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Rin was at a school festival with Len, her brother, and their older friend, Miku, who was a first year at that school. Next year, Rin and her brother wanted to try and get into this school too, so they could have more fun times with Miku. The school was for music, so it was perfect, Rin and Len loved music!    The three friends walked into the concert hall of the school. Miku had to go backstage because she was going to preform after this next preformer and had to quickly put on her costume. Rin could hear Miku getting chewed out for wasting so much time at the festival from the front row seat she was at. 'I knew she was supposed to be somewhere...' Rin thought. Miku was always kind of irresponsible, so much that if it weren't for the lack of uniform that the school had, they'd think she was still in their middle school with them.    Then, an announcer voice spoke. "Next, the Light Music Club will be preforming!" A green haired girl with a guitar and some other bandmates that looked plain but still punk-rock style showed up under the spotlights. "This is very different from light music." Rin thought. That green-haired chick still looked kind of cool. She played. Her singing was wonderful, but her guitar playing was really impressive. When the song was over, Rin knew that she wanted to join the club officially titled the Light Music Club when she got into this highschool.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rin was on her way to her first day of highschool. She and her brother were waiting at the bus stop to be picked up and taken there. Sure it'd only taken 20 minutes to walk, but the bus can also as easily drop them off there.
  She couldn't wait to be able to have fun lunch times with Miku again! She also had more opportunities to try to get her with Len, a goal she had been trying to achieve since 7th grade. Too bad Miku is so oblivious that it'd require Len actually being direct about his feelings to get her to notice. The problem is, Len is not very direct about his feelings. "I won't give up though..." Rin thought. She'd make this ship happen if she had to sacrifice a goat to do it!
  Also, there's that girl she saw at the school festival........ Rin had to meet her. That green-haired girl looked so cool up on stage. Rin made a note to ask Miku about her when she got to school.
The bus finally arrived. Rin and Len got on the bus and took their seats. Rin looked out of the window with excitment at the passing scenary. She couldn't wait to see her classroom arrangments, what the cafeteria looked like, what food the cafeteria had, and all of the cool festivals!
  The bus stopped at the highschool Rin and Len would be attending. They, along with some other kids who seemed to take this bus here, got off. Rin and Len talked about what they'd do here, like what they wanted to make their class do for the festival and stuff. It quickly turned into an argument over who's variation of a maid cafe was better. A hand fell on Rin's shoulder and she saw one on Len's shoulder as well.
  "Seriously guys, you haven't even found out what classes you're in yet and you're already arguing over ideas for the festival! Does it really matter right now which variation of a maid cafe is better if you don't even know whether you'll even have to fight each other over it?" It was Miku. Rin turned and hugged her. "I'm so glad to see you!" She said happily as she released her hug.
  "Me too, I'm happy to have my favorite 2 Kohai back again!" Miku said while noogying the twins. "Even if they won't refer to me as Senpai..." she added wistfully.
  "Well, to be fair, those two Kohai have been your close friends for so long they don't even care anymore." Len reassured her.  "But still, it'd be nice to get that kind of respect. Maybe with all of these freshmen, I'll finally get it!" Miku hopefully said. "Now come on, let's go check and see what classes we're in!"
  Rin and Len were in the same class. They high-fived out of excitment. Meanwhile, Miku was looking rather sullen. Rin looked over to see what class she was in. "Isn't that the teacher you thought was an upperclass student and had a crush on, only to find out not only was he 20 years older than you, but married?" Rin said when she saw the name of the teacher. Miku only nodded.
  Len looked at the name as well. "Doesn't help that he insists on using first name basis apparently, I mean, it just says 'Kaito', it doesn't even list a last name! I hope I don't get him next year, these kinds of teachers are annoying..." he said in what quickly turned into a muttering of annoyance.
  Meanwhile, Rin was looking at the list of Miku's classmates. Naturally, it was a bunch of people she didn't know. She saw a familiar green haired girl walk over to the board and look at the names. She walked over to Miku. "Looks like we're in the same class again, Hatsune." She said.
  Miku looked to the twins. "This is my friend, Gumi!" She said, introducing the girl to them.  "Again, Hatsune, I don't like being called by my first name very much." Gumi said, emabarressed.
  "Ok, 'Megpoid'." Miku sounded disapointed. "You can call me by my first name, you know, we've been friends for a year."
  Megpoid turned to Rin and Len. "What are your names?" She asked.
  Rin spoke. "My name is Rin Kagamine."
  "My name is Len Kagamine." Len followed.
  Megpoid seemed puzzled. Her face then lit up. She pointed to Rin. "You, can be Kagamine-chan, and you-" She pointed to Len. "Can be Kagamine-kun."
  "Creative as usual, Gu- Megpoid. But what would you do if there were 2 sisters and one brother? You'd have to use a first name for someone." Miku challenged.
  "The older sister would be called by '-san' and then the brother and sister would be called '-kun' and '-chan' respectivly."
  Miku was surprised. "I'm.... Impressed at your determination, you win."
  Len looked at them both as they finished their conversation. "Not to be a buzzkill, but we kind of gotta get to class."
  "Ok, Mr. Outdated Slang!" Miku said and rubbed his head. While she was doing that, Rin turned to Megpoid. "See you around." She said to her. "See ya." Megpoid replied. Rin watched her walk away. Then she remembered what Len said.
  "We gotta get to class!" She said as she dragged a disappointed Len away from Miku's head-rubbing. They both ran to their class and sat down in the two seats that were still empty. Man, they really did get here late! While the teacher was having everyone introduce themselves, Rin thought about Megpoid. She was so beautiful and stoic and cool........... And how she got flustered when she was called by her first name......
 "Rin Kagamine." The teacher called, snapping Rin out of her daydream. "I am Rin Kagamine and I like oranges!" Rin said quickly. She sat down and sighed with relief.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was after school. There were lots of clubs advertising around since it was the first day and they needed to get members. Rin already knew what club she wanted to join though. She went to a flyer for the Light Music Club that gave off an image that definitely didn't seem Light. 'Must be an artifact title.' Rin thought. She read the location of the room and started walking towards it.
  She got to the 3rd floor like the flyer said, but she still had trouble finding the room. She asked an upperclassman and it was in another building reserved for clubs, so she had to go to the second floor since that's the only floor with a passageway there from the building she was in. After walking up stairs again, she found the club room. She opened the door. She saw a few people she assumed to be club members just hanging around. One of them was Megpoid.
  "I would like to join please!" Rin said with a bow. Megpoid looked up at her.
  "Oh, hey Kagamine-chan! Who knew that the underclassman I met would join the club I'm also in? What a coincidence!" She yelled across the room. Rin didn't want to tell her that she only joined because she thought she looked cool on stage. "Our sign-up sheet is on the table next to you."
  "Thank you!" Rin said. She got a sign-up sheet and started filling it out:
  Name: Rin Kagamine
  Class: 1-C
  Homeroom Teacher: Ms. Kasane
  Instrument: Vocals
  Email Address: [email protected]
  "Where do I put this when I'm done?" Rin asked.
  A club member spoke. "In a pile next to where you got it from. By the way, I'm Luka Megurine, the club president. Nice to see you'll be joining. But club activities don't begin until next week, and you need to wait until you get a confirmation email. If you don't get one by next week, then email for help at [email protected]."
  Luka sounded like one of those website sign-up things. She said everything so automated. Rin snickered.
  "It always feels nice to make you new members laugh a little," Megurine said, laughing a little. "If you're wondering, the reason we're here is because someone needs to watch the room and direct new members to the forms. Other members are out recruiting and directing people here."
  Rin thought that was a little obvious, but she could understand why the Club President would say that since she must get so many questions.
  "Thank you." Rin said to her.
  Luka replied. "My pleasure."  Rin left with her bag so she could look for Len. Miku was doing recruiting for the Student Council, so she wouldn't be walking home with them today.
  Rin got a text from her brother. "Help me" was all it said.
  "Where are you?" Rin was really worried.
  "In the Courtyard, being mobbed." It was just overexcited club members trying to make him join.
  "I'm coming"
  Rin rushed down to the courtyard. She found Len being bombarded with flyers. She dragged him out of the crowd and started running towards the school entrance. The club members blocked off that path just as they were getting to it. They started forcing flyers into Rin's hands as well. "But I already signed up for a club!" Rin yelled. But it was hopeless. A figure with teal pigtails appeared and blew a whistle.
  "While recruiting club members is ok, this is unruly! These two first-years are trying to get home, and you block their way? Unacceptable!" That voice belonged to Miku. The disappointed club members left.
  Miku laughed. "That was very official of me, wasn't it?" Rin and Len laughed.
  "Thank you!" Rin and Len said at the same time.
  "It is my job! I mean, I only joined to plan festivals, but I feel so powerful dispersing a mob like that!"
  "Well, we gotta go home, Len seems a little wore out." Rin replied.
 "Bye!" Miku said very drawn out.
  Rin waved and walked with a staggering Len to the bus stop.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was Saturday evening. Rin was on her laptop in her room. She was on YouTube watching a show about some cheerleaders who rule the school with an iron fist. 'Not so iron if your popularity takes a temporarily dive every few weeks,' Rin thought. 'And to hipsters no less.' Rin wondered if Americans really dealt with situations like this.
  Rin decided to check her email because a 30-second ad popped up. Like, who cares if the video was demonetized and shouldn't be having ads the video won't benefit from, YouTube is greedy anyways, they just want money. She saw the confirmation email for the Light Music club in her inbox. Orientation was next Tuesday it seemed. Rin was done reading the email and wanted to get back to her show. 'It's about to get to the part where that French girl is gonna give birth on a bunch of dirty rags in the lunchroom'.
  Rin's phone rang. It was Miku. Rin picked it up. "I'm trying to watch a French girl give birth, what do you want?" She said.
  "..... Rin, are you ok?" Miku asked.
  "Ok, so in this show, a French girl is giving birth to her child," Rin explained frantically.
  "Ok..... Anyways, I want to know if it's ok for me and Gumi to stay the night."
  "You're already on the way over aren't you."
  Rin heard a female voice in the background say "Yes we are!" and then Miku telling that voice to be quiet. Miku spoke again.
  "So do we have to go back, because I can see your house!"
  "No, you don't, as long as you agree to be in charge of food." It was usual for Miku to just come over whenever, so Rin was used to it, and honestly didn't mind. Doesn't mean that she wasn't gonna take the opportunity to not have to cook.
  "I've already sent a pizza to your house. I paid for it over the phone so don't worry about anything other than the tip."
  "You can have a blow-up mattress this time instead of the couch." Rin wasn't gonna let free pizza go unawarded.
  "Thanks!"
  "Thanks for the pizza! Bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Miku hung up, knowing Rin well enough to know the farewell greeting would never end unless she did. Now, she had to tell Len about the arrangement.
  "Miku's coming over with Megpoid!" Rin told Len. "And they're bringing pizza, so help me get out the blow-up mattress, ok?"
  Len got out the air pump while Rin got the air mattress. They took turns pumping air until it got to a reasonable size. Then they stopped and laid on the bed to rest. That rest didn't last long when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Len said as he jumped up. Rin got up as well.
  "Hello!" Miku said as she walked in.   "Yo." Said Megpoid, following her.
  Rin sat on the couch and set it to YouTube. She wanted to finish her episode, and maybe a few more. Pizza along with it sounded fun.
  Len went to the kitchen. "Would anyone like some refreshments?" Everyone said Coke at the same time. "Ok then."
  Len did an over the top bow as he handed Cokes to everyone.
  "My my, what a gentleman!" Miku said. She retrieved her coke from him. Rin noticed how their hands accidentally touched. They both looked embarrassed. 'Everyone knows that when hands touch accidentally it means romance is afoot.' Rin thought.
  The door rang again. "I'll get it!" Rin said.
  "You just want the first slice!" Len said as he raced Rin to the door.
  "You got it last time!"
  After arguing, they got to the door and handed the pizza guy $10 as a tip. They each took one slice out of the box and ate it on the way back to the couch.
  Everyone other than Rin watched with confusion due to a lack of context. The curse words seemed to go over well with everyone though. Rin really wished the subtitles were timed better, but she was used to it by now.
  "So she blew up the car? What a manipulative bitch!" Megpoid yelled. "I wonder what Brittnay is gonna do about it!"
  "There's a 4th Season that addresses that, though I suggest watching from the beginning first since this is the end of the 3rd Season and this show has a lot of continuity references," Rin replied, happy that Megpoid was into it.
  "Let's play Truth or Dare!" Miku suddenly suggested.
  Rin decided to turn off the TV since Miku was gonna convince them no matter how much arguing everyone did. "So who's gonna go first this time?" Rin said.
  "Well, since Gumi has never been here before, she should go first!" Miku said. Megpoid seemed to have accepted being on a first name basis with Miku.
  "Ok, Hatsune." Megpoid was still gonna call Miku by her last name though, it seems. 
  "Truth or Dare....... Hatsune!" Megpoid said.
  "Boo!!! Lazy!!!" Miku complained. "Ok..... DARE!"
  Megpoid was in deep contemplation over what to dare. She then spoke. "I dare you to hold hands with Len for the entire game."
  Miku blushed. (Wait a minute, blushed?! That was new......) She moved her hand to Len's. "This is a chance! If you agree with the dare, you'll be able to trigger a flag, you need those if you wanna go out with her!" Rin whispered to Len. She realized she may have played one too many Dating Sims. Oh well.
  Len moved his hand over. Then, he and Miku were holding hands. It was a beautiful image.
  Miku looked at her new hand-mate. "Truth or Dare?"
  "Truth." Len said.
  Miku thought for a while. "Do you have a crush?" Miku asked. She facepalmed as if realizing what she said. 'Goddammit Miku' Rin thought.
  "Yes, I have a crush, truth or dare Rin?" Len answered rapidly.
  "Dare!" Rin replied.
  "I dare you to eat a soap bar!"
  "That will kill me, Len." Rin reminded him.
  "Then, I dare you to skip this round because I have nothing," Len said.
  Everyone played Truth or Dare for a few more rounds, in which Miku and Len did continue to hold hands, then stopped as no one had any more ideas on what to say. Everyone just sat around dividing the last of the pizza, and Rin decided to talk to Megpoid.
  "It seems that you share my sentiments," Rin said quietly.
  "What do you mean, Kagamine-chan?" Megpoid replied.
  "Well, during the first round you dared Miku and Len to hold hands."
  "Well, they would make a good couple."
  "Exactly! I think so too. Also, it's really obvious they like each other."
  "Isn't it? I had to make them hold hands just to make sure though...."
  "That was a good idea! So, wanna team up to match make them?"
  "I would love to." Megpoid agreed.
  This was going to go well.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rin went to the Light Music club and found the doors decorated with a sign saying "Welcome New Members!". She opened the door and saw Megpoid changing the CD on a radio. Megpoid saw her.
  "Hey, you're here! Just about to play some Metallica, hope you like metal!" Megpoid said. Suddenly, Rin heard many, many electirc guitars screaming out of the radio. Thankfully, Megpoid had it at a volume where people could hear their own voices.
  "As soon as Megurine gets here, Orientation will start. I mean, it was supposed to start now but Luka is always late to these." Megpoid explained.
  "Maybe she's getting snacks?" Rin said hopefully.
  "If she is, she's probably just getting octodogs, sometimes she brings Takoyaki if you're lucky. She really likes octopus for some reason."
  "Eh, I'm cool with octodogs."
  Megurine came into the club room with a box in hand. It had steam rising out of it.
  "I brought Takoyaki," Megurine said. Rin was excited about the free food.
  "But first, let's introduce the new members!" Megurine continued.
  "New members, stand on the platform!" Sure enough, there was a small platform in the room. It only went up around 6 inches though. Rin, a long-haired girl, and a small person of ambiguous gender walked up to the stage. Megurine started announcing again.
  "First, a second-year who only decided to join this year! She has even longer hair than I do, give it up for IA!" Everyone clapped while the long-haired girl bowed. Rin wondered what was up with the insane amount of people without a surname these days.
  "Second, one of our new first-year's! If you dare call her a boy, she will be pissed. Give it up for v_flower!" Everyone clapped as the short haired girl bowed. Rin wasn't sure if v_flower was one whole name or two separate names.
 "And lastly, another first-year! She has a lot of hairclips, give it up for Rin Kagamine!" Rin bowed as everyone clapped. Rin really couldn't wait to do stuff in this club, even if the President gave lame introductions.
Rin walked over to Megpoid after grabbing some takoyaki.
  "So, how did Megurine introduce you?" Rin asked.
  "Oh, she didn't introduce me at my orientation. There was a different president. Though this club seems to have a tradition of lame introduction speeches of new members by club presidents, so I did get one of those speeches..." Megpoid kept muttering quietly about whether or not this traced back to anything. She looked back Rin.
  "Oh, you wanted to know how I was introduced! Well, I think Megurine introduced me as the first year who wore goggles a lot, I used to wear those back in first year because I thought it was cool. Looking back on it, it's kind of embarrassing."
  "We all did embarrassing things when we were younger, like when I was younger, I used to wear headphones all the time for no reason," Rin said, shuddering at her younger self.
  Rin and Megpoid talked about the phases they went through as kids. Megpoid talked about going through her edgy phase, while Rin talked about going through her shoujo phase.
  Rin didn't want to stop talking, but school had to close eventually. She gathered her things and left, saying goodbye to Megpoid.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rin rushed off after classes ended for the day.
  "Where are you going?" Len asked suspiciously.
  "You already know I'm in the Light Music Club, so I don't know why you sound so suspicious!" Rin answered.
  "Well..." Len started. "It's just that we have cleaning duty today-"  Rin ran off before Len could finish. She turned off her notification sounds as she ran so she wouldn't have to worry about being spammed by the brother she left behind. Soon she reached the Club Room.  "You skipped cleaning duty too, huh?" She heard a voice say as she opened the door panting. She saw Megurine sitting in a chair eating some calamari. Was steam coming out of it?  "How did you get here so fast? And is that fresh calamari? How did you get that so quickly?" Rin asked.  "Easy, I was hungry and I also didn't feel like cleaning today so I asked to use the bathroom and went to the nearby seafood place in 6th period. Then I realized that school was gonna end soon anyways so I came here."  "Why didn't you just leave at the end of class?"  "My classmates are really good at keeping you trapped. A large majority of them have a 'We Suffer Together' policy towards cleaning. Also, it takes a while to get out of school, get seafood, and come back."  "Well, that makes sense." Rin shrugged. She decided to try and take some Calamari to eat. Luka surprisingly wasn't protective of her food. She looked into the box and found it was almost empty.  Soon, Gumi, IA, and v_flower came in. Megurine stood up.  "Since everyone is here already, let's establish our positions!" She announced.  "Shouldn't we have done that at orientation?" v_flower said.  "I play drums, Megpoid plays guitar, V-kun plays bass, IA plays keyboard, and Kagamine is our vocalist!" Megurine said. V-kun didn't protest the nickname.  "Now, as club president, I should remind you of the upcoming Jazz Ball!" Rin already knew. It was announced in homeroom this morning.  "As you know, every student has to help compose and create a song for it. Since the focus of the club isn't jazz, we won't be doing it in our club activities."  "Wait, we have to help compose a song for this!?" Rin panicked. She must've been drowsy during the part they said this. She never sang jazz before! She had always sung pop and rock songs.  "Yes, you do," Megurine informed her. "It's for a grade, and it's a very large one." That did not help Rin at all.  "I'm not really used to jazz music," Rin said while twirling her fingers around each other.  "Honestly, me neither," Megpoid confessed.  "You can always just play an instrument for the song like I'm planning on doing," Luka suggested.  "I only know how to play electric guitar, and I'm not sure how helpful it is right now," Gumi said.  "And I don't know how to play anything other than my voice," Rin said defeated while curling into a ball. "We're screwed, or as Americans put it, fucked."  "Sound equipment is also important in composing a song," IA spoke. "Maybe you can help with that?"  As soon as IA spoke, Megpoid got out her phone and called someone. Rin got out her phone to do the same and noticed the stream of text message after text message from Len was still ongoing, which would make it impossible to make a call. Megpoid seemed to get an answer.  "Hatsune, I have an idea." Megpoid spoke. She was talking to Miku.  Rin couldn't hear Miku.  "I want to help with the sound equipment in your song." Megpoid seemed to have the same idea as Rin.  "Me too!" Rin said as she rushed over to the phone and spoke loudly into it.  "Oh, ok! I'll allow it for my friends!" Rin heard Miku say.  "Great!" Rin and Megpoid said together.  "Though I'd appreciate a little warning if one of those friends come up to my phone and decide to scream into it, not noticing that it's by my ear," Megpoid said.  "Sorry about that..." Rin said.  "HAHA, this is too hilarious!" Miku laughed. "Goodbye!"  The phone hung up.  "It's ok, just don't do it again, or I will get my revenge," Megpoid said scarily.  Everyone in the club room practiced. After playing a few songs to get used to each other, V-kun had a question.  "So, where are the other club members? You said everyone was here, but there were a lot more people at orientation."  "Now that you mention it, the club room does seem emptier...." IA said.  "Ok, I have a confession to make." Megurine started. "All of those other club members that attended orientation and the ones handing out flyers were paid to do that..."  "I get the flyers thing, but what about orientation? Why?" Rin asked angrily.  "Well, I wanted to create an atmosphere! It's kinda lame to have only 2 people clapping at you!" Luka protested.  "Ok, I get it now, but last year I attended one of the school festivals and there were more people on stage when the Light Music Club performed. Did they graduate or something?" Rin asked.  "You are exactly right," Luka said.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was Saturday. Rin and Megpoid were at Miku's house so they could help her record for a song to get credit. Rin knocked on the door and Miku answered.   "Hello! You're just in time, I kinda got bored while waiting since I woke up early, so I decided to make some carrot cake, orange juice, and leek shakes for you guys! Would you like some right now?" She cheerfully explained.  "No, we should save that for later, if we eat it now, we won't have anything to keep ourselves occupied during the long process which is editing, and you'll be bored since you won't be doing anything during that time," Megpoid said.   "Thanks anyways!" Rin said, grateful for the orange juice, but knowing how long editing takes from a compilation video she decided to make of MPGIS over how many times the word fuck was said. Not that she ever completed it, but who could blame her.  "Anyways, I got everything turned on in the recording studio that is my backyard shed, so I'll lead you to it, the snacks are there too by the way!" Miku said, already starting to head over there. Rin and Megpoid followed. It was pretty clear Miku was antsy to get things done.  The shed had some chairs in it and a professional-looking microphone attached to a recording device standing still on a stand. Rin was going to adjust it and hit the record button when needed. There were going to be a lot of takes, not to mention Miku was doing background vocals herself. That's what Megpoid explained to her at least. This was going to take a lot longer than Rin thought.  After an hour of doing this, the recording process was done. Rin's was kinda tired and sore from moving into increasingly uncomfortable positions with the stand to record the audio just right. Not to mention the stand was suspectable to falling at any time so Rin had to hold it up herself without moving a lot. At least it was gonna be worth not utterly failing the semester.  Rin took the recording device and handed it to Megpoid so she could edit everything together. Miku drunk a glass of leek shake. Rin didn't understand how Miku could drink that without being on a diet, but it's better for your throat than a hard leek, she supposed. Rin took a glass of orange juice since she was getting sweaty. The orange juice was kinda hot. This shed really needed more for Air Conditioning than a fan that was so old and small it only worked well for making weird noises with your voice.   "Why don't we go inside for the editing bit?" Rin suggested.  After moving all the snacks inside, Rin found it to be much cooler inside. Megpoid had brought her laptop with her so she could edit and left it inside on the table. Megpoid flipped the laptop screen open and typed in a password. She got into it and opened an editing program.   "Hatsune, I need you to drag the files for instrumentals you made to the folder that'll pop up when you plug this into the USB drive area and then hand this back to me," Megpoid said, handing Miku a flash drive. Miku went off to her computer to do the file transfer.  "Is Miku really that bad with computers? I've never really seen her use one so I only have a vague sense of her skill level." Rin asked.  "Last year, she asked me how to move files, I think she's better now, but it's just to be sure..." Megpoid explained. Miku did only ever get a computer to play Minecraft, and after she started playing less, the computer was left unused except to watch videos in better quality and play the occasional flash game. It was also used for assignments. At least Miku knew how to operate MuseScore.  Miku walked back over with the flash drive in hand. Megpoid plugged it into her computer and transferred the file to her editing program. She then took the drive and transferred the recording device's memory to her laptop. Since you couldn't delete a file without deleting all of them on the recording device, there was a lot of files to sort through. Miku did that part since it was her singing. Thankfully, she knew how to delete a file, though she didn't understand how to do it the quick way with the right-clicking, and instead did it the long way, opening the file by left-clicking a lot and waiting to find a trash can icon to click. Rin explained to Miku that there was an easier way, and she was amazed and thankful.  After Miku was done and satisfied, she handed the computer to Megpoid, who used her editing program to edit the vocal files together into one file. After that, she added the instrumentals. It took a lot of adjusting to get the balance right. She ate a lot of carrot cake while in deep concentration. Miku got bored and decided to watch Digimon. Rin stayed and decided to watch Megpoid as she edited, handing over carrot cake and orange juice as she needed it. After a while, and 2 CD's of Digimon apparently, she was finished. She got up and sat down on the couch, and Rin followed, sitting in the seat next to her as the three enjoyed the show.  After a watching a third CD, the three had to stop because the fourth disc was in a different box since when Miku tried to get it, there was instead a CD of Pokemon.   "Well, I guess we can't watch Digimon anymore since I don't really want to spend hours trying to organize my CD collection. Anyways, let's listen to what we just made!" She said. Megpoid got out her laptop and went to the music file on it. She pressed play.  It was a really nice and romantic song, what Rin imagined jazz to be like, well at least the Disney version of jazz (hopefully she didn't have to pay to use the company name in her thoughts). She ended up leaning towards Megpoid. Megpoid didn't try to move Rin.   The song was over. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed it.   "Thank you both for helping me with this song!" Miku cheered.  "Thank you for allowing us to help you," Megpoid replied.  "Yeah, what Megpoid said!" Rin joined. She had just one question though. Miku usually wrote her emotions when writing her own songs. So if she wrote a romantic song...  "Do you have a crush on anyone?" Rin asked.  Miku started rambling. "Well maybe, but if I tell you, then I'd be lying because I don't have a crush, not that I'd tell you who it, because it's not a person because I don't have a crush, because if I had a crush, I'd be talking quickly which I am doing but that doesn't mean I have a crush!"   "Is it a teacher again?" Megpoid asked.  "No, this time, I'm reasonably sure that he's a student, he's even an underclassman! We're friends so unless he's a time traveler, I'm sure that if we were in a relationship, no one would be arrested!" Miku protested. Rin knew there weren't that many guys in school, well there weren't that many people compared to other schools in general, but guys are a special rarity within this school. And the only person Rin knew in her year was her brother. She tried to suppress a smile.  "Is it Len?" She asked.  "Um, Um, Um, well, it's not Len, it's a different underclassman, and if it were Len I wouldn't tell you-"  "Miku." Megpoid saying that was enough to snap Miku out of her rambling.  "Oh, you're calling me by my first name now? That's a surprise!" Miku paused before remembering what she was talking about.  "Oh yeah, I guess I should get back on topic. I do like Len, since the beginning of the year. I'm not sure if he likes me back though..." Rin couldn't stop her face from being excited. She was so close to completing her goal. Megpoid was more composed but her legs were shaking against the couch. Rin wanted to tell Miku that Len liked her, but she couldn't betray her brother's privacy! Miku had to find this out on her own.   "You should tell him! If you don't, you'll never know if he likes you back and you'll regret it forever! He's single, he won't get arrested for requiting your feelings, so there's no reason not to!" Rin told Miku. Miku nodded and started to speak.  "I'll tell him my feelings by the time the Jazz Ball comes."  Megpoid and Rin nodded back at her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

IA came into the Light Music Club room with 5 tickets in her hands.  "So, my Grandfather gave me these tickets to take the whole club to a theme park since he owns it, but I can't say the name since the Company might find out and fire him... I honestly don't wanna go since I get motion sickness really easily and I've already been so many times, so you can have another buddy come along."   Everyone stared at IA with jaws dropped. Rin knew she was rich but didn't think that she was the Granddaughter of the guy who owned Didney (Rin didn't wanna risk being found and being banned from America as videos with copyrighted materials usually are, she wanted to go there one day, meet her favorite YouTubers, and find out if Donald Trump's skin was as orange as it looks in photos!). IA was nervous as she was being stared at.  "Um, um...." Thankfully Megurine broke the silence.  "I don't think I'll be going either." Everyone's gazes went to Megurine.  "Why not?" Megpoid asked.  Luka breathed in. "If we're being completely honest, the lines are too long, the food is overpriced, and every 10 minutes someone has to pee, which wastes time that could've been spent waiting in the aforementioned lines! Also, I wanted to ride Sploosh Mountain one time and I waited for 4 hours, and then they announced that there were technical difficulties. This seems to happen often from what I heard some other guests complaining!" Megurine sighed. Rin could tell this was from personal experience. Also, isn't Sploosh Mountain in America?   While Rin was contemplating reasons why her Senpai could've been in America, she came across an idea. Disney is a romantic place after all...  "Hey, I know two people to invite!" Rin exclaimed. She winked at Megpoid, who got the hint and started texting Len and Miku.   While Megpoid did that, Rin asked V-kun if she was going.  "Of course I am, it's Didney." V-kun answered bluntly.   At 3 PM, Rin, Megpoid, Miku, Len, and V-kun were at the Didney Magic Kingdom entrance. Miku had excitedly said yes by spamming emojis over to Megpoid's phone and keyboard smashing. Len, on the other hand, had only texted back with a "Sure".  The entrance looked suspiciously similar to the one in America, Rin didn't remember the Japanese location being specified as a certain park, and she certainly didn't remember that there was a statue of Walt Didney with Mikey Mouse at the plaza entrance on the official website. Oh well!  Miku was busy singing along to the background music as they entered the park. She was taking pictures of everything that looked cool. As they got closer to the statue, Rin knew what was gonna happen.  "Let's do group photos!" Miku announced excitedly. She handed her camera over to an employee and everyone posed. Miku was giving bunny ears to everyone she could. Megpoid posed in a manner that resembled a... Gangstar? Well, that's what she told everyone it was. Rin did vaguely remember some blond kid posing in such a manner from a manga promotional poster she once saw in a bookstore as a kid. Len was awkwardly realizing the bunny ears he swiped away were those of his crush and was standing still with embarrassment. V-kun was crossing her arms to look cool. Rin was giving out peace signs.   Soon, the employee took the picture. Miku ran to get her camera and check out the photo. It wasn't the best resolution, but it was able to be seen.  "Finally, the end of the line!" Rin exclaimed. She never knew that so many people would line up for a kiddy ride, but then again, she and her group were among them.  The ride operator spoke. "How many in your group?"  "Five," Answered Len.  "Sorry, but you'll have to split into 2 groups, is that ok?"   "Sure," Len said. Rin and Megpoid went with V-kun to one teacup, leaving Len and Miku to ride together without anyone else.   The two groups tried to outspin each other. When the ride was over, it left a dizzy Miku leaning on Len for support along with Megpoid and Rin both using V-kun as support in a similar fashion. Rin wished that she had the resistance to dizziness her brother and V-kun have. Rin was especially jealous that Len was in the same womb as her, yet she gets dizzier than him. Oh well, at least she has the longer tongue.  "Let's go get drinks!" V-kun suggested.  After a day of riding rides, it was about time for the Parade to start. They were on the other side of the park, so everyone had to ride a train to make it. The fireworks looked nice from the train. When they got off, everyone ran to see the parade. It had just started coming down. Rin panted, glad she could make it. Everyone sat down on the edge of the sidewalk after getting through the crowd to get there.   The parade was magical. The characters everyone knew and loved started coming down on floats. The music invoked a magical, nostalgic feeling while being modern as well. Miku was jumping up and down. Rin understood the lyrics of the song but was too amazed to translate for everyone, besides, they probably didn't her to for them to be as amazed as she was.  After the excitement calmed down, Miku asked Len to go to the candy store. Len responded yes. 'A classic event, maybe it's a confession scene! Now let's hope that Len made the right choices up until now!' Rin thought. She really needed to stop playing so many dating sims, because it's confusing to explain that she's into those but not really into anime, especially since most of those games get anime adaptations, confusing people more. But hey, her knowledge helped her set up her brother and her best friend!  V-kun ended up having to use the bathroom, leaving Rin and Megpoid alone.  "I never want tonight to end!" Rin said.  "Me neither, it's so magical, it makes you never wanna leave, I kinda wished I lived here," Megpoid responded.  "I call Tarzan's Treehouse!"  "No fair!" Megpoid called out.  "Welp, it looks like we'll just have to share!" Rin proclaimed. She realized what she said and decided it'd be best to look back at the parade since it would be natural and would serve as a good cover for her blushing face. She noticed the float with Woody and Buzz was coming up.   "Andy's Coming!" Rin yelled at them.   "What are you doing, Kagamine-chan?" Megpoid asked.  "I heard a rumor online that if you yell that to Woody and Buzz, they'll fall down!" Rin said. Megpoid joined her in yelling, but it indeed was a rumor, as Woody and Buzz didn't fall once, but they did wave in their direction.  Miku was busy looking at candy. She could still hear the music from the parade inside of the shop. The shop was mostly empty, except for Miku, Len, and an employee, who was taking the time to listen to music. It was the time to confess her true feelings.  She picked out a pink gummy lollipop shaped like a heart. She purchased it from the employee, who happily rung up her purchase then went back to her music.  'It's too late to turn back now' she thought. She went to Len. She spoke the words.  "Len, I love you, since the beginning of this school year!" Miku was holding the lollipop to him while bowing. Len took the lollipop and replaced it with a bag of heart-shaped mints.   "I love you too, Miku!" Miku blushed and embraced Len. Len hugged her back.   "Then let's walk back to Rin, Gumi, and V-kun as a couple," Miku whispered.   "Then let's"  Len and Miku left the candy store hand in hand while being as red as a pair of strawberries.  V-kun was back with Rin and Gumi. Rin saw Miku and Len coming back redder than before while holding hands.  "Have you guys finally started dating?" Rin asked.  "Yep!" They both said in unison.   "It's about time!" Rin said. Megpoid nodded in agreement while holding her thumbs up.  "Anyways, don't forget to thank IA and Luka for letting you use their tickets," Rin reminded them.  The parade was soon over and the group followed the end of it. They soon saw an exit, and they went towards it since they were tired and ready to go to bed, but the magic was something that would stay with them all for a very long time.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was the week before the end of the trimester on Friday. For the first four days of the next week, there would be exams. On the final day of the week, the results would be coming in and there would be review. That evening would be the Jazz Ball.  Rin and Len were studying in the living room at home with V-kun. Rin understood that since they were all 1st years. What Rin didn't understand was why Miku, IA, Megpoid, and Luka were there.   "Why are you four here?" Rin asked them.  "Because you guys are my friends! Also, Len is here, so..." Miku replied. Rin shrugged, that should be ok as long as they don't flirt the whole time.   "Because Miku is my friend and I need to help her study," Gumi answered while reading manga. Miku wasn't gonna get any help studying from two 1st years so this was good. Also, it was Megpoid.  "I was planning on studying with Megpoid and she came here," IA spoke. Rin could buy that.  "There's a Takoyaki place nearby that's really good. Also, so I could confiscate this." Luka said, taking the volume Megpoid was reading out of her hands. Luka put a piece of paper in it and closed the book. Rin appreciated Luka's honesty.  "Come on! I need to reread Part 5 so I can be refreshed for the anime in October! I was just getting to the part where King Crimson-" Megpoid complained.  "No. Spoilers. Just because I've read the manga doesn't mean everyone has. Also, you need to focus on studying. I spent my 2nd-year summer break in extra lessons because I was too busy staying up late watching anime instead of studying. I'm not gonna let you throw away your summer like this." Luka explained.  "I was gonna study after this chapter!"   "I said that too, and strangely, I didn't study."  "You've got a point..." Megpoid said reluctantly.  Everyone was studying together in the living room. Well, Len and Miku were flirting and Rin was focused on watching Megpoid study. Though Megpoid was more sneaking glances at her beloved Jojo's than studying. Luka kept giving Megpoid cold stares that reminded her not to try and take it back. Rin thought the look of concern Megpoid's face was oddly adorable, especially when she went back to her notebook to pretend she was studying-  "Hey! Rin! I need some help with this word! What does the word 'Ultimate' translate into?" V-kun asked.  "W-what?" Rin said, confused.  "I'm asking you what 'Ultimate' is in Japanese. Are you even paying attention? Len is flirting with Miku, Megpoid and Luka are in a glaring war over manga, and you keep staring at Megpoid! "  "No I'm not!" Rin protested.  "Yes you are. Anyways, since most of the distractions cross years, each year should study in different rooms! Us 1st years can study in your room, 2nd years can study in Len's room, and Luka can study in the living room!" V-kun grabbed Len away from his conversation with Miku with one arm and grabbed Rin with the other.   "Hey!" Rin and Len both shouted.  "Where's your room, Rin?" V-kun asked.   "Down the hallway, first door to the left. Len's room is to the right." Rin answered. V-kun dragged them into Rin's room and plopped them there. She then left to do the same to the 2nd years. Rin only heard Miku and Megpoid making noises that indicated them being grabbed. Though then again, V-kun didn't really have any complaints for IA, so it seems IA didn't goof off. V-kun came back.  "Here's your stuff by the way."  "So, you were staring at Megpoid?" Len asked after everyone went home.  "I already told V-kun I wasn't doing that!" Rin denied.  "We both know you are lying."  "But I'm not!"  "I 'wasn't lying' when I said I didn't like Miku. Two years later and she's my girlfriend!"  "That's completely different!"  "No it's not."  "Yes it is!"  "No it's not."  "Yes it is!"  "No it's not."  Rin and Len argued like this for a few more minutes, until Len gave up.  "I guess I'll just leave you alone with your denial for now. It took me a few weeks to confess to you, so why would I expect you to admit it right away?" Len left Rin's room with his studying stuff, though Rin could've sworn she saw a smug smirk. She saw 2 texts on her phone. She opened them:Luka: I forgot to give back that volume of Jojo's and left it on your living room table. Make sure to return it to Gumi for me. She'll be grateful. She might return the favor if you know what I mean ;)  Rin typed a response:Rin: God dammit Luka. Do you really have to pretend this is some Hentai Game?Luka: What? I'm gonna be 18 soon, I've already convinced tired shop workers that I am, so of course I'm gonna take the opportunity to finally play those! It's affecting my judgment though...Rin: Been thereLuka: Are you saying you're playing Eroge even though you're only a 1st year? What a naughty girl ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) But seriously how did you get past the ID check? I only manage to do so by convincing shopkeepers that it's a different year and that doesn't work 90% of the time.Rin: I just buy the versions without sexual content then download an H-patchLuka: So I could've been getting free porn all this time?Rin: The games cost the same with or without sex scenes  Rin went to check the other message:⭐Megpoid⭐: I think I forgot to get my Volume of Jojo's, so could you bring it back on Monday?Rin: No problem!⭐Megpoid⭐: Gureito  Rin put her phone on her charger and went to bed.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Today was Friday, the day test results came in. Everyone was in the Light Music Club room hanging out, happy they all passed.   "I thought I was gonna fail for sure, but guess I didn't!" Miku proclaimed happily.  "I've been noticing you and Len hanging out in the Light Music Club room with us a lot. Are you sure you don't want to join?" Luka asked.   "No thanks! I already love my job with the Student Council! In fact, I should probably get to my house to get dressed and come back as quick as I can so I can do my job and set up for the dance! Bye guys!" Miku responded as she rushed out the door.  "If we're speaking honestly, I don't feel like it. Now if you excuse me, Miku is my date. Goodbye," Len retorted as he followed after Miku.  Rin arrived at the dance. Miku, Len, and Luka were already there, though while Len and Miku looked tired from helping to set up the dance, Luka was just relaxing by the food dipping everything into the chocolate fountain. Rin also noticed that Luka was wearing the same peach colored hoodie and tank top she wore at school, instead of something formal like Rin's sleeveless orange dress with sequins in it, or  Miku's seafoam green dress with straps that went well with the gold colored tuxedo Len wore.  "Hello!" Rin said to Len and Miku, who were sitting down next to a bunch of other people, who Rin presumed to be in the Student Council.  "Hello," Miku said.   "Was Luka here while you guys set up?" Rin asked.  "Yes, she was, sitting on the bleachers eating so many bags of chips while watching us do all the work. I mean, where did she even get that many chips from?" Len ranted.  "Len, she isn't on the Student Council so she didn't *have* to work. It just would've been nice if she did. At least she threw her own trash away..."  "Yeah, I guess she did throw her trash away..."   Rin looked around the school dance hall while the couple talked. She saw Megpoid walk in through the door, wearing a nice black tuxedo dress with a black rose in her hair. Rin went to go talk to her, since being the third wheel was kinda irritating.  "Hi Megpoid," Rin said to her.  "Hi Kagamine-chan," Megpoid replied. "I see Megurine came early for the food once again."  "That would be correct. Oh, looks like IA is here!"   IA came in wearing a lovely pink gown that looked like it came out of a Didney movie.  "Is that the actual gown from Sleeping Beauty!?" Miku asked, getting off her feet and practically teleporting to IA.  "It's not the exact one from the movie, but yes, this is a replica," IA responded.  "That's so cool!" Miku gushed.   Rin noticed V-kun talking to Luka.   'When did she come in?' Rin thought. Though she wore a plain black tuxedo, so Rin probably didn't notice her.  "You can't just dip shrimp into the chocolate fountain!" V-kun panicked as Luka did just that.  "Yes, I can," Luka said, eating the chocolate covered shrimp.  "Your taste in food sucks," V-kun deadpanned.  "Wow, I have many final exams I have to take that'll decide whether or not I get into a college, and I'm supposed to worry about one person who made the oh so original comment about my taste in food."   "Touche"   Rin wondered who the people singing the song were. One of the singers sounded familiar, but it didn't sound like someone she knew went here...  "Who's the guy and the girl singing?" Rin asked Megpoid.  "Oh, that's Kaito, Miku and I's homeroom teacher, singing with his wife. Sometimes we don't have enough songs to span the course of the night, so we have to use songs made by previous students." Megpoid explained.  "Oh, though I wonder how they're getting away with these lyrics..."  "I can tell you all about what the songs we originally submitted were about. This is tame in comparison," A lady with shoulder-length brown hair interjected.  "...Who are you exactly?" Rin asked.  "Oh yeah, I'm Meiko, Kaito's wife. I don't work here. Now if you excuse me, I must go back to my hubby wubby, don't go into any janitor's closets later if you know what I mean!" Meiko winked and left. Rin could've sworn she heard Kaito yelling that he could get fired for that.  "I need bleach," Megpoid said. Rin could only nod.  "Oh, it's that song we helped Miku work on!" Rin exclaimed.  "It was really hot in that shed, but I like hearing our work out in the open," Megpoid responded. Rin saw Miku and Len dancing.   "Well, lots of other people are dancing, and I thought we could do it, a-as friends of course!" Rin suggested to Megpoid. God this is such a stupid idea.  "I don't really like dancing, to be honest," Megpoid responded.   "Oh, well we could always talk instead!"   "Yeah, I'd like that,"  "So, how did you get into music?" Rin asked.  "Well, this is kind of stupid, but one day when I was younger, I went into a music shop and noticed that some of the names in the English Music department looked like the names of the Stands in Jojo's. Being a total nerd, I bought some of those CDs. I liked them even if I couldn't understand them. What about you?"   "I got into it because me and my brother went to karaoke after school all the time as kids,"  "That's way better than my reason!"   "Your reason is great too!"   "So anyway, wanna go spy on Miku and Len's date next time they go on one? I mean, you can't be a third wheel if they don't know you're there," Megpoid proposed.  "I was already gonna do that, I even have a fedora and fake mustache ready!"   "I have trenchcoats and junk mail tabloids!" Megpoid added.  "This is gonna be fun!"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was 12 AM in the middle of summer. Rin was done watching YouTube and decided to go to sleep for the night. She was getting comfortable in bed when she remembered that she forgot to return that manga that Megpoid left behind in the rush of the exams. With that, Rin was wide awake and panicking over something she couldn't even do anything about until morning.  Rin woke up and saw a note at the foot of her bed:  "Miku and I are going to the mall for a date."  Rin was about to grab her fedora and fake mustache to spy on their date when she remembered that book she had to bring back Megpoid. She grabbed it off the computer desk it had been on for weeks and texted Megpoid to ask where her house was so she could return it.  Rin arrived at the apartment complex Megpoid lived in and started to head towards her room, which was luckily on the first floor. She went knocked, nervous because it was the first time she had been there. Megpoid answered the door.  "Hello," She said.  "Hello, I brought your manga back," Rin replied.  "That's good, I almost forgot that I had it in the rush of the exams that followed me leaving your house, but I'm glad to know that it exists and that you brought it back, thank you," Megpoid said. "Why don't you come inside?"  Rin walked inside the apartment. It had some retro-style posters along with all the basic apartment furniture. Spongebob was on the TV, it was the episode where Spongebob delivered a pizza to a bratty customer who ordered it at a shop that only sells Krabby Patty's. There was an issue of Ultra Jump on the table next to an issue of Shonen Jump.   "Oh yeah, Len and Miku are on a date in the mall today!" Rin mentioned to Megpoid. Rin had forgotten her fedora's and fake mustache's at home, unfortunately. Megpoid went into her room and brought out trenchcoats stuffed with tabloids with holes in them.   "Let's go," she said.  "I can't find them anywhere!" Rin said. She and Megpoid had been looking around for Miku and Len for an hour, and they were nowhere to be found. The mall was large though, so that may have something to do with it. Rin's trenchcoat was making her sweat like crazy in the August heat, and the mall was crowded today, which didn't help.   "Hey, can we go into the figurine shop for a few minutes?" Megpoid asked Rin.  "What figurine shop?" Rin questioned. Megpoid pointed at the shop. Rin couldn't believe she had missed it before.  "Sure, we do need to rest a bit!" Rin agreed. They walked inside and started looking around. Rin quickly found many figurines she wanted, but she had trouble choosing. She eventually decided on a figurine of Nerine from "Shuffle!". She went up to the counter to buy it.   "Um..." The cashier was reasonably confused at a young girl wearing a trench coat in August buying a figurine for a game she was too young to be playing. It didn't help that Rin still looked like a middle schooler even after being in high school for a few months. Nervertheless, he rung up the figurine, because the figurine itself was SFW. Rin handed him $65 and then put the bag containing her figurine on her arm.   Megpoid was waiting at the entrance. She already had a small bag in her hand but she was passing time by looking at the more expensive shonen figurines. Megpoid noticed Rin.  "Oh, you're done buying stuff, shall we continue looking for Miku and Len?" She asked.  "Sure!" Rin exclaimed.  They continued walking around and eventually found them in the food court, sharing some chicken nuggets. Rin and Megpoid bought some sub sandwiches and sat at a nearby table, holding up their tabloids to hide their faces.   "Look at those weirdos in trench coats! I wonder what they're here for..." Rin heard Miku say to Len.  "Let's stay here and find out," Len suggested.  'Crap' Rin thought. If she and Megpoid were discovered, they wouldn't be able to spy on the date anymore, just as they found it.   ...  God, this was taking awhile. Rin texted Megpoid.Rin: Shall we reveal ourselves, this is getting boring.⭐Megpoid⭐: Yeah, I agree.  Rin and Megpoid put away their tabloids.  "Oh, it was just you two, I thought that the secret police were after us or something!" Miku said, sounding relieved.  "How did I not guess," Len deadpanned.  "Yeah... we were spying on your date," Megpoid admitted.  "But it took an hour to find you guys if that makes you feel better!" Rin added.  "So what were you doing in that hour I wonder? I see shopping bags so you might've shopped a little bit! Perhaps you went on a date!" Miku fantisized.   "Of course not, this was strictly a date spying! I wouldn't go on a date while spying on a date!" Rin denied. This wasn't a date, but Rin liked the idea too much, so she had to deny it.  "We just went shopping for anime figurines and ordered subs to blend it. Not. A. Date." Megpoid explained. Len just snickered at what was happening.  "You ate food together too? How wonderful!" Miku said excitedly.  "God dammit..." Megpoid said.  "And stop laughing Len!" Rin yelled embarrassed.   "Nope!" Said Len.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rin woke up to the sun glaring in her eyes. She saw a note on her computer yet again.  'Oh, Len must be on a date with Miku again.' Rin thought. She was glad they were happy, but do they really have to go on a date two days in a row? That wasn't gonna stop her from spying on their dates!  She wasn't gonna wear the coats this time though.  "I still can't stop thinking about how weird of a place McDee's is to have a date." Megpoid said to Rin as they got off the bus and arrived at the restaurant.  "Well, they could be broke." Rin suggested, thinking about her empty wallet.  "Maybe they should've thought about that before going on a date two days in a row." Megpoid snarked, annoyed.  "They probably thought they could wear us out. They won't win though!" Rin proclaimed.  "Let's just go inside and find them." Megpoid said as she started walking ahead, looking kinda irritated. Rin followed.  Once they got inside though, they couldn't find Len or Miku anywhere, no matter how many times they walked around the place. Then occurred to Rin that she hadn't eaten breakfast.  "While we're here, we might as well eat." Rin said.  "We probably should, since I forgot to eat breakfast before leaving." Megpoid replied. After they got some hash browns and soda, they sat down at a table, since Rin didn't feel like walking and Megpoid seemed to share the sentiment.  They sat quietly.  Too quietly.  Rin had to break the silence.  "So what's going on in life?" Rin asked Megpoid.  "Vento Aureo just got confirmed for an anime adaptation! I mean, they're gonna call it Golden Wind for licensing purposes, but it'll always be Vento Aureo to me." Megpoid talked excitedly.  "What is Vento Aureo?" Rin asked.  "Part 5 of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure." Megpoid explained.  "Oh, that!" Rin realized.  "Yeah! You should watch the series from the beginning, though I can understand if the first episode turns you off. If that's the case just skip on over to Part 2 because that's when the series gets really good!" Megpoid said rapidly.  "I've seen some memes of Jojo's, so I guess I'll give it a go!" Rin said. Megpoid smiled more brightly than Rin had ever seen her smile.  "I wonder if Rin and Megpoid actually followed the note I left at home." Len pondered. He was at Miku's house.  "Eh, they might not have wanted to spy on us two days in a row, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the results are!" Miku exclaimed excitedly, nearly falling over.  "Yeah, and even if this attempt fails, we'll get them together somehow!" Len said.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Finally! We’re here!” Miku exclaimed as she hopped out of IA’s limousine. IA had rented a fancy 4-room western-style villa for a week and the whole Light Music Club came, along with Miku and Len of course. “The traffic jams were really annoying, so glad to be on the beach now.” Megpoid said. Rin was excited to be at the beach. She hadn’t been to one since Elementary School, and now she was going for a whole week! “Okay, before we do anything, we’ll have to figure out room arrangements and unpack. So, does anyone have any suggestions?” IA asked. “Maybe Len and Miku should share a room since they’re dating if you know what I mean.” Megpoid suggested jokingly. Len and Miku flustered as she spoke. “How about Len gets his own room since he’s the only guy!” V-kun suggested. That made things easier. After a half hour of debating, it was decided that IA and V-kun would sleep in one room, Rin and Megpoid in another, while Miku and Megurine get the last room. “Okay! Now let’s unpack!” Miku shouted, practically running to her room.  By the time everyone unpacked, it was nighttime. “We really should’ve gotten here earlier.” V-kun said. “Well, since it’s night time, does anyone have suggestions?” IA said. “We could do a costume contest, except we get to use everyone’s clothes, so it’s easier.” Megurine suggested. “Sounds like lots of fun!” Miku said. Rin thought this was a good idea, but it was missing something. “We need a neutral party to decide the winner.” Rin said. “I’ll do it.” Len offered. “I'll referee to make sure no one does anything unnecessary in their pursuit of clothes!” V-kun volunteered. “I don’t really feel like dressing up, so I guess I’ll be another judge.” IA said. So everyone went into each other’s rooms, looking for whatever clothes they could find for their respective costumes. V-kun somehow managed to be able to watch everyone carefully despite there being four rooms. Everyone was gathered into the large living room in their costumes, except for Len and V-kun. “Now let the modeling commence!” Len shouted. Miku walked into the middle of the living room in a sorta-business suit. She wore a black leather jacket, some black pants, a pale pink undershirt, and a white tie. She turned around so everyone could see the outfit, then sat back down. Then Rin walked up in a white and brown middle-school uniform she had found in a closet somewhere. “I remember my old school uniform! I don’t know why it’s here though…” IA remarked. Rin sat back down. Luka stood up. She was wearing a cat headband, a bikini, and a cat-tail made of some yarn and a paper clip. Rin never realized just how big her boobs were. She knew they were big, but she didn’t think they were that big. After Luka sat down, Gumi stood up. She was wearing a black baseball cap, a long black jacket, a green shirt, and some black pants. Probably supposed to be Jotaro. Since everyone was done modeling, Len, V-kun, and IA went to discuss. It was taking a while, and it almost seemed like they were arguing. Soon, they arrived at a conclusion. “Miku” “Rin” “Luka” Rin heard them say all at the same time. “Hey, I thought we agreed Rin won! You can’t just vote for Miku because she’s your girlfriend!” V-kun said. “Doesn’t explain why IA voted for Luka!” Len argued. “She was very ingenuitive! Making her own cat-tail!” IA justified. In the end, no conclusion was drawn, as the judges argued the whole time. Everyone eventually got tired and went to sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Finally! The beach!” Miku exclaimed. She immediately ran toward the water with a splash.

“Guess I’ll go buy drinks.” Len said as he walked towards a food truck. Meanwhile, Luka was busy being flirted with by a bunch of guys, not that Rin didn’t understand why.

“So, who’s actually gonna help us unpack?” V-kun asked.

“Not it!” Rin said, running after Miku.

“Guess it’s just us three unpacking, Megpoid, IA?” V-kun lamented.
  Later, Rin was sitting underneath a beach tent, regretting the fact that she didn’t put on sunscreen. She wasn’t alone.
 “It- it hurts!” Miku complained.

“Well, that’s what happens when you don’t put on sunscreen.” Len said.

“Why does the sun hate us?” Rin asked, looking at the top of the tent from the towel she laid on.

“I hear rubbing mud on sunburns helps them cool down.” Megpoid suggested.

“Please, my skin hates me right now.” Rin said weakly.

“Len, could you do it for me?” Miku asked him.

“Sure.” Len agreed, grabbing some wet sand.

Soon, Len was rubbing wet sand on Miku, and Megpoid was helping Rin rub wet sand on herself. Rin blushed at how close she was to Megpoid, at how Megpoid’s hands rubbed her arms, her shoulders, her face… No, what was she thinking just now? Soon, the mud treatment was over.

“This feels so great!” Miku said happily.

“Yeah, my skin feels so cool!” Rin agreed.

“So, just to be clear, you and Megpoid aren’t dating?” IA asked Rin. V-kun stared her down as if she were interrogating her.
 “For the last time, no!” Rin stated angrily. Suddenly, a voice behind her spoke.
 “You know people do tend to draw conclusions when someone lets another person rub mud on them, especially when they’re blushing while it’s happening.” Luka said. Everyone looked at her shocked.

“Where did you come from?!” Miku asked Luka, surprised at her sudden appearance.

“Just getting some chips off of guys, though I ate most of them already. I do have a pack of potato chips left though.” Luka said, dangling the package side to side.
  After their time at the beach was over for the day, and everyone was in their rooms for the night, Megpoid took something from her bag.
  I brought the entire first season of the Jojo’s anime over here to watch during the downtime. I can’t wait til’ you see it, you’re gonna love it!” Megpoid proclaimed.

“So, we’re gonna watch it now?” Rin asked.

“Why not?” Megpoid said, popping the disc into the Blu-ray player. Rin still couldn’t believe that IA had a Blu-ray player in every bedroom.
  “God, did he really have to burn the dog alive?” Rin asked Megpoid around the mid-way point of the first episode.
  “Yep, cause Dio’s a jerk and Araki likes killing dogs!” Megpoid said.

“Araki?” Rin asked.

“He’s the mangaka of this series.” Megpoid explained.

“Oh.”

They continued watching until the end of the first part. Megpoid said that the first part wasn’t really as great as the rest of the series, but Rin saw how happy she was about the entire series, and that someone was willing to watch it with her. Rin felt that she wanted to protect that smile. Besides, while it had a rough start, the first part wasn’t too bad, though maybe it’s just because Rin saw all the memes.

“Guess we should go to sleep now” Megpoid suggested after putting the disc back inside of the case.

“Guess we should.” Rin agreed. She went back to bed, thinking about how beautiful Megpoid’s smile was.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rin didn't expect to be staying inside for most of a week-long beach trip at a fancy villa. She did enjoy the beach for a couple of days after the sunburn wore off some (and made careful sure to wear sunscreen), but she got tired of playing around on the beach after a while.
 
 The villa was near a boardwalk with rides and shops, but Rin was broke. So she stayed inside and watched anime with Megpoid. Not that she minded.
 
 “That Nazi Guy is so awesome with his cybernetics and that machine gun on his chest! Almost makes me forget he's a Nazi!” Rin cheered.
 
 “Yeah! Stroheim is the best Nazi after all!” Megpoid replied.
 
 “Don't you mean ‘the greatest in the world’?” Rin quipped.
 
 “Nice job learning the references Kagamine-chan!” Megpoid said, her smile shining off of her face.
 
 “Thanks!” Rin replied. She smiled. She really had fallen for Megpoid, hadn't she?
   After Rin and Megpoid finished watching Part 2 of Jojo's, they had moved to the living room since they no longer had anything to do. As they walked in, they saw V-kun and Miku arguing. 
 “It's

my

turn to play! You already died twice!” Miku complained.
 
 “Well I haven't lost all of my lives yet, so I still get to play!” V-kun argued back while still playing.
 
 “You played through 5 levels already!” Miku pointed out.
 
 “Oh well, you should've thought about that before-” V-kun looked at the screen in horror as the camera angle changed in the middle of a jump. Unable to control this madness, her character fell into the void. V-kun fell on her knees as the game over screen flashed before her eyes. As V-kun groveled, Miku stole the controller.
 
 “My turn!!!” Miku cheered.

“There's an N64 here?” Rin questioned. IA, who was on the couch watching the game answered.
 
 “It belonged to a relative before they left it here.”
 
 “Oh, that makes sense.” Rin nodded. She sat down on the couch and Megpoid followed her.
 
 “Can I play next?” Rin asked.

After a few hours, everyone was still playing Mario 64, although it didn’t become everyone until an hour in.
 
 Luka was busy looking for a takoyaki stand and came back with a box that was half-eaten. Meanwhile, Len was reading some manga in his room. In the end, Len ended up playing Mario and Luka watched everyone else take turns.
 
 “Dammit, the Let’s Players made this jump look so much easier!” Len complained as he lost his last life. He handed the controller to Megpoid. Rin looked at him.
 
 “Guess I have to talk to him about my feelings for Megpoid sooner or later.” She thought. She went to him as he was about to sit down.
 
 “Do you have a moment?” She whispered. Len nodded and followed her outside.
 
  
  
 “You were right, I do like Megpoid.” Rin said begrudgingly. Len smirked as he stared at her.
 
 “I knew it.” He said. He then continued to stare with a smug grin on his face.
 
 “Aren't you gonna say anything!?”
 
 “Sorry about that. Anyway, what do you want to do about it?” Len asked. Rin hesitated.
 
 “Well, I-I want to grow closer to her!” She professed, her face growing red.
 
 “You guys already seem pretty close, but I’ll help you. I mean, you helped me get my girlfriend, why shouldn’t I return the favor?” Len responded.
 
 “T-thank you.” Rin said, still embarrassed.
 
 “I’m gonna start walking back to the villa if that’s alright with you. Stay out here as long as you like.” Len said as he started walking back. Rin gave herself a few minutes to cool down, and followed after him.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After the beach trip ended, the rest of summer vacation passed by quickly, though that probably had more to do with there not being much of it left than anything. Soon enough school had come back and the Light Music Club was back to its normal routine. Or at least Rin had thought.
 
  “As you know, the School Festival is happening in two months. Since all of the cultural clubs are required to make a presentation, we’re going to be learning a song until then.” Luka announced. 
 
  “So what song are we learning?” IA asked. In response, Luka pulled out a somewhat old binder that was filled to the brim. In the front cover was a piece of paper with the words “Light Music Club Songs” written in marker.
 
  “It’s a tradition to leave all of the songs made for this club behind for future members to use. I’m not good at composition and it’d be a shame to let these collect dust, so today we’re going to be picking through them to find something we can play.” She explained. 
 
  “Sounds easy enough!” Rin said. It should be fun to look through as a club and decide a song to perform. However, the look on Luka’s face suggested otherwise.
 
  “Oh yeah, there are five of these. This is just the first binder.” She revealed.
  
  As everyone looked through the songs, they found that most of them either required more instruments than the club had to work with, or not enough. Some of these songs had completely different instrument sets than what the current club members used. The binder seemed to go on forever, though at least that meant there was hope of finding a song somewhere. Seriously, how long was this club around for exactly?
 
  Eventually, as the sun began to set, Megpoid shot up from her seat.
 
  “I found a song we can play!” She proclaimed with exasperated glee. Everyone stopped what they were doing and went over to look at what she had found.
 
  “Isn’t this song a duet though? We only have one singer.” V-kun questioned.
 
  “Actually, Megpoid here can play her guitar while singing at the same time.” Luka said.
 
  “Yeah, and she’s pretty awesome at it from what I saw at last year’s cultural festival.” Rin praised. Megpoid sheepishly shrank back into her chair.
 
  “So we all agree on playing this song for the cultural festival?” Luka asked. Everyone raised their hand immediately.
 
  “Since that’s decided, I declare this club meeting over.” She said as she left the club room. The rest of the club soon followed suit.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was finally the day of the festival. After months of practice, it was time to show off how awesome the Light Music Club could be! 
 
  Rin arrived at school with Len and Miku. In the courtyard around the gate, there were many food stalls.
 
  “

Wasn’t my class doing one of those?

” She thought. Oh well, she did help build the booth, so they should be fine with letting her goof off around the festival until she had to perform. 
 
  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some bright green hair that could only belong to Megpoid. She turned around to greet her.
 
  “Hey!” She shouted. Megpoid looked in her direction and waved. 
 
  “Well, Miku and I have student council business to attend to, so you’ll have to have fun without us for now.” Len said. Miku winked at her as she walked with him towards the school building. 
 
  “

Wait, Len didn’t tell her about my crush, did he?

” Rin thought. Oh well, at least she was able to spend a few hours alone with her. She could yell at him later.
 
  Megpoid started walking towards her with two orange-colored cotton candy sticks in hand. She handed one of them to Rin. 
 
  "I saw that they were selling these and thought you might want one." She said. 
 
  "I didn't know they made cotton candy in orange flavor! Thanks! Shall we go check out the classrooms?" Rin suggested.
 
  “Don’t you wanna see the other booths outside first?” Megpoid asked.
 
  “Eh, it’s just food and maybe some carnival games. We can see that sort of stuff at any festival.” Rin sort of wanted to try and look cool in front of Megpoid while playing a carnival game, but the chances of getting caught by her angry classmates were too high. 
  
  Eventually, the two of them stopped by a first-year classroom with large blackout curtains hanging over the door. Next to it was a sign saying it was a haunted house. 
 
  “Wanna check it out?” Rin asked. The admission didn’t cost too much and pretending to be scared seemed like a good excuse to latch onto Megpoid’s arm.
 
  “Sure, why not?” She replied. After waiting in line for a bit, they both paid for their tickets and entered the room. 
 
  It was dark inside. There were realistic-looking bloodstains strewn across both the floor and the grey curtains that were being used as walls.
 
  As they walked through the path, the curtains started to shake back and forth.
 
  “I've never seen anyone shake the curtains before.” Megpoid said.
 
  “Probably would’ve been a better idea to do it from the side though.” Rin added, pointing at the hand imprint in the middle of one of the curtains. 
 
  Eventually, they saw a light coming from the other entrance of the classroom. Any minute something would jump out at them. 
 
  “Luka! You can’t just hang out in our classroom!” 
 
  “I paid the admission fee, so what’s the problem?”
 
  Instead however, they encountered what sounded like their club president arguing with V-kun.
 
  “Um… guys?” Rin approached. All of a sudden, a figure wearing a demon mask jumped out of the curtain and roared. 
 
  As she froze in fear, Rin felt something cling to her arm. Cautiously, she turned her head to look. When she noticed that familiar green hair, she froze again for a completely different reason. 
 
  “

I guess having Megpoid cling to me is also nice.

” She concluded. 
 
  “Aren’t they adorable?” Luka asked the masked figure.
 
  “Don’t change the subject! Why the hell are you in here?” The demon responded. 
 
  “Oh hi Rin! Hi Megpoid!” Luka greeted. The masked figure sighed and took off their mask. 
 
  “Could you guys tell Luka why she can’t hang out in here?” V-kun asked.
 
  “Why are you here?” Megpoid questioned.
 
  “Well I’ve been dodging work for my class’s cafe, and what better place to do it than a haunted house?” 
 
  “That doesn’t sound very well thought-out.” Rin commented. 
 
  “Eh whatever, I was just about to head to the clubroom to start practicing anyway.” Luka shrugged.
 
  “Guess we’ll follow you then. I mean there are only two hours until we perform.” Megpoid said. Rin nodded in agreement.
 
  “I’m about to get off of work, so I’ll be there in a little bit.” V-kun replied. 
 
  “See ya then!” Rin waved as she started leaving the haunted house. Megpoid and Luka followed behind her as the three of them started walking towards the Light Music Club Room.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Okay, one more time! From the beginning!" Luka tapped out the tempo with her drumsticks and everyone began to play.It was pretty clear that everyone was nervous, what with how someone would play or sing out of tune every few measures. Rin herself caught her voice cracking a few times. Still, it was better than the first time they played this.“I’m sorry for messing up so much.” IA apologized after the song finished.“It’s fine, we all messed up a few times.” Luka said.“It’s weird though,” V-kun started. “We played so well at yesterday’s practice, and yet now, right before the concert…” Rin couldn’t help but feel the same. Were all of those late-night practice sessions really gonna go to waste?“Don’t worry, usually everyone sucks during the practice before a concert. I’d be more worried if we played well.” Megpoid reassured.“What do you mean?” Rin asked.“It’d be a waste if we did all of our good playing now before anyone could hear us.” Luka explained. Rin sort of understood better, but at the same time, she still had her doubts. The pink-haired woman continued.“Anyway, since we only have 15 minutes left until it’s our turn to play, we should all start heading backstage.”As they started carrying their equipment to the stage area, Rin paced herself to match Megpoid’s speed.“Are you sure we’re going to be okay?” She asked quietly.“We’ll be fine. When you get up on stage, there’s just something there that makes everything click. I’m probably not making any sense right now, but you’ll understand soon.” Megpoid said. She was just going to have to take her word for it. Still, it sounded cool coming from her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The moment that the entire Light Music Club had been practicing for was finally here. They waited anxiously behind a curtain while Miku was singing a solo on the apron. 
 
  After the song ended and the crowd cheered, she walked backstage.

Good luck!

She mouthed while holding a thumbs up. Rin wanted to mouth back to her that her performance was awesome, but she was already gone.

Guess I’ll have to tell her after we play.

She thought. 
 
  As the curtains rose, Rin’s eyes were assaulted by an array of stage lights. She saw her brother Len in the audience. She was tempted to wave at him but held back, not wanting to look unprofessional in front of the crowd.
 
  Megpoid started announcing for the group, but Rin was so focused on making sure she remembered the lyrics that she couldn’t pay attention to a single word she said. After she was done, Luka tapped out a tempo and started pounding on her drums. One by one, the other instruments started playing. 
 
  Megpoid sang her solo line first. Her low, powerful voice was clear despite her also focusing on her guitar.
 
  Eventually, it was Rin’s turn. As her voice resounded across the auditorium, she felt any nerves she had earlier turn into excitement. 
 
  She loved the oppressive yet dazzling stage lights as they shone on her. She loved the crowd that watched her. She loved how confident she felt as she sang with her friends. 
 
  A few seconds after she and Megpoid finished the song with one last duet line, the crowd cheered. The curtains lowered back down and the Light Music Club was once again hidden. Rin grabbed her microphone stand and started walking back towards the club room. The rest of the club followed suit.
 
  She slowed down to match her pace with Megpoid’s. Before she knew it, the two of them were walking behind everyone else.
 
  “You’re right, we did end up sounding better during the concert,” 
 
  “You did a good job.” Megpoid complimented. 
 
  “So did you,” A few seconds of silence followed. 
 
  “Actually Megpoid, there’s something I want to tell you.” Rin started. Maybe it was the adrenaline from the concert, but she felt like she had to say this now.
 
  “What is it Kagamine-chan?” Rin stopped walking and looked into her leafy green eyes. 
 
  “I like you.”

I like you? That’s the best confession line I could come up with?

Why did she think suddenly confessing without thinking it through would be a good idea?

“You know, I’ve started to like you lately as well, if you’re talking about the like I think you’re talking about that is,” Megpoid responded, looking away out of what seemed to be embarrassment. 
 
  “So do you want to go out on a date sometime?” 
 
  “I’d love that, though we should probably discuss this over text, we’re pretty far behind everyone else by now.” Rin looked around and noticed that the rest of the club was gone.
 
  “Oh crap, they’re probably very worried about us. Race you back to the club room?” She started dashing off before Megpoid had time to respond.
 
  “Hey, no fair! You only have to carry a microphone stand!” 
 
  The two of them ran through the hallways together, though not too quickly as not to accidentally drop the equipment.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rin waited at the train station for her girlfriend.

Girlfriend.

Rin never thought she’d get a girlfriend so soon, especially not with someone so awesome, and yet here she was, about to go on her first date with that awesome person. 
 
  Eventually, she saw that oh-so-familiar green hair of her’s.
 
  “Hello, Gumi!” she greeted.
 
  “Hello, R-Rin,” Gumi replied. After they had finished packing up for the Light Music Club and started walking home, the two of them had agreed to start calling each other by their given names. While Rin had no trouble with it, she knew it’d probably take a lot of getting used to for Gumi. 
 
  “Anyway, shall we go? I know a good karaoke place around here that Miku always took me and Len to in middle school.” 
 
  “I think I know where you’re talking about. Is it the one with the delicious carrot cakes?” 
 
  “I usually order the orange smoothie myself, but yes, that place does have carrot cakes.”
 
  The two of them continued talking like that as they walked over to that karaoke bar. Even if it was just small-talk, Rin enjoyed it, because it was with Gumi.
  
  “Jooooooooooooooo Jo!” Gumi sat down as she let the last few measures of the song play out. Rin looked at the clock.
 
  “Looks like we only have about a minute left in here,” The two of them started cleaning up their trash. Shortly after finishing, an employee came to remind them that their time was up. 
 
  “That was pretty fun,” said Gumi. 
 
  “It really was, wonder where we should go for our date next weekend?” Rin had lots of ideas, but she didn’t want to be controlling and decide what

every

date was going to be like.
 
  “Actually, I won’t be here next weekend since I’ll be on the ski trip.”

Oh yeah.

Starting next Monday, the second years would be gone for a week.
 
  “I can’t believe I forgot.” Rin sighed. How was she going to survive one week without Gumi?

No, I can handle this! I already managed 15 years!

What was one week compared to that? 
 
  “Don’t worry about it, our school has weird scheduling when it comes to field trips, they do realize that exams are only two weeks after we get back, right?” Gumi took a deep breath. “Anyway, I’ll be sure to buy cheesy matching necklaces for both of us there!” As she said that, she grinned.
 
  “Thanks! And don’t worry about the exams, we can always hold another group study session after all!” Rin reassured. Gumi nodded as the two of them started walking back to the train station.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It had been five days since the second years left for their ski trip. Rin and Len were moping around on their couch as V-kun flipped through some channels on the TV.
 
  “Come on, you guys don’t need to look so depressed, your girlfriends will be back in two days,” V-kun said.
 
  “Not sure what you expected when you decided to come over, we’ve been doing nothing

but

look depressed all week,” Len replied.
 
  “I guess,” V-kun shrugged as she turned off the TV with the remote, seeming to have given up on her channel search.
 
  “So why did you come over anyway?” Rin asked. There was only so much entertainment one could get from watching sad teenagers.
 
  “The power is out at my place and I don’t have any money,” V-kun explained.
 
  “Well if you want we have some ramen you can microwave,” Len offered. 
 
  “I think I might take you up on that,” V-kun sat up from the floor (since Rin and Len were taking up both the couch and chair respectively) and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she came back with a cup of noodles.
 
  “Now that I think about it, now would be the best time to shop for your girlfriends since they’re gone for another two days,” 
 
  “What do you mean?” Rin asked. 
 
  “Christmas is in about a month, and seeing how you guys are acting now, I doubt you’ll want to take time on your own to shop for gifts once they’re back,” V-kun pointed out. She seemed like she was joking, though she used the same serious tone as ever so it was hard to tell for sure. 
 
  “I already ordered Miku a leek plushie online, though it’ll take a while to ship since there’s never that many in stock,” Len, of course, was prepared as always. 
 
  “I still haven’t thought of anything to get Gumi,” Rin admitted. 
 
  “She likes that one manga right? Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure?” V-kun suggested.
 
  “Yeah, it’s pretty awesome, though I don’t know what merchandise she has and doesn’t have for it, and she could buy some between now and Christmas,” Rin responded. 
 
  “I’ve got nothing then,” V-kun left her seat once again so she could throw away her now-empty ramen cup.
 
  “Well, I’m sure I’ll think of something,” Rin said. As V-kun walked back to her seat, her phone vibrated. 
 
  “The power is back on, so I’m going home,” V-kun said after checking her phone. “Thank you for the ramen,” 
 
  “No problem,” Len said as she started putting on her shoes. Soon enough, she was gone out the door and the two siblings were left back to their loneliness.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rin didn’t normally like getting up early in the morning to go to school, but today, she practically jumped out of bed. She got dressed and ran down the stairs to the pantry as quickly as she could. She got out a box of cereal and started eating out of the bag.
 
  “What are you in such a hurry for?” Len asked, looking up from his phone. 
 
  “I’ll finally be able to see Gumi again soon!” Rin answered happily.
 
  “You know school doesn’t start for another hour, right?” Len pointed out. Rin checked the clock and indeed, her brother was right. Disappointed, she sat down at the table and slowed down her eating.
 
  “I swear, you’re hopeless sometimes,” 
 
  “Says the one who’s been texting Miku nonstop,” Len quickly shut off his phone and started eating his toast. 
 
  “Anyway, if you’re so excited to see her, why don’t you just ask her to walk to school with you? That’s what me and Miku are planning on doing soon,”  Rin shot up out of her seat and started bolting towards the door.
 
  “See you at school Len!” 
 
  “But what about your cereal box?”

“You can get that for me!” Rin opened the door and saw a surprised looking Gumi on the other side. After an awkward pause, Rin broke the silence.
 
  “Oh, I guess we had the same idea,” 
 
  “Don’t make your brother put away your cereal,” 
 
  “So you heard that, huh?” 
 
  “You guys

were

pretty loud,”
 
  “Fair enough. So, shall we head to school?” 
 
  “

After

you put away that box,” Rin walked back to the table and put away the cereal box. After she was done, she left out the door to go to school with Gumi.
  
  “So how was the ski trip?” Rin asked. She and Gumi were eating together in her classroom. Many eyes gazed at the two of them, some curious, others nervous. It was only natural to stare when an upperclassman visited a room for a lower year. However, the two of them didn’t pay any mind (if anything, Rin liked the attention).
 
  “I mean, I can’t really think of anything I didn’t already tell you over text.” 
 
  “How

did

you get service all the way up in the mountains anyway?” 
 
  “The inn had free wifi with the rooms. It wasn’t very good, but it was enough,” Gumi explained. “Oh yeah,” She reached into her bag and pulled out a box. “I got you a snowglobe.” 
 
  Rin took the boxed snowglobe and stared at the packaging for a little bit before putting it in her bag. 
 
  “Thank you!” She said.
 
  “I was worried it was too corny, what with the large resort name in the middle,”

“You

did

buy it from a gift shop, and besides, snowglobes are always pretty,”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was almost the end of the second trimester, and that meant that exams were around the corner. Like last trimester, everyone was meeting up to study (though this time at Miku’s house). Rin and Len were there early to help make smoothies. 
 
  It was mostly an excuse for Len to hang out with Miku before everyone split off into their groups, but it wasn’t like Rin was going to tease him about it (at least not this time). She also had her own ulterior motive. 
 
  “Miku?” 
 
  “Yes?” Miku looked up from the leek she was chopping to face Rin.
 
  “Do you know what Gumi likes?” Rin asked. “I know she likes shounen anime but I’m worried about accidentally buying her something she already has.” 
 
  “Oh, for Christmas? Hm…” Miku thought for a moment. “I know she likes carrots.”  All of a sudden, Rin grasped Miku’s hand.
 
  “How could I be so stupid?!” 
 
  “W-wha?” Miku looked dumbfounded. 
 
  “I didn’t think about food

once

! Thank you, Miku!” Rin bowed as she gave her thanks.
 
  “You’re welcome!” Miku replied. The two of them refocused on chopping up the food, Rin, in particular, trying to finish as quickly as possible so she could go look up carrot-related recipes before the study session started.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After the exams were over, the Light Music Club spent most of the remaining time until break practicing Christmas music, since they had charity events to prepare for. Soon enough, it was the last day of the second trimester, and to celebrate, the club decided to throw a party in their room.
 
  "Man those exams were rough," said V-kun. “I don’t think I would’ve survived without those study sessions.” 
 
  “What are you talking about, you always get B’s or higher,” Rin pointed out.
 
  “Still, I don’t even think we went over some of that stuff in class.” Rin shuddered as she remembered that one section on the math exam.
 
  “Point is, it’s all over now. Let’s just enjoy the party!” She exclaimed. 
 
  With the takoyaki Luka bought, along with the cookies Miku and IA made, the party had a wonderful variety of food. Everyone talked to each other and exchanged gifts (though Rin and Gumi agreed that they’d wait until the day of). After some time passed, Luka stood by the microphone and asked for everyone’s attention.
 
  “Since I am going to be graduating soon, now would be the best time to hand over club leadership. Give it up for Megpoid Gumi!” Everyone in the room applauded as Gumi walked up to the mic.
 
  “Congratulations!” Miku cheered.
 
  “That’s my girl!” Rin shouted. She knew that Gumi loved the club more than anyone, so even without seniority as a factor, she would’ve ended up as president anyway. 
 
  “I hope you all will accept me as your leader in the coming year. Let’s all continue working hard for future performances!” Once again, everyone gave applause. Gumi walked back to Rin. 
 
  “You did great up there,

Miss President

,” Rin teased. Gumi blushed at the words “Miss President”.
 
  “Thanks.” 
 
  As the club went back to their chatter, Miku had a suggestion.
 
  “Let’s sing Christmas Carols!”
 
  “It would be a good warm-up for the charity events, though I’m not in charge of practice schedules anymore,” Luka said, side-eyeing Gumi.
 
  “Well, if everyone is okay with it.” Gumi looked around the club to see everyone nodding.
 
  “In that case, let’s all sing some Christmas carols!”
  
  Soon enough, everyone had set up their instruments and mics. As Luka counted off the time, Rin giggled to herself, thinking of what she was about to do.
 
  “One, two, three!” 
 
  As soon as Rin started singing, everyone else’s fell silent.
 
  “Hashire sori yo, kaze no you ni, tsukimihara to, padoru padoru!” 
 
  “Did you really just?” Len deadpanned. 
 
  “Yep!” Everyone looked at Rin with blank faces.
 
  “Okay, from the top, this time no surprise memes!” said Gumi. 
 
  “One, two, three.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rin wiped some off her brow as she finished singing the final carol. Even if winter had begun, the stage lights still made everyone in the Light Music Club work up a sweat. 
 
  “Thank you for coming out here tonight! Merry Christmas!” she exclaimed to the crowd.
 
  “You know it’s not Christmas yet, right?” V-kun pointed out. She hit Rin over the head with a paper fan and Rin gave an overdramatic groan (this was, of course, scripted; IA thought the show needed a little comedy and no one objected). 
 
  "Forgive our silly lead singer, but we do hope you have a nice Christmas when the day comes," Luka said.
 
  "Make sure to come watch us perform again some other time!" Gumi shouted. The dozen people that were still there applauded. Once the lights on the makeshift stage turned off, everyone started to put their instruments away.
 
  "How come you didn't give yourself any lines?" V-kun asked IA as she put her bass back into its case.
 
  "I get pretty nervous speaking in front of other people, you see," She explained.
 
  "But you seem okay with performing with us. What's up with that?" Rin asked.
 
  "I'm performing with the rest of you, so it doesn't feel like people are paying attention to me so much," IA replied. 
 
  "Understandable," V-kun said.
 
  Everyone finished packing up their instruments, and said their goodbyes to each other. The only two not to separate were Rin and Gumi, who started to window shop in no particular direction. 
 
  “So, what is Kagamine-kun doing for Christmas Eve?” Gumi asked.
 
  “He’s hanging out with Miku at our house, though I wish he went to her house,” Rin responded with a sigh. “I don’t want to be the one to interrupt their romantic time when I get home!”
 
  “You could stay the night with me if you want.” Immediately after making the offer, Gumi started to blush and make an awkward face.
 
  "You really mean that?" Rin was surprised, but immediately, she had an answer. "In that case, sure! We’ve been needing to catch up on Part 5 anyway!”
 
  As the two walked over to Gumi’s house, Rin pulled out a bag full of carrot cake cookies. She placed them in her girlfriend’s hand.
 
  “Are these for me?” Gumi asked.
 
  “Yeah, it’s only Christmas Eve, but I thought I’d give you your gift now.”
 
  “I was actually planning to come over to your house tomorrow, so my gift is still at home…” Gumi rubbed her fingers together nervously as she said that.
 
  “Well we’re heading there anyway, and besides, I would’ve accepted it tomorrow anyway!” Gumi relaxed as Rin said that, and smiled to herself.
 
  “I’m so lucky to have you as a girlfriend,” She said.
 
  “Me too.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After the school closing ceremony, Rin and Len surveyed the courtyard, looking for their other friends. It wasn’t that long of a search; right away Rin saw Miku waving at them. The two ran over and greeted everyone.  “So all that’s left is Luka now, huh?” said V-kun.  “She does seem to be taking a while,” IA commented.  “I guess they make seniors stay a little later, since it’s their last year and all,” Rin suggested.  “I think I saw some leaving with us, but maybe they were just trying to play hooky?” Miku replied. The group chatted as they waited for Luka. The two couples in the group would flirt as V-kun groaned, and IA would insist that V-kun be nice to them with a strained smile. But even as the trickle of students flowing out of the auditorium started to halt, Luka never showed up.  “Do you think she already left?” V-kun asked.  “I don’t think she’d just leave without saying anything though. She’d at least send a text,” IA replied. As everyone discussed what might’ve happened to Luka, Gumi looked away from the group all of a sudden.  “I think I know where she is.” That was all she said before taking off.  “Awww, we got ditched,” Rin complained.  “She’ll probably text us once she finds her,” Miku reassured, patting Rin on the head.  Gumi entered the Light Music Club room. Luka was standing by the window, gazing upon the courtyard one last time.  “Everyone is looking for you, you know?” Luka turned around and faced Gumi.  “Sorry for worrying you guys. I just wanted to come in here again, since I’ll no longer be attending this school starting tomorrow.” Gumi had nothing to say to that, so she simply nodded in understanding. She’d probably be feeling the same way next year. After a sigh, Luka spoke again.  “My only regret was that I couldn’t be that great of a club president. If there were anyone else in my year, they certainly would’ve been a better leader than me.”  “But you did so well!” Gumi refuted. “Sure we may not have had any new songs, but despite your shortcomings, you still watched over us and cared for us all year! And you even went back into the old club files to find us some older songs to play for the festival.” Luka was left speechless for a few moments before she spoke again.  “It means a lot that you would say this to me. Thank you.” Gumi wasn’t sure if the club president actually believed her, but she was at least sure that her words touched her.  “Anyway, we should head back to everyone now.” Gumi started walking out of the room, but Luka interrupted her.  “Actually, I was thinking of having one last club meeting…”  Rin was the first in the group to approach the Light Music Club. As she opened the door, she saw Gumi and Luka eating out of a bag of chips that had been rolled down into the shape of a bowl.  “Wow, I’m surprised you’re sharing your food for once,” V-kun said as they walked in.   “I can stand to do something nice for my juniors on my last day here,” Luka responded.  For a while, everyone talked about anything, from what Luka planned on doing after graduating (she said she was going to go into sound design, but also wanted to try being a vtuber), to how they could attract new members next year. Eventually, IA spoke up.  “I would just like to thank Megurine-senpai for doing a wonderful job running this club, and for letting me join even though I was a second year.”  “Why didn’t you join before now?” Miku asked. “I remember you being here last year.”  “I… never thought I’d fit into a club. But I saw this club struggling for members, and I didn’t want it to be shut down just because of that.”  “Well, we’re glad you joined us!” Gumi said, slapping IA on the back affectionately.  “I’m glad to be here.”  After that, the club continued their little get-together. Once the sun sunk deeply into the sky, Ms. Kasane walked in.   “You know everyone was supposed to go home hours ago, right?”  “You mean we weren’t supposed to be in here?!” Rin asked. She looked at everyone in shock, but all she got in return were shrugs.   “I mean it’s in the student handbook,” Len pointed out.   “And yet you’re still here. Aren’t you on the student council? I swear, kids these days…” The club, Miku, and Len followed a grumpy Ms. Kasane out of the school. Miku suggested along the way that they spend the rest of the evening at karaoke, so once they left the school, that’s where they all started walking. And naturally enough, Rin and Gumi fell behind.  “You know, I joined the club because of you,” Rin said.  “Really now?”  “Yep! You were just so cool at that school festival that I wanted to meet you!”   Gumi averted her eyes, her face growing red. “Well, I’m glad you decided to meet me.”   Rin smiled. She looked confidently ahead, only to realize that she could only barely see the rest of their friends. “Oh crap, they left us behind!”   “Well, I guess we’d better catch up to them then.” Rin and Gumi took each other's hands and dashed forward with all of their might.