neru tried to object, but Miku gave her a determined look.
“But I want to help you!” Miku said, before her look of determination gave way to pleading. “Please?” Neru wanted to protest, didn’t want to give in to something like getting help from her own rival, but slowly the look in Miku’s eyes melted away her icy exterior as she heaved a heavy sigh.
“F-fine.” Neru muttered with a blush, before giving Miku a glare. “I won’t let you carry me, though, understand?” she warned, causing Miku to chuckle and help Neru off the ground, but not before she inspected the damage done to the shorter girl. There was a decently large scrape on her elbow and knee, and her head wasn’t doing her any good judging by how much she was wincing as she held it, but it didn’t seem terrible. Of course, Miku knew no matter how serious it was, Neru was going to fight through it, she thinks with a smile. It was just the type of person she was, willing to brave things out to the very end.
Miku stands next to Neru, allowing the yellow-haired girl to lean on her shoulder as Miku wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. The two decided they’d go over to Neru’s place since it was nearby, but as Neru began to guide Miku towards her house, she stopped to look over at the bikes.
“Hey, what are we going to do about those? I doubt we can just leave the damn things there.” Neru said with a furrowed brow and a matching frown. Miku put her free hand to her chin in thought, but ultimately waved off the thought.
“Oh, don’t worry about those! Let’s get you home, then I can take care of those. I want to make sure you’re ok first.” Miku said with a soft smile. The words, so simple yet so meaningful in a way, caused Neru’s eyes to grow wide, before she whipped around with a blush on her face. The sudden movement didn’t help her headache at all, but she would rather be looking anywhere other than Miku at the moment, as the blue haired girl’s soft giggle floats in the air. Eventually, Miku taps her on the shoulder again, snapping Neru back into reality as she grumbles softly before guiding her again towards her place. The walk was relatively quiet, but something about the silence made her feel weirdly calm? It was a new feeling, but it wasn’t exactly unwelcome.
She also definitely wasn’t thinking about how close she was to Miku the whole time, not at all.