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It was currently 1:04 AM, according to the clock in SEKAI. Yet, KAITO was restless. The Virtual Singers didn’t require sleep, like the humans that inhabit their world, but oddly enough, the ones in School SEKAI chose to follow the human schedule. Which meant sleeping. Though, not tonight, for KAITO, at least.
“ I think I know why. ” He thought to himself, chuckling.
“Eh? KAITO? What are you still doing awake?” Shiho’s deep voice (deeper due to the tiredness, KAITO notes) rang throughout the classroom, effectively scaring KAITO half to death, even if he was expecting it.
“I could ask you the same question.” KAITO smiled, a hint of teasing lacing his voice.
“Yeah, yeah. A lot’s been on my mind, I guess.” Shiho replied, rolling their eyes, but nonetheless taking a seat next to their mentor - not too close, but not too far away. When they looked over and saw KAITO’s mildly scared expression, they quickly backpedaled.
“Ah, sorry! Nothing bad. Nothing to worry about. Just… reminiscing.” KAITO visibly relaxed, and huffed.
“You seem to be doing that a lot lately.”
“Hey now, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Hehe, nothing bad.” KAITO chuckled, and the two sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. Despite both of their lack of desire to speak to people, KAITO and Shiho share a bond that neither of them shared with the others. KAITO felt the need to care for Shiho, to nurture them, and to be there in their hour of need - “Like a father!” Saki had helpfully described to him when it came up in conversation.
Shiho, on the other hand, felt a strange connection to him. They felt like he was reliable, that, despite being overwhelmed easily, KAITO was a person they could be silent with, both of them playing the bass without holding back.
“Why’s there a fragment SEKAI…?” KAITO broke the silence, and Shiho immediately perked up. And their eyes landed on an all-too familiar white, glowing ball.
“Aha, dibs!” Shiho scrambled towards the anomaly, slapping their hand onto it and promptly disappearing.
“...Saki is really rubbing off on them.”
–
Shiho regained their vision slowly, all the while a ringing in their ears was flooding their mind, It wasn’t too strange of a feeling, they often felt it after accidentally staying up too late practicing their bass - “Shiho what the fuck, 39 hours?” Was Ichika’s very in-character response. Oops? - or after standing up too fast. When they finally regained their most important sense; vision, they scanned their surroundings. They were in a live house - the same one they worked at.
“ Are you kidding? I just got finished with a shift here, why am I back? ” They sighed heavily, and then realised they were on stage. But when they looked around, they weren’t with Leo/Need, but they weren’t alone. The others were there, just distorted, their features blurred. And as Shiho connected the dots, why they were here, what was going on, a song started. Saki’s keyboard starting, and it was Voices . They whipped themselves into shape, steadying themselves and inhaling to sing. And when they did, their voice echoed throughout the room like it never had before, ringing throughout the live house like something from the heavens. It surprised themselves, though they didn’t let it throw them off. Their voice remained steady, just as they needed it to be - almost like Honami’s drums. A steady pillar, the support. Shiho often got told that their voice was stellar, by their manager when they subbed in for other bands, or by pedestrians when they did street performances. As they scanned the crowd during the intro, they internally sighed as they noticed everyone in the crowd was distorted and blurry, too. They were alone in this livehouse, nobody else was visible enough to have distinguishable features- - until their eyes landed on one small child, wearing an oddly familiar orange sweater. Shiho couldn’t believe their eyes (though, this was a fragment SEKAI, anything is possible), looking the kid up and down over and over again. It was them, ten year old Hinomori Shiho, staring at current them, in awe. If it made their heart swell in pride, nobody would ever notice. Eventually, though, they lost themselves in the music, as they always did. The world faded away around them, their entire being focused on the sound they were making. Honami’s drumming rang out in sync with their heartbeat, Saki’s keyboard sounding just like how Shiho felt - perfect. Ichika’s guitar playing was as sharp and amazing as their focus, and her singing was like a filter for the entirety of Shiho’s being. They were never good with words, but the three around her always had a way of turning their feelings into song. It was perfect. It was all that Shiho could ever want, and more.
The end of the song came too soon for Shiho’s liking. They weren’t ready to sing the last line, but they knew something greater was ahead. Though… Shiho mused to themselves, I’ll never forget this feeling.
And as their instruments delivered the final notes, and Shiho’s voice enveloped the crowd, they knew that nothing could make them forget this feeling. (The mountain of shows the band had coming up can testify to that.) But as the crowd applauded and cheered, Shiho found themselves focused on one member - one person that carried their desire to perform well, the younger them in the crowd. Looking at them, it was a bit mind blowing that that version of themselves was only 7 years ago. And the expression on their face, the euphoria they recognised all too well, only served as a reminder that this is why they started playing music. Their dream, it was all thanks to the kid in the orange sweater they were grinning at. And what did the two Shihos do next?
Immediately run to the alleyway next to the live house, to talk.
–
Maybe they weren’t entirely prepared to meet their ten year old self, Shiho realised. Their younger self was a bit slower in arriving, most likely due to the crowd, and them being the size of a medium dog. Shiho chuckled. That hasn’t changed a bit.
“Woah…” A small voice broke them out of their haze, and they locked eyes with the child version of them.
“Hey.” What the fuck.
“You’re… so cool!” The younger them exclaimed, eyes shining brighter than Saki’s. They never thought it to be possible, but here they were.
“Heh, thank you. You’re pretty cool, too.” Shiho awkwardly said, the grip on their bass tightening a bit. And then it loosened, as they realised this was them they were talking to. They had no chance of being judged for what they said. So, they carefully slumped down against the wall they were leaning on, and patted the spot next to them. Their kid self excitedly rushed next to them and plopped down, practically shaking. Maybe they knew that they could express their emotions how they wanted, too.
“You’re gonna shake up your brain, calm down.” Shiho chuckled, ruffling the kid’s hair.
“Ah.” The younger them relaxed, as much as they could, and looked at Shiho like they were inspecting them. Knowing themselves, they were. A couple moments went by, as the kid next to the bassist just stared, drinking in the other’s presence. Until they spoke again.
“We stuck with the bass?” They smiled, gaze trailing to the shiny instrument in Shiho’s arms.
“Yeah, we did. Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Shiho answered, running their fingers along the fretting board.
“But… is that okay? I mean…” The younger Shiho frowned as they trailed off.
“Yeah, it all turned out fine in the end. People admire us now, you know?” Shiho hummed, smiling. They knew exactly why the younger them asked - that one day, when they tried the bass for the first time.
“Really? People don’t think we’re mean anymore?” The hope in the kid’s voice almost prevented Shiho from telling the truth - but why would they lie about this? They rarely lied.
“Sometimes, they still do. But… the others, the ones who don’t think we’re mean, they always help us feel better.”
“You mean Ichi? And Saki, and Hona?” The younger them asked, the hope in their voice only growing.
“Yes, I mean them. We’re stuck with ‘em.”
“Well, I thought so, because they were on stage with you.” The younger Shiho deadpanned, and Shiho almost let out a laugh. Some things never change, Honami’s voice in Shiho’s head laughed. Silence took over the conversation once again, and for a few minutes, they were both content. Until younger Shiho wasn’t, and began their barrage of questions yet again.
“How is onee-chan?” Right, she and I were attached at the hip when we were younger.
“She’s fine. Um… we don’t really see her much because she’s an idol and we’re busy with the band. But… we have our moments.” Shiho smiled, though a pang of guilt hit them as they saw the sadness on the younger them’s face.
“Hey. Nothing bad happened between us. She’s still the same old Shizuku. Heck, I’m sure she’d be super happy if I asked her to make the same rabbit onigiri as we did when we were young.” Shiho explained, a fond smile as they did. They ran their right hand through the kid’s hair, and it seemed to lift their mood enough.
“That’s good.”
Silence, again.
“How long have you had that bass?”
“Eh, this one?” Shiho looked at the instrument again, noticing the carefully manufactured shine, “I’d say about 6 years.” They estimated, thinking back on their life. The younger them was ten, so not 7 years, but they had it throughout middle school.
“Wow…”
“Mhm. This has stuck with me throughout all my actually important school years.”
“Hey, elementary school is important!” Younger them exclaimed, pouting.
“No, not really, but whatever makes you feel better.” Shiho chuckled, and the younger them pouted even stronger.
“Fine. If it’s so important, tell me about the school I haven’t done yet.” Shiho paused for a second. Middle school was part of that, and frankly, neither of them wanted to have that reminder.
“Uh, high school is nice. We have a surprising amount of friends, other than the band.” Shiho starts, recalling the moments with Kohane and Minori, Saki and Emu, and the others not in Miya girls, like Akito and An. The memory of the school festival brought a smile to their face.
“Okay.” In Shiho terms, go on .
“And, our band plays at school sometimes.”
“Mhm?”
“Yep. And, Shizuku will sometimes beg us to eat lunch with her, but we always have practice.”
“Aw.”
“Real bummer, “ Sarcasm, “And that’s really it.” Shiho shifted, and the younger them huffed. When they looked over -
“Wow, I can see why people are a bit afraid of us. That face is kinda killer.” Shiho chuckled, and the younger them only glared harder.
“Something happened in middle school.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yeesh. I didn’t wanna talk about it.” Shiho grumbled, not fond of remembering that time.
“Yeah, well. Hona says all the time that you’ll feel better if you talk about things.”
“True. She still does.” Avoiding the topic, Shiho… The younger them leaned against their arm, the warmth causing them to relax a bit.
“You don’t have to talk about it.” They mumbled, but Shiho only chuckled in response.
“People really didn’t like us in middle school. We were the topic of like,
every
rumour. Which was fine. We didn’t care.” The younger them hummed, playing with the strings on their sweater.
“But, the other three got involved in the bad talk, and we really didn’t like that. So we said things, and one thing led to another, and we were known as the jerk who was never happy.”
“Hm.” Shiho knew their younger self was thinking something along the lines of it would happen eventually .
“And so, we made the stupid decision to not talk to anyone. Including Ichika and the others.” Their younger self tensed up, only letting a small noise of surprise be heard.
“And, that went on until our first year of high school, when Saki came back from being hospitalized–”
“Saki was in the hospital?” The younger them interrupted, worry more evident on their face than current them would ever allow.
“Yeah. She’s okay, though. We take care of her when she needs it.”
“Hm…”
“And Saki tried to get us together, but we wouldn’t budge. Honami was also going through a shitty time, getting bullied.
“Don’t say a bad word!” Younger them gasped, and Shiho huffed a laugh.
“Sorry, sorry. But, after a whole lot of time, everything was okay again.”
This time, Shiho didn’t get a response. Not for a while. Until, a sniffle was heard. Shiho’s head whipped over to the kid beside them. They were crying. Yeah, that was expected. Until Shiho had an idea.
“Hey, kiddo. Wanna see something?” They smiled warmly, offering a hand to the kid. They accepted, and in one swift motion, Shiho put their younger self on their shoulders.
“Woah!” The kid laughed, and Shiho felt their heart swell as they began walking. Their bass was safely swung around their back, so there was nothing to worry about.
After a few minutes of walking, the young Shiho gasped as their playground came into sight.
“We’re going here?!” They smiled, and Shiho nodded.
“You bet! You wanna climb to the top of the play structure?”
“Please?”
“Of course.” Shiho grinned, letting the kid slide off their shoulders, before half-heartedly racing them to the mentioned play structure. The metal was still as colourful as Shiho remembered, though older and rustier. It had been a while since they had visited this playground. As their past self climbed the bars, they followed carefully, before both settling at the very top.
“This is usually Ichi’s spot.” The kid hummed, and Shiho snickered.
“Well, she isn’t here, is she?” The young Shiho nodded, before leaning on Shiho’s arm yet again. After a brief moment of silence, their past self asks again:
“What are they like in the future?” Shiho smiled at that, pulling out their phone and navigating to the gallery. Saki had recently forced them to take a bunch of pictures together - “It’s for marketing! The fans aren’t going to like us if we don’t have any pictures!” As the blonde so aptly explained - so they were in luck. They opened the folder titled ‘my stars’, and handed the phone to the kid beside them.
“Feel free to scroll as much as you’d like.”
As their past self scrolled through the photos, Shiho took to stargazing. The stars were extra bright tonight; as if they had stored the adrenaline that Shiho had felt playing earlier, and channeled that energy into their light. It gave a nice chance for them to truly relax, let out a breath and relax their shoulders.
“We haven’t changed at all, have we?” Their past self smiled, and when Shiho looked at them, their phone was in their lap.
“Yes and no.” Shiho smiled, ruffling the kid’s hair yet again, before turning their attention back to the stars. Silence again, a relaxed feeling wafting through the air. It was oddly healing, sitting under the stars.
“Shiho! That’s my spot!” Both Shihos whipped their heads back at the call, the familiar voice holding no anger.
“Who’s that?” The young Saki called out next, her voice slowly growing closer. The young Shiho didn’t answer, as if they knew the others would recognise them as soon as they got close enough. And turns out they were right - as the young Honami gasped as soon as she saw Shiho’s face.
“Shiho?” Ichika was next, and she was staring at Shiho in awe. Shiho was in a similar state of shock. This was their fragment SEKAI, how’d the others get here?
“Uh, hey, you three. Sorry for taking your spot, Ichika. We didn’t think you’d show up.”
“Oh my gosh, Shiho-chan, you look so cool all grown up,” Saki had teleported onto Shiho’s lap, lightly shaking the bassist, “how old are you? What are you doing here? Does this mean everybody else is here too?”
“Woah, Saki, slow down. Don’t overexert yourself.” Shiho said that out of pure instinct, and immediately regretted it. Saki didn’t seem to mind, instead settling for patiently waiting for Shiho to answer her questions. Instead, Shiho set Saki down next to their younger self, patting her head, and climbed down. Now they were on Ichika and Honami’s level, and they smiled at them, before dropping to the ground.
“I think my time’s up. Don’t…” Shiho paused for a second, before exhaling, “Don’t give up. On each other, or your dreams.”
Shiho saw their past self shooting them a knowing smile, before their vision went to white.
–
Shiho woke up in the Classroom SEKAI again, face squished on the floor.
“Oh, welcome back, Shiho.” KAITO chuckled, and Shiho startled.
“Ow.” Was their first word, and after recovering, and sitting back next to KAITO, they sighed. They felt lighter, and whatever was on their mind was long forgotten.
“So? What did you do?” KAITO inquired, and Shiho smiled.
“Hung out with myself.”
“Mhm,” KAITO paused for a solid 5 seconds like it was a normal thing, “wait what?”
“Me when I was 10 years old. In the Fragment SEKAI.” Shiho chuckled, and rested their head against the wall behind them.
“Huh. The things you see, hm?” KAITO hummed, doing the same.
“Yeah. Hey, what time is it?” Shiho asked, feeling their eyes droop.
“It’s…” KAITO glanced at the clock, “4:01 AM.”
“Mmph. Goodnight.” Shiho sighed, letting themselves - in record time, nonetheless - fall asleep in the SEKAI.
“Woah, uh, okay. There’s a first time for everything, I suppose.” KAITO stuttered, but eventually fell asleep himself.
If the other Virtual Singers saw the two leaning on each other in the morning, before KAITO woke up and made Shiho a makeshift bed, they never said anything.