Work Text:
It was close to midnight.
Glancing at his monitor one last time to read the instructions, he plugged the new pair of headphones he'd bought in and turned on the setting that allowed them. Alright, that's all set up.
...I have to thank Toya for this, really.
It had been a week or so since he'd met 'Willow' in the strange SEKAI, and he'd gone there to meet him every night afterwards. It was odd to see how happy it made Toya, even if he didn't show it--it was clear he was desperate to talk to someone. The two still hadn't quite opened up to each other, but Akito had found himself talking more and more as a result. He'd surprised his mother with a proper greeting when she came by that day, prompting a lot of tears. It still embarrassed Akito to remember how hard she was sobbing as she'd hugged him, but she made it clear she was happy for him. "You don't have to tell me what changed just yet," she'd promised after calming. "But I'm so glad you're talking again. I miss hearing your voice, Akito."
"...Thanks," he'd mumbled, unable to speak properly out of surprise.
His friends' names popped up in the lounge, and Akito slid into his seat. He could already hear Naginin chattering happily away about some crepe shop she'd gone to that afternoon, gushing about the cream they used. "The old lady is really nice, too, so if she sees you're having a rough time, she'll give you one on the house! The people there are so friendly you'll think you've stepped into another world!"
"You certainly seem to love that place a lot," Willow remarked.
"It'd be fun to visit it someday," Kohammie said almost wistfully. "Maybe if we all met up one day..."
"If we all live in Shibuya, it's possible...huh? Wait--Aki, are you in the lounge?!"
"Aki?!" Kohammie gasped. "Do you--do you have a mic now?"
"Um..." Akito cleared his throat slightly. "Yeah. It's...nice to talk to you guys."
Silence reigned for a moment; then Naginin and Kohammie both began talking so fast over each it was impossible to make anything out. He could've sworn he heard Willow chuckling slightly in the background as the girls attempted to calm down. "Okay, okay, slow down. Since when did you have a mic?" Naginin demanded. "I thought you said you didn't have one!"
"I just bought one today," he answered.
"Why?" Kohammie asked. "Did something happen? Were you just unable to afford one before?"
"...Sort of. Since I didn't own one already, I didn't feel like wasting any money on it."
"But why now?"
"Me and Aki happened to run into each other last week," Willow spoke up. "We've been meeting up every day since then."
"Huh?! You guys met up offline?!" Naginin shrieked. "How much have I missed?!"
"That's...amazing," Kohammie said, sounding stunned. "So you both live in the same area?"
"Uh...yeah," Akito said. He realized he'd never asked Toya if he lived in Shibuya, too, but explaining the SEKAI would take too much time. Hopefully Toya did live in Shibuya. "It was just a chance meeting."
"No fair! I wanna meet up with you guys, too!"
"Maybe something can be arranged," Willow soothed. "But for tonight, we need to finish production on our new song."
"Willow's right," Kohammie agreed. "I've finished the thumbnail illustration, how does it look?"
"That looks alright. Thanks."
"I can't believe we got a voice reveal," Naginin muttered, clearly still reeling. "That's crazy."
"Why are you making such a big deal out of it? I just bought a mic."
"We've been a little curious about you since you aren't as social as me and Naginin--and Willow to an extent," Kohammie explained. "But Naginin, right now we need to focus on our work."
"Uuuuuugh, fine. Aki, how does this animation look?"
"It's great, but maybe you could increase the blur around the edges a bit?"
"Alright!"
They worked like this for the next hour, Akito joining the conversation whenever he could. He felt a smile spreading across his face as the time passed--this was surprisingly fun.
I feel as though I've been missing out this whole time.
"That was a great run, you guys!" Naginin said happily once the clock was nearing 3 am and they'd done all they could. "Aki, do you wanna post the video now?"
"Alright, sure. Just one moment," Akito said, typing in all the correct information. "The video is going live in 3, 2, 1...done."
"Whoo-hoo!" Kohammie cheered.
"Another banger, I'm sure," Naginin announced smugly. "I hope people like it!"
"I worked really hard on the art this time around, so I hope so, too," Kohammie murmured. "We've been doing so well lately with views, though."
"I'm glad we got it posted at last," Willow said. "It's getting late, though. Should we log off?"
"Yeah, I'm beat! We had a basketball match today, so I feel super sore," Naginin complained. "I'm gonna go to bed. See ya!"
"It was nice talking to you for once, Aki," Kohammie called as she did the same. As usual, their icons vanished, leaving Akito and Toya alone in the lounge.
"...Aki, should we head there now?"
"Sure. I'll be right there."
"I wasn't expecting you to join the call tonight," Toya remarked as the two sat in their normal place, Miku once again occupying the top of the beam. "It was rather surprising."
"I guess it was, huh?" Akito sighed, propping his chin up on his hand. "I just decided to buy one today when I went out. It wasn't that big of a deal."
"...That's a lie. I know it probably meant a lot to you, didn't it?"
Akito only shrugged. "Maybe."
Toya tilted his head slightly, surveying him. "You were too anxious to talk when we first met," he said simply. "Isn't that the case?"
"Well, you're not wrong."
They lapsed back into comfortable silence, Toya humming a few bars of some complicated melody. He had often been humming it the past few days, but he'd refused to tell Akito what the song was the first time he'd asked. "It's just something I'm practicing," he'd said. "It's nothing interesting."
Akito was curious despite himself. He thought he might've recognized it as a classical song, but he wasn't sure as he didn't often listen to the genre. It was too stiff for his liking--too many talented musicians doggedly playing the same melodies composed centuries ago without a single change in the rhythm or structure of the song. Listening to it nearly put him to sleep, too, so he didn't enjoy it much.
...Toya's always humming some classical song, though.
And his fingers are sometimes bruised and cut like he's been playing something over and over again.
Not to mention his pitch while singing is perfect.
...He must be some kind of professional musician.
I wonder what the story there is.
"They're here," Miku said out of nowhere, abruptly sitting upright.
It was another ordinary night after work, and like usual the boys had come to sit and talk together after excusing themselves from Discord. It had been comfortably silent until she'd spoken, and they both looked up at her, puzzled. "They?" Akito echoed. "The other two you were talking about?"
"Miku, is it them?" Toya pressed.
Miku gave no answer, only slid off the post and hurried away, her long sleeves flapping around her hands. Akito and Toya exchanged glances before getting to their feet and following after her. "I wonder if it's really them," Toya muttered under his breath.
"Wouldn't that be wild?" Akito chuckled as he sped up slightly to keep pace with Miku (was she fast or was he just pathetic? It was probably the latter.) "Either way, it's kinda exciting."
"...It really is."
They could hear shouting as they drew closer, Miku coming to a stop. Two girls stood there in their pajamas, looking slightly shaken, disoriented and overall just plain confused. "Who are you?" the slightly taller girl demanded as Miku approached, shielding the other girl behind her. "Are you a ghost? C-Come at me all you want! I won't let you hurt her!"
"Please wait a second," Miku started. "This is--"
"H-Holy shit! It's talking to us!" the girl shrieked, ignoring her friend as she attempted to speak. "Grab my hand! We'll run together on the count of three!"
"Wait a minute," the second girl protested. "She's trying to tell us something."
"One!"
"No, really," Miku begged. "I'm not a ghost."
"T-Two!"
"Oh, this is ridiculous," Akito muttered, stepping around Miku. "Oi, listen up."
The girl jumped nearly six feet in the air and screamed so loudly that he was tempted to rip out his own eardrums. He crossed his arms and waited for her to calm down as her friend ducked back behind her, peeking out almost shyly. "W-What is this place?" she squeaked. "And who are you all? You're not really ghosts, are you?"
"Do we look like ghosts?" Akito asked, raising his eyebrows.
"W-Well...not to be rude but you're incredibly pale," the second girl mumbled. "A-Are you getting enough vitamin D?"
"Uh..." He wasn't sure how to answer that, but he was saved from doing so at the first girl's dramatic gasp. "I know that voice!" she yelled, pointing at him. "Well, I only first heard you speaking a week ago, but...c-could you be Aki?"
"And I'm guessing you're Naginin and Kohammie, then," Akito replied with a nod. "This is Willow and Miku."
"Nice to meet you two at last," Toya said with a bow.
"Whoa! What the heck is even happening right now?! First we get a voice reveal last week and now this?!"
"M-Miku?" Kohammie stammered, stepping out fully. "Like...the Virtual Singer?"
"Yes," Miku said with a nod. "This place is called SEKAI. It was born from all of your feelings, and playing the 'Untitled' track is what brought you here."
"That doesn't make any sense at all," Naginin muttered.
"It really doesn't," Toya agreed. "Since we're all here, why don't we sit go down somewhere more comfortable and do a round of introductions?"
Once the initial shock had passed Naginin was much calmer, agreeing almost immediately to follow them through the SEKAI. Kohammie trailed behind her the entire time, nervously looking around them as they walked. Toya and Miku led them to an area Akito had never seen before--it looked just the same as the rest of the SEKAI save for the chairs scattered here and there. "Hey, these look like the bar stools in my dad's cafe!" Naginin cried, leaning closer to inspect them as Miku and Toya dragged them closer. "I didn't expect that at all! So this really isn't some kinda crazy dream?"
"There's a lot of random objects here," Kohammie noted as she gazed around them. "Did I see a bench earlier?"
"Yeah, I've sat there a few times," Akito confirmed. "It's pretty comfortable."
"How long have you two been coming here?" Naginin demanded. "You're so relaxed about this it's scary! Doesn't this concern you at all?!"
"I mean, I thought it was weird at first, too, but I've had time to get used to it," Akito admitted. "Willow's been coming here longer than I have, though."
"Really?" Kohammie asked.
"Yes. I discovered it about two weeks before Aki did," Toya said with a nod. "We happened to bump into each other a couple of weeks ago."
"So that's what you meant by 'met offline,'" Naginin muttered grumpily.
"It's technically the truth, isn't it?" Toya pointed out. "My name is Toya Aoyagi. It's nice to meet you two."
"And I'm Akito Shinonome," Akito added. "Like he said, nice to meet you guys."
"I-I'm Kohane Azusawa," Kohammie greeted. "It's nice to meet you."
"I'm An Shiraishi," Naginin chimed in. "I did NOT expect this, but it happened! Kinda nice."
"And I'm Miku," Miku finished. "I'm the Virtual Singer who watches over this SEKAI. I'm glad to have all four of you here at last."
"So what now?" Kohane asked after a few moments of awkward silence.
Miku frowned. "Well...as I said, this place is made from feelings. Once the four of you have discovered your true feelings, they'll turn into a song." She sighed, looking slightly disappointed. "I was hoping that once you were all here, it would work, but it looks as if we'll need some more time to figure things out."
"True feelings?" An asked.
"Your true feelings are all buried so deep that you don't know how to find them," Miku explained. "All four of you are the same. You don't know what you're supposed to be doing."
Silence fell over the group, all of them avoiding each other's gaze. An picked at her shirt, glancing at everyone. "Well...how do we find them?" she asked.
Everyone looked up again. "Huh?" Kohane managed.
"We have to find our true feelings, don't we?" An pressed. "I mean, that's why we were all brought here, right? I thought we were supposed to make music together, but...it's clear that's not it! Shouldn't we try to figure it out together?"
"You have a good point," Kohane admitted. "But...how would we do that?"
"What even created this SEKAI in the first place?" Toya asked.
Miku gazed at him before looking away. "It started...differently."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Akito asked.
She didn't answer for a moment, staring down at her socks. "It used to be more colorful, more vibrant," she said slowly. "It was a happy place full of all kinds of things. But...it withered over time. I thought...I was going to disappear."
"So...our feelings changed?" An asked with a frown. She was being more serious about this than Akito expected, honestly.
"Yes. I don't know what happened, but..." Miku sighed again. "This SEKAI was created...because two of you saw something so amazing it changed your life. But...something changed. Your feelings faded away."
Something amazing...
Wait.
She couldn't really mean--
"Oh, I think I might know what you mean!" An gasped. "When I was in middle school, my dad and his team put on a really crazy event. It was called RAD WEEKEND! Is that what created this SEKAI?"
Akito was on his feet in an instant. Everyone jumped, Kohane nearly tipping over in her seat at the sudden movement. "Akito?" Toya asked, looking slightly surprised.
Akito couldn't respond for a minute. He felt as though he couldn't breathe, as if the walls of the live house were closing in on him.
I didn't want to remember it.
I didn't want to remember it, but--
"I have to go," he mumbled, stumbling back. Before anyone could ask what was wrong he'd managed to pull his phone out of his pocket and hit pause on Untitled. The wolrd turned bright white, and the last thing he saw before landing back in his dimly lit room was everyone's confused expressions.