Chapter Text
“We apologize for the sudden announcement, however we regret to let our fans know that Merm4id will be pausing all future live shows until further notice. We apologize dearly to our fans who have supported us thus far, and hope that they continue to support us until we return.”
Saori sat at her desk mulling over how to announce to their fans that they would be pausing all their activities as a unit for the time being. Should she suggest a possible return? Would that be too ambitious? Would that lead on their fans bringing them promise of a future that may not happen? Saori let out a fed up groan as she closed her laptop without officially posting the group’s hiatus message. With another exasperated sigh, she let her head fall onto her desk with a thunk, mulling over what to do and how to say it. Her head began to swirl with thoughts of how to properly word Merm4id’s hiatus statement and how she would even deal with the aftermath bringing her into a dark spiral of depreciating thoughts when a warm hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.
“Saori…” The comforting voice of Rika pulled Saori out of her thought spiral.
Startled by the sudden appearance of her partner, Saori let out an undignified “GAAHH”
“Rika??!?! When did you get here? And more importantly how did you get IN?” Saori turned and shouted at Rika.
Rika shrugged nonchalantly, “you gave me a pair of keys to your apartment silly” she replied while dangling Saori’s spare set of keys in front of her.
Saori shook her head, “right, I forgot, anyways, give me a warning before you come in, you nearly scared me to death.”
“Sorry” Rika replied, “you just looked so deep in your thoughts that I didn’t want to bother you. You’re trying to figure out what to say about our hiatus?”
“Yeah… much easier said than done, I just don't want to upset the fans that have supported us for so long. It’s so sudden, and I feel bad, and I just don't want to disappoint or let anyone down or”
“Saori” Rika interrupted, “It’s ok. This did come out of the blue. I don't want you worrying too much about it. If you want, I can post the message” Rika suggested with a cheeky grin.
Saori looked unamused, “that’s actually what I’m worried about…”
“You don't trust that your beloved girlfriend would properly announce the hiatus of our DJ unit?”
Saori sight, “no, that’s not what I mean, I just don't want things to come off wrong.”
“Don’t worry Saori, I’m sure everything will be fine.”
“Knowing you, Rika, you’re probably right, I don't know, I’m just still worried.”
Saori leaned back in her chair, tilting her head up to meet Rika’s eyes. Rika smiled back at her.
“Have you heard from Dalia or Marika recently?” Saori asked.
Rika let out an exasperated sigh, “Dalia has left me on read mostly aside from her apologizing for everything. Marika hasn’t even seen my messages, I got concerned and went to her place, but her mom stopped me at the door. Said that Marika hasn’t left her room in a few days and she wouldn’t allow me to go in and try to talk to her” Rika pouted at the last part.
Saori sighed and shook her head. She was concerned about Marika too, ever since Dalia texted her the news that she and Marika had broken up, things had changed drastically for Merm4id. First thing Saori realised was that they wouldn’t be playing any shows in the near future, and while the DJ’s primary concern was the mental health of her friends, she couldnt help but also be concerned with the future of the DJ unit she had spent so much time with. Compounded with the fact that they were almost finished with university, the future loomed heavily over all of their heads.
“Rika, what do we do?”
Rika hummed thoughtfully, Saori was envious of how her girlfriend could be so positive, how she was able to shift gears and be genuinely thoughtful about what to do. How Rika never got stuck in her own thoughts was something Saori greatly admired about the other girl.
After some thought, Rika finally broke the silence that hung heavy over the pair, “I don't know if there is too much we can do, whatever reason that Dalia and Marika broke up is between them. I think we just have to let things be, go with the flow, you know?”
Saori got up from her desk and sat down on her bed next to Rika. She leaned her head on Rika’s shoulder as they sat in silence. To say that Saori felt blindsided by the sudden breakup between Marika and Dalia would be an understatement. From the DJ’s perspective, everything was fine and well between them and Merm4id was seemingly thriving, their club lagoon was consistently booked out, and everyone seemed to be enjoying their time. Maybe there was stuff going on behind the scenes that Saori wasn't privy to, but even so it was quite the surprise this happened, and if there was trouble, they did a very good job of hiding it. A sudden movement from beside her jolted Saori out of her thoughts.
“Sa-O-Ri, there’s no point in mulling over things, how about we go sing our hearts out at Karaoke?”
“Sorry Rika, I know you’re trying to cheer me up, but I don't really want to… sorry.”
Rika pulled her girlfriend into a tight embrace, “it’s ok Saori, everything is going to be alright, just trust in Marika and Dalia and me, everything will work out. Just believe in me” Rika gently whispered the last part in Saori’s ear.
Hearing this, Saori started to tear up, “how do you know that?” she cried into Rika’s shoulder.
“How can you be so sure everything will work out?” Saori suddenly pushed Rika away which stunned the orange haired girl.
“You keep saying everything’s going to be alright, you keep ‘going with the flow’ you keep DRAGGING ME along but I can’t help but be worried! What are we going to do about the future of Merm4id? Have you ever thought about that? We’re almost about to graduate university! We are about to become adults! Will we have to stop playing these silly games? Get ‘real jobs’? I’ve already had Musharoad reach out to me after my internship asking if I’m interested in full time. I don't know what to do. What are we going to do? I love doing what we’re doing right now, I love DJ’ing with you, I love playing music together, I love making music together, I love singing, dancing, and partying with you. I love you. I love Marika and Dalia too. I don’t want to see it end, but it feels like the end has come and I’m not ready yet.” Saori could no longer see Rika clearly through the tears in her eyes. All she saw was a blurry orange outline of the one she loved so much sitting so patiently in front of her. Saori immediately felt a slam of regret for yelling at Rika for something that was not her fault at all. The purple haired girl quietly choked out a tearful “sorry” which Rika muffled by pulling the girl into a tight bearhug. Rika began to trace calming circles on Saori’s back, reassuring her and giving her words of comfort.
“It’s ok Saori, I forgive you, I love you too, and I love the time we spent together, the four of us. I’ll be honest, the future scares me too. But if I’ve learned anything from life it's that worrying does no good. It's best to take life by the horns and dive right in, going with the flow of life and enjoying every second of it. I know that you’re worried about our future, but I want you to know that I will always support you, no matter what. Also I’m glad that you have future job prospects, I’m really proud of you Saori.”
Saori looked up tearfully at Rika, “Thanks Rika, I’m not sure what I’m going to do about that, I don't know if I’m ready to give up on Merm4id yet. I don't want to abandon you, but I also need to think about my future career… whatever it is I end up doing.”
Rika put a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder, “it’s ok to not know everything, we’re young, we have so much ahead of us. There’s no point in sweating the details now, we can figure things out as we go. As long as we’re together, we can get through it.”
Saori fell backwards lying down on her bed, staring up silently at the ceiling above. Wondering about the future that lay ahead, she began wondering about why Dalia and Marika would break up, what caused the rift in their relationship that led to them breaking it off. Maybe they too felt the pressure of graduation and their careers. Each of the four of them seemed to have different dreams and aspirations. From the start, Saori had a sense that Merm4id wasn’t built to last, but to see things fall apart so suddenly definitely shocked the group’s DJ.
Shaking Saori out of her thoughts, Rika got up from the bed and made her way towards Saori’s desk, “would you like me to write the hiatus message?” Rika opened Saori’s laptop as she asked.
“Sure, go ahead. Thanks Rika.”
After a brief pause where all Saori heard was occasional tapping of a keyboard, Rika finally finished and gestured for Saori to come over.
“Saori, come take a look, this look good?”
Saori got up from her bed and walked over to the desk where Rika was sat, peering at the screen over Rika’s shoulder, the read the message that her girlfriend had typed.
This is an announcement for our fans. We are sorry to announce that Merm4id will be taking an indefinite hiatus. We apologize if this disappoints our fans but we hope that you continue to support us.
Saori was shocked at the professionalism and quality of the message that Rika had drafted. She knew the girl had a serious side to her, but saw it so rarely that she forgot that it existed from time to time.
“This is good Rika, thanks for writing it. I hope our fans don’t take things too harshly…”
“It’s fine Saori, I’m happy to help you any way that I can. Now that’s taken care of, what do you wanna do now? Wanna go clubbing?”
Saori shook her head, “I think I’ll have to pass. I’m really tired after all that. Is it ok if we just chill here like this? I just want you to be with me, I would appreciate it.”
Rika smiled gently, “I’m ok with that, anything you want, I’m here for you” she turned around and brought the purple haired DJ into a loving embrace. The pair sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence. Not needing to say anything but the shared sentiment between each other, that everything would work out in the end. They may be struggling now with a future that is unclear, but they both knew that they could get through it together. They hoped that Dalia and Marika could at least reconcile and they would have more clarity on the future of Merm4id, but both Saori and Rika silently agreed that what was most important was making sure Dalia and Marika were doing well. Deciding the best course of action was to let them be for the time being, they trusted that their friends would reach out to them and talk to them about what happened. Give them the time and space they need to heal and eventually they could come together again and face the future together, as four, as Merm4id reunited once again.