An POV
"Kohaneee!"
I walked through the door of MEIKO's café in sekai, heading towards my partner, who was ordering a mocha at the front.
"Hello, An-chan." I give her a hug.
She's so warm . . .
Kohane stutters, embarrassed, "A-An-chan! Don't squeeze so tightly. . ."
"Good morning, An." says MEIKO. "Is there anything I can get you today?" Still holding on to my partner, I say, "I'm in the mood for a lemonade, I think."
i've always wondered if they had to pay for their drinks in sekai or if MEIKO gives them away for free 🤔
"Coming right up. Ah, Miku, didn't I tell you to wash those cups for me?"
"Oh. Sorry, MEIKO . . . I got distracted . . ." I hear Hatsune Miku reply from somewhere in the kitchen.
The Virtual Singer had already disappeared into the back by the time I let go of Kohane. "Are Shinonome and Aoyagi coming today?"
I went silent for a moment.
"You . . . you didn't hear what happened yesterday?"
Kohane's face twists in confusion at my ominous tone.
". . . What do you mean?"
"Ah, Kohane, you should have checked the group chat . . . Didn't you hear? Akito's father got arrested yesterday for domestic violence."
"WHAT?" It wasn't like Kohane to raise her voice.
I could hear her muttering profanities under her breath. It's weird hearing her swear.
A golden bell shakes violently as two yellow blurs burst through the café entrance and zoom toward us at full speed.
MEIKO appears out of nowhere. "Rin! Len! What did I tell you about running in my café?"
The two blurs screech to a stop and comically teeter over, one falling face flat against the others' back.
"Rin! Get off me!" a young male voice says, muffled by the floor.
"Nah, you can eat dirt for a while longer!" replies a female voice in an oddly cheerful voice.
"Rin!!" the voice repeats, with a hint of anger. The other one huffs. "Ah, fine . . ." The female peels herself off the male, and they stand side by side.
Huh. I never noticed that he's taller than her.
Fourteen-year-old twins with banana yellow hair and ocean blue-green eyes bow 90 degrees at the waist to the brunette. Kagamines Rin and Len. "We're sorry, MEIKO-sama . . ."
"Alright, I forgive you." She passes Kohane her mocha and hands me a carbonated lemonade with a red and white striped straw.
"Why are they calling me sama? . . ." she mutters under her breath.
The plantinum blonde turns back to me after the Kagamines' little scene. "Aoyagi and Shinonome . . . were they both there when Mr. Shinonome. . ?"
". . .Yes."
"Oh. Are they okay? Did they get hurt?"
"Physically, as far as I can tell, probably just minor injuries. Emotionally, on the other hand . . ." I gave a little shrug as to say 'who knows?'. "I was planning on checking in with both of them in person."
So, I slid my out of my pocket.
Nightcord
vividbadsquad=vbs=vacationbible
school?!
kohane's_<3 (this is an)
11:59
[heyyyy where r u 2?]
[r u guys doin ok after yestrday?]
[wanna meet rn 4 practice in sekai or smth]
(chewtoy/toya has entered the chat.)
(gingerbreadman/akito has entered the chat.)
chewtoy
11:59
[we're doin fine]
[i think]
gingerbreadman
12:00
[but going to the police station]
[we might have time after]
I looked over at Kohane. She was on her phone too.
wait . . . how does internet or cellular work in sekai?
kohammie
12:00
[aw]
[@gingerbreadman hope u and ena r doing ok . . . ]
kohanes's_<3
12:00
[maybe we should add ur onee-san to the chat, hmm?]
gingerbreadman
12:01
[please no]
Before I could reply, Toya sent another message.
chewtoy
12:01
[we're at our train stop now]
[bye]
kohammie
12:01
[bye, shinonome-kun, aoyagi-kun]
kohane's _<3
12:01
[aw]
[bye]
[@gingerbreadman we'll get back to that topic soon 😈]
[just]
[you]
[wait . . . shinonome]
(gingerbreadman has left the chat.)
(chewtoy has left the chat.)
"In the meantime, wanna go sing outside?" I ask, finishing my drink and handing the glass to MEIKO. "Sure."
"I wanna come too!" jumps in Len.
"Me too!" adds his twin sister.
"Me three!" says Miku, stepping out from the kitchen. "I just finished the dishes." She turns to the back.
"MEIKO, do you want to come with us?"
"I'll close down the shop after I finish cleaning up. You five can go on without me." says MEIKO's voice.
As the quintet exit the café, Kagamine Len asks, "So, what were you two talking about with Akito and Toya?" "Oh . . . Akito's father got arrested and they're going to the police station." said Kohane.
"Oh no! Are they okay?" a worried Rin said. "What happened?" asked Miku.
"They're mostly fine." I answered. I didn't want to tell them about Akito's father. There are just some things about the Real World that the Virtual Singers of our sekai are better off staying ignorant of.
"I want to going to go check on them!"
"Wait! Len-"
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