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“Hey, Boss? You’ve got a message!”
Bill Cipher—also known as Alex to most of his new friends, and “Boss” to his assistants in his new position—looked up from the piano, where he’d been playing a rendition of the Velvet Room’s traditional Aria of the Soul . “What is it, Ryuji?”
It was certainly an interesting job, being assigned to watch over the Metaverse and the Velvet Room. Aside from the basic rules he’d been told by the Axolotl, Philemon, and Igor that he absolutely needed to follow (which was lame, but at least they were rules he was inclined to actually listen to so it was alright, he supposed), he’d been given mostly free reign in how to run things. And one of the first things he’d ended up deciding to do is recruit his own attendants personally, especially after learning that there were quite a few lost souls stuck wandering through Mementos.
Ryuji had been the first one he’d found—or rather, Ryuji had actually found him . Alex had been getting himself acquainted with Mementos, figuring out how it all worked and exploring, when he’d ended up ambushed by a horde of hostile Shadows. Before the demon could do anything himself, however, he’d been surprised by the kid showing up out of nowhere and single-handedly obliterating every last one of them. He’d then introduced himself as Skull, a former Phantom Thief of Hearts, saying that he couldn’t just let something like that stand.
Alex immediately decided that he liked this kid, and had offered him a job on the spot, which was quickly accepted.
Since then, Ryuji had basically become the right-hand-man out of all of the Velvet Room’s new attendants, taking charge whenever Alex needed him to and helping him however he could—for example, bringing him messages like he was right now.
“It’s right here,” the blonde thief replied, holding up what looked almost like a sheet of paper, but shimmering like it was made of turquoise light. “Says that . . . the head of SEKAI wants to meet with you? Something about, since you’re the new head of the Metaverse, needing to talk to you about some things and get to know you.”
“SEKAI?” Alex frowned, his brow furrowed in thought. “That doesn’t ring a bell . . . Does it say what that actually is? ”
Ryuji shook his head. “Not that I can tell, but it’s probably related to the Metaverse if you take the context into account, right?”
“. . . That does make sense. Does it say when they want to meet, though?”
“Well, according to this—” the attendant flipped the sheet over, frowning slightly. “They’ll be coming over here to the Velvet Room shortly? That’s what it says.” He looked up and nodded at his boss. “Need us to clean up a bit before they get here?”
Alex hummed to himself, then shook his head. “No, probably no need, the theater is pretty good right now. We could set up somewhere for us to sit, though!”
Ryuji gave the dream demon a playful salute and a wink. “On it, Boss!” He quickly dashed backstage, and Alex stood up to follow him.
As opposed to the mostly orderly front of the theater, the storage area backstage was pretty much a maze, especially the further back you went. All sorts of props, set pieces, and even a few racks of costumes that still needed to be relocated were packed throughout the space, and there was seemingly no limit to how much stuff could be found back here. Even Alex, who’s own cognition had shaped the Velvet Room into this, had no idea if this storage space actually ended somewhere.
Luckily, it wasn’t too hard to find a matching set of two chairs and a table—like most items back here, they were in a monochromatic black and white, with elegantly carved white wood and black velvet cushioning on the chairs. Ryuji carefully lifted the small table, while Alex snapped his fingers, causing a light blue glow to form around the duo of chairs, levitating them behind him as the two headed back to the stage.
“Set it here,” Alex instructed, pointing to a spot closer to the front of the stage, slightly off-center to the left. Ryuji nodded, setting down the table before standing back as the demon positioned the chairs on either side of it. “What do you think?”
“Looks pretty good,” the other boy agreed, giving a thumbs up. “So, how long do you think shortly is gonna be?”
“I’ll be honest, I have no ide—” He was suddenly cut off by a knock, coming from the audience entrance on the other side of the room. “. . . Apparently now, it seems.”
“Should I get the door, or do you want to?” Ryuji asked, glancing between the doors and Alex.
The former villain shook his head. “No, I’ll get it, they’re meeting me after all. Don’t want to confuse anyone.”
“Got it. I’ll stick around, though, in case you guys need anything.”
“. . . Ryuji, you’re a blessing.” He patted his assistant on the shoulder, before hopping down from the stage and walking over to the door, not entirely sure who to expect on the other side as he opened it.
. . .
Okay, whatever he HAD been expecting, it absolutely wasn’t this.
Or rather, her.
Standing just outside the doorway, a white void filled with colorful floating triangles behind her, was international music superstar and virtual idol Hatsune Miku.
As in, the vocal synth. Who, as far as Alex knew, was not a real person.
“Hello!” Miku greeted, her voice sounding exactly like it should, as she bowed in greeting. “My name is Hatsune Miku, and it’s nice to meet you. You must be . . . Bill Cipher, correct?”
Alex blinked in stunned silence a couple times, trying to process the sight that was a real-life Hatsune Miku in front of him. “Uh . . . yes . . . ?” He replied awkwardly, unsure of how to even respond. “That’s . . . that’s me . . . you can call me Alex, though . . .”
“Understood, Alex.” She smiled at him, her light blue eyes almost glowing. “You got my message, correct?”
Alex dumbly nodded, still feeling like he was in shock. “Yeah, I . . .”
He was thankfully saved from this awkward situation by an interruption from Ryuji.
“IS THAT HATSUNE #$%@ING MIKU?!” the blonde yelled, sounding just as shocked as Alex felt. “HOW THE HELL—”
Miku chuckled, and waved up at the boy. “Hello! It’s nice to meet you, too, Ryuji!”
“. . . HATSUNE MIKU KNOWS MY NAME?! ” Alex could tell that if he glanced back, the thief’s jaw would likely be on the floor.
The digital girl nodded. “Of course! I made sure to know all that I could before coming here, so that I would be prepared.”
Alex shook himself, trying to regain his regular train of thought. “Okay. You’re . . . actually Hatsune Miku, right? We’re not just dreaming or anything? Because I’d probably know if this was a dream, but I just want to be sure.”
“Yes, I’m real,” she confirmed. “And yes, I’m the person who wanted to meet with you. May I come in?”
“Uh—of course! Go ahead, we set up a place to sit over on the stage—come right in!” Mentally Alex was kicking himself for having been so thrown-off by this. Usually he was a lot better at talking to people—he used to manipulate others all the time, and he still had that charisma! So why was Hatsune #$%@ing Miku blindsiding him?!
Miku stepped into the theater, the door closing itself behind her, and she smiled over at Alex—before it morphed into a frown. “Is everything alright?”
“I—Okay, I gotta apologize, but I really wasn’t expecting you to be the one who wanted to meet up. Or for you to be real. Also I think you might remind me of someone else. So I might be a little out of it.” (. . . Wait, hold on, what was that last reason—)
“Oh! It’s alright,” Miku assured him. “I should have explained better in my message . . . but I hope we can still have a good conversation! As soon as I heard Igor had retired, I felt like I should get to know the new person in charge, given how SEKAI and the Metaverse relate to each other.” The two had reached the stage by this time, and Ryuji silently pulled out Miku’s chair for her. “Oh, thank you!”
Alex sat down on the other chair, drumming his fingers atop the surface of the table. “Yeah, I . . . have a couple questions about that, actually. What’s SEKAI?”
“Oh, right, I should explain, shouldn’t I?” Miku nodded. “So, think of SEKAI like a brighter mirror of the Metaverse. While the Metaverse is far more prone to corruption and distortion, SEKAI creates worlds to help people work through their feelings and come together. It’s not an exact parallel, but it’s similar enough that comparing the two works.”
“. . . Huh. So like, the opposite of Palaces, then?”
“Yes, a lot like that! Individual SEKAIs are formed from the different desires and feelings of people, and they’re given access to their SEKAI to help them discover these feelings, which, instead of turning into physical Treasures or awakening as Personas, manifest as Songs.”
“So it’s also a musical.” Alex nodded. “I think I can get behind that. So you’re more like . . . the therapy side of the mindscape?”
Miku smiled. “You could put it like that, yes! It depends on the person and the feelings, but a lot of the time it does involve helping them through things similarly to therapy.”
“Man, I bet I could have used that myself . . . instead I got stuck with ol’ Pink-an’-Frilly and his whole Theraprism scheme.”
The virtual diva’s face went deadpan at this. “Ah. Yes. The Axolotl. I don’t like him, he’s a stuffy know-it-all.”
Alex blinked, staring at her for a second, before bursting into laughter. “I KNOW, RIGHT?! He’s such a PRICK!” He managed to flash the girl opposite him a grin. “I knew there was something I liked about you!”
Miku also laughed, shaking her head. “Yeah! He’s just—he’s such a salty salamander , or something!”
“ Salty salamander— ” He sputtered for a second, before laughing again. “Good one! I’ll have to use that sometime!”
A cough from Ryuji interrupted the two, and they turned up to look at him.
“Hey, so I was thinking, this setup looks like it could be for a tea party or something . . . you guys want me to get you anything to drink? Maybe some cookies to go with it? I feel like it could help set the mood, y’know?” The blonde shrugged. “Just an idea.”
“Oh, sure!” Alex nodded, before a thought struck him. “. . . Hey, do we still have that magic teapot we found backstage that one time?”
“I think so! It should probably be in the breakroom, I’m pretty sure we put it there . . .”
“Ooo, a magic teapot?” Miku looked intrigued. “What does it do?”
“Well, after some testing, we figured out that who pours from it changes the flavor of the ‘tea’ that comes out,” Alex explained with a grin. “Each person tastes something different for whoever pours it, it’s wild!”
Miku looked amazed. “That DOES sound wild! I’m excited to try it!”
“Yeah, we aren’t sure what controls the actual flavor of it, but our best guess is that it’s something based on how you feel about the server.” He chuckled. “It was pretty fun to see what we each got and to try and guess what it meant!”
“Are you suggesting we try to serve each other and see how it tastes?” the girl asked excitedly. “That would be really fun!”
“That’s EXACTLY what I’m suggesting, Twintails!” The nickname came out so naturally he almost didn’t catch that he’d said it. “What better way to get to know someone?”
“I got the tea!” Ryuji exclaimed, announcing his return. “I was able to find the magic teapot, plus some raspberry herbal that was nearby, and I also found a pack of shortbread cookies!” The blonde was holding a silver tray that had two teapots, a plate of cookies, and all the necessary extras for a tea party set on it.
“Raspberry, huh? Good choice!” Alex nodded, giving the attendant a thumbs-up. “Thanks for getting this for us, Ryuji!”
“Anytime, Boss!” He playfully saluted back. “I’m gonna go check on what the girls are up to now, call us if you need anything!” With that said, he walked away, leaving Alex and Miku back to their conversation.
“. . . So, ready to try it?” the demon asked, gesturing to the magic teapot—made of perfectly smooth black porcelain, with silver trim and a visibly glowing blue floral pattern around the center.
“I am!” Miku nodded. “You can pour it for me first, if you like.”
“If you insist!” Alex got to his feet and picked up the magic teapot, before carefully pouring a shimmering liquid from it into Miku’s teacup. “I will warn you, though, most cases of my tea so far have been . . . mildly explosive.”
“I can imagine,” the girl said lightheartedly, before taking a sip—and then sitting up in surprise. “Oh, you’re right, that does pop!” She giggled for a moment, before taking another sip. “It’s also very fruity!”
Alex grinned. “It sounds like you like it.”
Miku nodded. “I do! It’s very fun . . . would you like to taste mine now?”
“I’d love to.” Carefully, he gave her the teapot, and quickly grabbed his cup to hold up to her. “Don’t be confused that it’ll look the same, that’s just how it always looks so far.”
She took the teapot, inspecting it a little, before cautiously pouring some tea into Alex’s cup. “It does look the same,” she remarked, watching more of the iridescent liquid flow from the kettle. “I’m guessing it’s because of the magic?”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, no matter what we put in there the first few times, it always turned out like this, so we decided to just stick to water so we didn’t waste anything.” He glanced down at his cup, waiting for Miku to finish pouring before bringing it to his lips to taste.
It was sweet. Not even any specific flavor, it just tasted generically sweet. Not that that was a bad thing, but it was definitely a bit of a shock how sweet it was . . .
And then the aftertaste hit, and his eyes widened. Right at the end, when he’d assumed the flavor was about to fade, there was a very sharp burst of citrus. It took him completely by surprise, and yet it made perfect sense.
“Woah . . . that was weird.”
“What was weird?” Miku asked, looking a little concerned.
“Oh, nothing bad—I just wasn’t expecting what happened. It was really sweet until there was suddenly . . . orange, I think? A very strong, tart orange flavor, or something like that. I like it!”
“Oh, that’s good!” The girl smiled brightly. “I wonder why the aftertaste was so strong like that . . .”
“Well, it might be because of me seeing a bit of your less serious side,” he suggested. “You’ve mostly been super sweet, but then you stopped being that for a second when you complained about ol’ Axy, y’know?”
Miku pondered this for a moment, then nodded. “That makes sense, I think! Besides, you have more experience with this magic tea than me, so you’d probably be able to figure out why, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, probably.” Alex sat back down, and picked up one of the shortbread cookies. “So . . . do you have anything else we need to discuss on the business side of things?”
“Not that much, I think,” Miku replied, shaking her head. “I mostly wanted to just get to know you, and maybe figure out a way to stay in touch if we ever need help from each other.”
“Makes sense, it’s always good to know who you might need to work with, especially when they have a similar position.” The demon nodded. “. . . Plus, I really do need to make more friends, especially ones actually like me in terms of power and role and all that.”
“Yes, exactly!” The virtual singer smiled. “Also, I . . . well, I’d also like you to know that if you ever need any help getting anything or figuring out what to do, you can always let me know. I’m always happy to help someone new.”
“. . . I appreciate it, Twintails.” He smiled, then took a bite of the cookie he was holding. “Oh, wow, these cookies are good, I gotta ask Ryuji more about them so we can find more—”
“Oh, I should try one, shouldn’t I!” Miku picked up a cookie of her own, and bit into it thoughtfully. “. . . Wow, that is good! I might need to start getting some of these myself!”
“I know, right?! I’ve never really had shortbread before, I had no idea what to expect—”
“Me neither—”
“. . . Run that by me again, Sakamoto?”
“I told you, Adri, right now Boss is for real having a meeting with the actual Hatsune Miku! ”
“Okay, but HOW.” The dark-skinned young woman gave her fellow attendant a skeptical look. “Isn’t she, you know . . . a computer program?”
“Look, I’m not trying to mess with you, okay?!”
“Why’s she even here, actually?” Kotone piped in, glancing over at the other two. “She’s a singer, right? What business would she have with Alex?”
“Something about her being the head of something called SEKAI that’s a lot like the Metaverse? She gave an explanation, but I’m not sure I really got what she was saying. But she came over to get to know Boss cause he’s new to his position and she’s in a similar one?”
“I guess that makes sense . . .” Adriana mused, a puzzled frown on her face. “That still doesn’t explain the fact that it’s Hatsune Miku, however.”
“Look, Adriana, don’t get too hung up about it, okay?” the redheaded girl said, shrugging. “It’s not like it’s the weirdest thing any of us have seen, we can literally summon our inner selves as mythological entities. And I think Miku probably counts as a myth herself by now.”
“. . . Good point.” The former detective sighed. “You raise a very good point.”
“Oh! I also brought out the magic teapot for them,” Ryuji piped in. “You guys wanna bet with me about what their flavors for each other might be?”
The two girls shared a look, before turning back to their male coworker with identical smirks.
“Oh, it’s on,” Kotone said deviously. “Who wants to make the first bet?”