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I'm unlike all the rest,
There’s no one I resemble.
You and me, each of us are flying through
The depths of an awfully uncertain sky- Stella
"...Ichika?"
It's a quiet night in the School SEKAI. Ichika lies back and watches the blue-ish purple sky outside of the window; she watches how the clouds part to reveal the waning moon and the stars that twinkle beside it. The other senpai here (her best friends and peers, really: Saki, Honami, Shiho) have already left the main classroom—tuning their instruments, getting ready for bed, or whatnot. Ichika's the only one left in the room. Or, so she had thought. The rest of the Cryptonloids had just finished their band practice, so they'd been sent off with a smile and teasing remarks ("don't worry too hard about practice, otherwise you'll end up as annoying as Shiho-chan!"). Yet, sometimes, the vocalist and guitarist of their group—Miku—liked to stay back, either for advice or a small chat with her upperclassmen; whatever it was, it was always appreciated. The senpai here never did make terms with the fact that their kouhai would have to leave them eventually.
Today is one of those days, where Miku stays in the SEKAI for longer than she should. Sometimes, it's like the girl harbors thoughts and feelings mature enough to compare to those of Ichika's—they seem more similar than they look, actually. It's a little bit unnerving to hear the struggles of this younger girl, and have it mirror exactly what Ichika's real-world counterpart faced in her youth. True, it shouldn't feel this way. Ichika, as she's a part of this SEKAI and she's not necessarily "real", doesn't personally know what her voice provider went through. Apparently, Ichika, Saki, Honami, and Shiho—they'd been in a band together. The four of them had been estranged, but they were able to make their way back to each other. This is the situation Miku and the Cryptonloids were in before they'd discovered SEKAI and became pros. Ichika finds that she's able to feel these memories as if they were her own. It's another mystery, like the existence of SEKAI itself.
"Oh, hi Miku," Ichika smiles, waking up from the moment of reverie. It's no use dwelling over things like that when there's a student in need, hm? Even if Ichika's probably not the best-suited to dealing with matters of the heart: she's often very straightforward with her thinking, instead of the complex way that Saki deals with her emotions... "What's the matter?"
"This question is sort of dumb, but..." Miku jumps up onto the desk Ichika's sitting on, her lanky legs dangling over the edge awkwardly. "Have you ever thought of the existence of alternate dimensions?"
Alternate dimensions... That's interesting. "Um, what do you mean by that?"
Miku blushes slightly, head bowing down until her pigtails shroud her face from Ichika's point of view. But, then, she finds her words, and focuses her attention on the sky with strong teal eyes not unlike Ichika's own sky blue. "I was thinking... SEKAI's sort of like an alternate dimension. Where there's alternate VIRTUAL SINGERS that are different from the ones that I listen to in my room. So, if that's true—why can't there be an alternate version of me, somewhere out there?"
"Huh. That makes sense." Ichika's voice trails off, mind whirring into action. She tugs at the hem of her sleeve idly, recalling the train of thoughts she was entertaining not long before Miku arrived. There might be a connection there. "Do you think we're somehow innately aware of these alternate variants of us? I feel weirdly connected to your Ichika, even though we're sort of different..."
"Maybe. That's kind of a comforting thought," she starts. "The idea that even outside of this world, I'm connecting people through music—or, something different. Who knows?"
Ichika stops and ponders this for a moment. Really, the only people she's impacted is the group of the six Cryptonloids. She knows, somewhere deep in her heart, that her real-world counterpart is the one that inspired Miku enough to start this whole band—yet it's far removed enough that Ichika used to have doubts on how well she's been a senpai. How can she compare to the other Ichika; the real girl that's out there, having concerts and making memories, and the VIRTUAL SINGER who sings the songs of the people? Yet, this theory of Miku's dulls the insecurity that breeds in Ichika's heart when the Cryptonloids go back to their normal lives in the real world where they belong. It tells her that even if she isn't inspiring others directly, the Hoshino Ichika of all the worlds and universes alike has some power to touch the hearts of whoever she meets.
It tells the story that Hoshino Ichika is more than her own name. It's a promise that dreams are able to be achieved in every way and no way at all. A kaleidoscope of colors and feelings that are ultimately one at the core.
Ichika smiles softly at her kouhai that sits next to her. A girl who cherishes the past, present, and future—who wants nothing more than to make relationships that bridge "hoping" into "reality". Perhaps it really is true, the existence of an alternate universe. Feelings, can do a lot of heavy lifting. Isn't that the reason this Ichika exists? A fragment of Miku's feelings that bloomed into a bright geranium. Suppose this is true; Ichika has a lot to thank Miku for, then. A girl that's able to weave the wishing strings between people into something truly beautiful.
"That is wonderful, I agree. But, I think my favorite version of Miku is you. If alternate universes are possible... they'd be different, right?" Ichika closes her eyes, envisioning all the times they've laughed together in this SEKAI—all the happy moments of Leo/need and the Cryptonloids alike. They mesh into one, true feeling. "Even if you're not perfect, you're you."
Miku looks up at Ichika with an unmistakable light in her eye. The light of perseverance and love. "You're my favorite Ichika, too. I don't know Hoshino Ichika... but, I know Ichika-senpai all too well." She grins, tilting her head to the side playfully.
Ichika laughs, the melody ringing through the quiet air. "Maybe you should get back to your friends. I think there's a meteor shower today—but, if you want to know which one, you'd better ask Honami."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
"See you."
Again, the main classroom of the School SEKAI is empty save for Ichika. Yet, the smile on her face does not leave. That's the effect of her kouhai: they're so full of light, she can't help but love them.