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“Like a fairy tale, long since forgotten, revived and drenched in seven colored hues!”
The final verse of the song echoes throughout all the edges and layers of the Virtual World, Tsukuyomi. The last note of the keytar is silenced alongside the floaty and sensual voice of this world’s greatest diva, a songstress beyond time, unrivaled in beauty and compassion.
The audience, captivated like the victims of an undodgeable charm spell, all stand up in silence, never letting their eyes stray from the performers in the center of the stage.
Yachiyo’s hand slowly drops from its extended position and her body follows suit. As her body lowers itself to the ground and finally rests in an exhausted yet beautiful pose, the spell is broken. The audience all across the concert hall erupts into cheers and applause. Even beyond the seats, in the city, the distant battlegrounds and behind every computer screen the same elated shouts reverberate in unison.
“YACHIYOOO!!”
“IRO-P!!”
They shout our names in a frenzy and the thousands of glow lights across the sea of people wave hypnotizingly in a strange rhythm.
I draw my eyes away from this magnificent sight and let my keytar disappear in a flourish of glowing data trails. My gaze is entirely focused on the pale girl laying in front of me. Her chest heaves with labored breaths, so unlike what she usually displays during her regular concerts.
With a tight clenching in my chest I force myself to return my attention to the crowd and put a hand on the microphone I summon from my inventory.
“Thank you for your time everyone! We had a lot of fun!” I shout my emotions into the mic to convey my sincere gratitude and the fans go wild. “See you again.”
Those somewhat sloppy and shy parting words pressed from my shaking lips are expelled and that is where the concert truly ends. Magical curtains are drawn across the stage, like the ocean’s darkest waves turned solid.
“Yachiyo and Iro-P’s New Year’s concert is over everyoooone!! One more remote performance by everyone’s favorite Liver group Black onyX and it’s already going to be time for the fireworks show, so let’s all get even more hyped up!!!” Otako, everyone’s favorite loyal dog announcer’s cheery voice blows from all speakers and her face appears on the main screen that spawned above the concert hall a few seconds ago.
Things are getting heated out there, but I can’t bring myself to pay attention to the fireworks show preparations. Instead I kneel down and softly take Yachiyo’s hand into mine. She is still gasping for breath, but her deep colorful eyes are returning my worried gaze with pure happiness.
“I-ro-ha.” She gives every syllable of my name its own unique note. The way she calls me never fails to make my heart shiver.
“You overdid it.” I say with what I think is a stern expression on my face, but my fox tail seems to have a mind of its own as it happily wags behind me. Traitor.
“Concerts should be full of energy and enthusiasm.” Yachiyo replies with a goofy expression on her face. I know that she is just putting on a front, but I can’t help but feel like squealing from her cuteness. This really is my idol after all.
“Can you move?” I ask something stupid, but Yachiyo surprises me as she takes my hand and slowly pushes herself up from the ground. Her stage outfit is more like a gala dress, giving her a strangely ethereal appearance under the low light of the backstage fish lamps.
“You are so conscientious, Iroha. No wonder you are the most popular producer in Tsukuyomi~”
She is teasing me again. I frown a little, but don’t have the heart to be mad. Not at her. Never.
“I don’t have time for a second job. I’m a scientist, you know?”
“Ehehe, a lyrical scientist?”
“What the heck is that?”
We both chuckle at our stupid exchanges as usual.
Delicately I pull Yachiyo up by her hip and take her arm around my shoulder. She is standing, if a bit unsteady. That is progress. Her long beautiful hair is tied up in a single ponytail tonight, so it doesn’t get in the way. Still, those heels probably won’t make getting around any easier. If only she would float like she usually does…
“Let’s rest a little. Do you want to log off?”
“Hmm~ I don’t think that is a good idea.” Yachiyo says with an expression layered in a mix of emotional turmoil. Exhaustion, uncertainty… sadness?
“I see.”
It is not like I can’t predict her reasoning. The body inside our apartment is probably at its limit already. It is about to shut down soon and then Yachiyo will be unable to move at all. I curse my slow progress and inadequacy once again. It’s my fault that she makes this expression right now.
If I disconnect Yachiyo from the body right now she will at least be able to move freely in Tsukuyomi again. Thinking such, I am about to open my eyes to see the real world in front of me, but I can sense Yachiyo’s soft hand against my own. She is pressing my fingers between hers and shakes her head.
She doesn’t want me to disconnect her yet. I can tell.
Why? This exhaustion and the slightly pained twinge of her brows tell me all I need to know. Right now she is in pain. She moved too much in the prototype, so it’s breaking down. In that case it would be better to return to being the old Yachiyo-
I gasp.
I can feel her embrace. Not just in the virtual world, but also in real life. The softness of the artificial muscle tissue, the smell of her hair, the wetness of her sweat against my chest.
“Can we watch the fireworks together… like this?” She asks quietly with upturned eyes.
She is too beautiful. Too sensual. Too real for my brain to handle.
I can’t deny her puppy dog eyes. Never.
“…of course.” I respond. My voice is slightly choked up.
Slowly the open carriage sways through the festive streets of Tsukuyomi. It’s New Year’s Day, so the servers are more crowded than ever, but the majority of users are all gathered around the concert hall, the arena and the festival venues. Every day is like a festival in Tsukuyomi, but this holds especially true today.
All the animal eared people and NPCs around us part for our ride drawn by a giant turtle. You would think that we can’t make much progress being dragged around like that, but the virtual turtle is surprisingly fast. Of course we are moving at a walking pace so as not to disturb anyone and it’s more relaxing to watch things go by at this kind of pace.
“They are really showing off again.” I mutter with one eye on the large screens above us displaying Black onyX New Year’s performance. These crazy guys are holding a concert while doing a match in Kassen.
“Woo~ Mikado-sama~” Yachiyo pumps her fist in a cheeky little cheer, making her long kimono sleeve wave through the air.
I almost gag in response. She is just trying to tease me. For a while now Yachiyo has become more like the Kaguya I knew… No perhaps it is wrong to put it like that. Yachiyo has always been playful like this. But now I notice her full attention on me, so it feels like I am being riddled with holes by her cuteness and teasing voice all the time.
But hearing her fangirl over that playboy of a brother is not cute at all.
“Oh, how crude of me.” She retracts her hand and looks slightly apologetic.
Is she being considerate?
“I should also cheer for Rai and Noi. They are doing their best as well!” She put one hand above her forehead in a theatrical fashion.
“That’s what you meant?!” I puff my cheeks like a maladjusted teenager and cross my arms in protest. In this avatar I don’t even feel embarrassed for acting so childish. My model hasn't changed much in the last years, so I am still somehow ‘Iro-P’ in this world. But if I acted so spoiled in real life I would probably die.
“Ahaha, you are so cute Iroha.” Yachiyo has returned to her splendid standard kimono model as well, so even her uninhibited laughter gives her a higher class feel. As if I am sitting next to an aristocratic lady.
Nobody would even question us if they saw her regal posture on top of the palanquin looking ride we chose. This seems almost natural for everyone’s idol.
In truth though, Yachiyo can barely move right now, so I didn’t want to let her walk on her own. Instead we paid some tokens for this ride that is taking us outside the crowded city center and into the fields beyond.
“Are you sure we can see the fireworks from there?” I ask with a raised brow as I watch the stalls around us thin out and the grassy fields beyond the large lake come into view.
“It’s my number one most recommended spot! That’s a special Yaccho secret~” She sings the words with a giddy expression and waves at some passersby who widen their eyes in surprise, muttering quiet 'Yachiyo??'s in reponse.
Yachiyo is known by everyone and she has a tendency to just randomly pop up wherever in Tsukuyomi, so those are considered special encounters. I wonder if we should have disguised ourselves or something. The news bulletins are going to be filled with rumors about us dating again for sure by tomorrow morning.
I blush a little, but say nothing even when Yachiyo pokes my cheeks curiously.
Of course our little stunt here attracts enough attention that a lot of people are following us just out of curiosity. Loners, couples and friends alike tail behind our palanquin and eventually this turns into some kind of weird procession. Figures.
We arrive at the hills outside the city. Out here the air is a bit chillier and strangely fresh. Not that I can taste it with the current state of VR technology.
I can feel Yachiyo linking her arm with mine as she points at the large body of water in front of us. It softly reflects the lights of the lanterns across the city. This would make a great screensaver!
The crowd around us is dispersing across the grassy plain and summoning blankets and other stuff to turn this into a proper fireworks viewing already. All their animal ears and tails glow in different hues. Just like mine. I think the blue glow of the fox ears is quite cute actually.
“I wonder how nobody ever found this spot?” I mutter as I look out for anyone I might personally recognize. Mami is busy with her family and Roka is out on a New Year’s photoshoot, so I don’t expect to see them today. Fushi… just where is that little mascot anyway? I haven’t seen any sign of it all day.
“Some wonderful things are always hidden in plain sight.” Yachiyo says mysteriously while gazing at Tsukuyomi’s night sky. Just what are those soft eyes of hers seeing beyond the sea of numbers around us?
“Are you tired?” I whisper softly. Fushi isn’t here to do the usual ‘Sleep Time!’ alarm and I have a feeling that I know why.
“It was a very long concert…” Zs appear above Yachiyo’s head. The emote feels completely natural in this world.
“We should go to sleep after the fireworks are done.” I nod quietly and tighten my arm around hers. In real life I can hear the joints clack ever so slightly.
Yachiyo just nods and keeps watching the sky.
“It’s time everyoooone!” Even across all this distance Otako’s excited shouts reach us. “The light show begins in 5…4…”
“Do you remember the fireworks we viewed together, Iroha?”
“Huh..? Uhm… the ones last year? During the live stream?” I frantically try to remember what we did during the New Year’s event last year. I just remember spending most of my time in the lab and occasionally chatting with Yachiyo over my tablet.
“No no, not in Tsukuyomi.” She gently shakes her head.
I swallow. Of course I know what she is talking about. I would be such an idiot for pretending not to get it. But I really don’t want to think of that time. Not while we are striving for our happy ending.
“Yeah.” I wring out a quiet response from my tightened throat.
All those years ago, when I was about to say goodbye to Kaguya, we went to that festival one hour away from our apartment. On that day I found out that Kaguya would leave me. That she would return to the moon. That fate was inevitable.
“They were so pretty.”
B-O-O-M
Her voice trails through the air as the first magical firework in the form of a flapjack octopus lit up in the sky. In this virtual world there is no real noise, it’s just a stock sound effect that plays in our earphones. And there is also no smell of pyrotechnics, no vibration in the air. These look very pretty regardless, I think. As expected, the animation capabilities of Tsukuyomi’s code are making the experience very lifelike and captivating.
But it is not the same, is it? Yesterday the fireworks in the real world had a different sensation to them. It’s impossible to put that feeling into words, though.
“New Year’s log-in quest completed!”
Illusions of Fushi appear all over the place around us, telling the other players that they received their customary loot and New Year’s gifts. I didn’t turn my quest log on today, so we aren’t interrupted by the system.
Yachiyo leans her head on my shoulder and my chest tightens in response. I’m sweating. Definitely sweating gallons!
“I wonder if I can go out there to see them again…” Her tender voice echoes inside my ears.
My eyelids lower as I try to find the right response. The prototype body we are testing right now is not very reliable, so it probably shouldn’t go too far outside. Taking it to my apartment was already against the rules, but I wanted to show Yachiyo… I wanted to show her our place with her own eyes. Not just the camera of my tablet.
Then she insisted that we do the concert this way. It was a dumb idea. No way would that body be able to take the stress of a dance performance. The sweat function was especially untested, so that’s why she felt so drenched right now.
I slightly open my left eye in the real world. Kaguya’s head is so close. She’s leaning on my shoulder with a soft expression on her face. Her eyes are closed so she can see the fireworks with me. I want to stroke her head. I want to touch her hair and hug her.
But this is fine too. Watching the digital fireworks together while resting our heads together is precious too.
I close my eye and returns completely to the world in which Kaguya is a silver haired woman with eyes like the ocean itself. They are reflecting the fireworks… and then my face.
“Woooow!” Some of the players around us are shouting and clapping in response to the gigantic Fushi-shaped firework doing a flip in the air. There are things you can only see in VR.
But I can barely hear their numb cries of elation around me as I stare back into Yachiyo’s eyes.
“Iroha…”
“I… I will work harder this year!!” I suddenly shout and grab her by the shoulders. My heart is beating like a drum and I can feel my emotions overflow from the pit of my stomach. “If I can stabilize the joints and improve the cooling-sweat function then you will be able to walk around much longer! And then we can adjust the senses so you might be able to taste and smell by the end of the year!”
She smiles as I rattle off all the fine tuning and features I have planned for her.
That serene smile that accepts everything in this world…
That lovely expression that accepted me when I was at my lowest moments, when I wanted to die.
It moves my heart. I makes me want to try harder for her. I want to return all the happiness that she has given to me.
Yachiyo listens to everyone’s troubles and never rejects you. That is why she is everyone’s perfect diva and the greatest woman in the world.
But that is not really it…
To me that is just one aspect of Yachiyo.
She has saved me no doubt, but she has done that even outside of Tsukuyomi, even without that face she is currently making.
“You are so kind Iroha.” She whispers as she pats my head.
“Wha-?”
I completely freeze at the soft touch. It’s not her avatar, but the hand that touches me in real life that makes me flush so badly.
“Please don’t overwork yourself again. I can wait a little longer. I am Yachiyo after all.” She speaks those words in her soothing voice and makes me weak in the knees.
I am still struggling with my work-life balance. It’s why I didn’t see the fireworks with her last year and why I still feel guilty when I spend time writing new songs or performing at concerts with her.
It has been years since I promised her that we will get our happy ending. It’s been so, so long already. We made a lot of progress, but why does she still have to suffer?
I feel hotness well up in my eyes.
“Kag-“
“TAMAYA!”
The shouts of the people around us drown out my shaking voice instantly.
They are responding to the fireworks of course, but I’m not even looking at them.
“KAGIYA~!”
The response to the tamaya shouts echoes from the other direction.
“You have to shout a bit louder if you want to join in~!” Yachiyo grabs my hand and raises it cheerfully as if the prior tension between us never existed. “Tamaya~”
“K-Kagiya…” I mumble in response. That’s not at all what I wanted to say.
We return to watching the fireworks in silence, but my mind is hazy. I don’t know where to direct these emotions anymore. All I know is that I don’t want to let go of her hand right now.
Eventually the light show ends and the excited chatter around us dies down. The other viewers slowly leave in groups or log out right then and there. Our palanquin still gets the occasional glances, but nobody is approaching us or anything.
“This reminds me of that time when the Shogun threw a party for the foreign ambassadors from Europe. It was a very rowdy festival and the palace was almost set aflame by the fireworks. Everyone had to leave and go to the meadow outside to keep partying, but fireworks were banned from the general palace area for a few decades.”
I listen to Yachiyo’s tale with a smirk on my face and sense the glowing blue tip of my fox tail sway gently back and forth. Somehow she makes history sound so fun. It’s a special ability of hers for sure, a true entertainer at heart. I almost fell asleep back in high school whenever history came up (though that could also have been because of my awful sleep schedule), but I can listen to Yachiyo talk about all the weird people she met without ever feeling bored.
She never tells the whole story though. Only the fun parts, only what people would want to hear about. Not the painful things that I have seen in her memories. Surely a botched fireworks display and a miffed Shogun were more fun than the atrocities committed against foreign traders and religious proselytizers.
The hand inside mine is losing its grip slowly and I can feel Yachiyo let go. She yawns exaggeratedly and falls back on the palanquin as if she just remembered that she is supposed to be asleep.
“I want to talk mooore.” Yachiyo sighs.
“We can do that tomorrow.”
“But you have work tomorrow.”
“Sure, but it’s not like I’m the only one that’s busy, you know?” I retort. Yachiyo is always doing something for Tsukuyomi, so she can’t really complain about me doing my job too.
“If I go to sleep now… will I wake up again?”
That question pierced my stomach like an arrow.
Of course she will wake up. It’s not like there is any reason she wouldn’t. There is no reason to be afraid of anything like that.
I clench my hands. It’s not that simple, is it?
Yachiyo probably knows that the prototype body is at its limit. We can’t link her up for a while once it shuts down. That means she will lose all her senses again and return to being just a digital existence.
So she is trying to extend the time we can spend like this as far as possible, or even beyond that.
But Fushi would kill me if I keep her from getting some rest. Maybe that’s why she turned the little mascot off today.
“I will be there with you until the last moment.” I press out with tears at the corners of my eyes. My hand naturally searches for hers.
Her torso rises up and she faces me again, this time more directly. She extends her hand in a forward peace sign.
Ahh…
Our finger tips press together.
Then we slide our fingers between each other.
We pull back to make fox shapes with our hands.
“You promise?”
I look into Yachiyo’s eyes that shimmer with all the colors of the world.
“Always.”
My reply is accompanied by the fox finger shapes softly pressing together.
“I love you, Iroha.”
Ba-thump!
My heart almost explodes as I hear those words from Kaguya’s voice in the real world.
My eyes open and I see her sit in front of me with tears in her eyes. We are close, so very close.
Her eyes are full of love, but also fear. How can I take away that burden from her so that she will only show me that wonderful tenderness I want?
My Kaguya…
“I want to seal this promise today, okay?” Kaguya says with an embarrassed look on her face.
“What do you mean?”
“The last thing I want to do while I can still feel you!” She suddenly pushes forward and we fall back on the couch. Her joints creak as loudly as the springs in the sofa. “Y-Y-You know…!”
My face flushes instantly and I feel redness creep up all the way to my fingertips.
Huh? Really? Sh-She means she wants to-?
“We can’t?” She ever so softly tilts her head to the side as her still glistening tears reflect the moonlight in the room.
I have never seen such an alluring sight in my entire life.
My hand naturally goes through her long blonde hair and stops at the back of her head. With my other hand I nervously clutch the sofa. In my emotionally overloaded state I nod weakly.
Kaguya makes several expressions in rapid succession, but eventually lands on a determined face. Her reddish eyes reflect me directly and I feel like I could die of embarrassment as she closes in.
Are we rushing into this out of desperation? The need to touch her grows more excessive every day. Kaguya has been waiting so much longer than me though. She has always waited for me… never knowing whether I would return her feelings. Uncertain of a future beyond the loop of fate that tore us apart.
Right now I can give her reassurance that goes beyond just the promise of a happy ending.
Who cares about any of that?
My heart is pounding. It shouts into my ears that I want this. That this is not related to any of those complex thoughts and emotions.
This is something I want to do with my beloved-
……
Kaguya stops millimeters away from my lips.
Her eyes lose their light and then her body stops completely, lifeless.
……
My heart stopped alongside her.
“Close your eyes.”
I am startled by the words echoing through my earphones.
I do as I am told and find myself face to face with Yachiyo. Her glowing hair surrounds my entire vision and I can only see her beautiful face.
“Iroha.”
Heat permeates her angelic voice and I let go of my fears.
Her ephemeral lips touch mine. I feel nothing but the slightest feedback from our model collision. But in this moment my overactive mind imagines her soft lips on mine. I can feel her tears against my cheeks. I can taste the sweetness of her soul.
Our lips part slowly and Yachiyo rubs her hand against my face.
“I am sorry for rushing you.” She says with flushed cheeks. “I would never… I don’t want you to think your Yaccho is a loose woman.” She hides her embarrassed face behind one of her kimono sleeves.
“Hahaha… what the heck.” I can’t help but chuckle at the utterly adorable display before me.
I love her. I love her with all my soul. This awkward, pushy, demure, yet outgoing songstress.
Our first kiss happened in this virtual reality, but I think that suits us just fine. One day I will feel her lips in the real world too. I just know it.
“Go to sleep!”
“Oh noo~” Yachiyo falls back onto the palanquin’s pillow as an angry Fushi burst through some invisible barrier and materializes on top of her head.
“It’s sleep time!” Its adorable voice roars. “Don’t make me play guard dog for you!”
“I’m sorryyyy~!”
“Cut her some slack Fushi.” I laugh without restraint.
“Fare thee bye bye!”
Yachiyo apologizes one more time before saying her goodbyes and then vanishes into her private space where she can rest. Fushi glares at me until its last pixel dissolves.
I log out of Tsukuyomi and take out my Smart Contacts.
Kaguya’s lifeless body is still draped over me, so it is quite a pain to lift her up and escape. I do my best to adjust her and put her back on the sofa. After taking out her Smart Contacts too I push a blanket over her body and manually close her eyes. In this state she just looks like an average sleeping girl. Aside from the lack of breathing and pulse.
Tomorrow I will take her back to the lab. It will probably look really bad if I carry her around like a corpse though. Maybe I should pretend that she is asleep and carry her on my back.
With a wry smile I look through our living room. I made space for the green screen and the keyboard, so it’s unusually empty.
Tonight I will probably feel a bit lonelier than usual.
The bangle on my arm glows softly in the moonlight and gives off a strange reflection across the walls. I rub it as I always do. This precious memento connects me to Kaguya even when we are apart.
“It’s four in the morning?!” I suddenly shout in shock as I look at the digital clock on the shelves.
I have to be back to the lab at seven!
My soul escapes my mouth for a moment. Seems my sleep schedule will never recover. Glancing at Kaguya’s completely stress free face on my sofa makes me super jealous right now.
With a stretch of my arms I make my way to the bathroom to take a shower before going to bed. The concert made me all sweaty. Just the concert.
I ignore my phone which is abuzz with thousands of news posts popping up all at once.
[Yachiyo at the fireworks festival.]
The picture titled such shows Yachiyo holding Fushi close and giving it a soft smooch. Fushi’s ears and tail are colored in an unusual blue hue.