🎶春日の響きと記憶の音 — Chapter 134

🌸✨ In this alternate universe, Mio and みお are twin sisters, set in a unified world where the virtual singers of Crypton Future Media, Team TWINDRILL, INTERNET Co., Ltd., and the characters of Project SEKAI: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku coexist. 🌙🎶 💜💗💜💗💜 Story 💗💜💗💜💗 The Haunted House Adventure After the Stage After the school festival stage finally came to an end, the ten of them stepped down together from the brightly lit stage. The applause from the gymnasium was still echoing behind them, and the warmth of the final chorus seemed to remain in each of their palms. When they stepped out of the gymnasium, sunlight was streaming in through the corridor windows. Only then did they realize that after the performance ended, it was still only afternoon. The school festival was far from over. In fact, it was just reaching its liveliest time. From the direction of the field came the voices of food stall vendors. From the classroom area drifted the scent of sweets and grilled food. Laughter from students rang out from somewhere in the distance, and all of Kamiyama High School was wrapped in the lively atmosphere of the afternoon. Teto was the first to break the lingering afterglow of the performance. Her eyes sparkled as she clenched her fists excitedly. “Wait, wait, wait! It’s not over yet!” Miku blinked. “Not over yet?” Teto stepped forward, wearing a bright, expectant smile. “Of course it’s not! It’s only afternoon! We haven’t properly enjoyed the school festival yet!” Rin’s eyes instantly lit up. “That’s right! Teto’s totally right!” Len looked at them and sighed, though there was a smile on his face. “I knew this would happen.” MEIKO folded her arms and chuckled softly. “The performance ended smoothly, and we still have the afternoon. A little celebration sounds fine.” KAITO nodded gently. “As long as everyone stays together.” Luka smiled. “Being able to keep walking around the school festival after the performance… this kind of afternoon is wonderful.” Gakupo looked out toward the bright sky beyond the window and said calmly: “Since daylight still remains, let us carry this lingering resonance into the campus.” Mio looked toward みお. みお still seemed a little absorbed in the stage from earlier, but when everyone’s eyes turned to her, she slowly nodded. “I… want to go too.” Mio smiled. “Then it’s decided.” Before officially setting off, everyone first returned to the clubroom and put their instruments away one by one. The keyboard was carefully pushed back against the wall. The guitars were returned to their stands. The microphone cables were neatly coiled. MEIKO gave the drumsticks one last light tap before placing them back with satisfaction. Outside the clubroom window, afternoon sunlight spilled across the desks, and the tension from the stage slowly melted into relaxed laughter. The moment the clubroom door closed, Rin immediately turned around and raised both hands high. “Alright! Let’s go!” Teto bounced beside her. “Where should we go first? Food stalls? Game booths? Dessert?” Rin pointed dramatically toward the end of the hallway as if announcing a battle plan. “First stop—haunted house adventure!” Miku froze on the spot. “H-Haunted house?” みお froze a little too. “Ghosts…?” Len immediately noticed their reactions and couldn’t help laughing. “You reacted way too fast.” KAITO smiled and reassured them: “We’ll all be together, so it should be fine.” Luka tilted her head slightly and said with a hint of amusement: “If you’re scared, you can hold hands.” Mio naturally took みお’s hand. “See? Nothing to worry about.” みお nodded, though her fingers quietly tightened a little. Teto leaned closer to Miku with a mischievous grin. “Miku, don’t tell me you’re already scared?” Miku hurriedly shook her head. “I-I’m not scared. I’m just… preparing myself mentally.” Rin burst out laughing. “That means you’re scared!” Miku puffed out her cheeks. “Rin!” The ten of them arrived at the entrance of the haunted house, which had been made from an old classroom corridor. Although it was still bright afternoon outside, the haunted house entrance was completely covered with black curtains. Fake spiderwebs hung from the corners of the walls, and paper ghosts swayed gently under small purple lights. Above the door hung a handwritten sign: **“Dare to enter, even in the afternoon?”** Teto stared at the sign for two seconds. Then her smile grew even wider. “Perfect!” Rin was just as excited. “This is going to be so fun!” Len looked over the decorations. “Or extremely handmade.” MEIKO smirked. “That’s one of the charms of a school festival haunted house.” KAITO chuckled lightly. “It really does have that school festival feeling.” Luka looked at the faint light slipping through the gaps in the curtains. “Even though it’s afternoon outside, the inside feels like another world.” Gakupo calmly stepped forward. “Then, let us begin.” After entering the haunted house, the corridor became dim and narrow. The bright afternoon sunlight was completely blocked out by thick black cloth. Hidden speakers played faint creaking sounds of wood. Paper bats hung from the ceiling, white cloth ghosts swayed in the air, and the floor had been arranged so that each step produced a faint knocking sound. Miku walked closely beside みお. みお also stayed close to Miku. Mio walked beside them, doing her best not to smile too obviously. However, after they had walked for a while, nothing happened. No ghost jumped out. No scream rang through the hall. And no student dressed as a ghost suddenly appeared from behind the curtains. Teto looked left and right, her excitement gradually turning into dissatisfaction. “…Huh?” Rin blinked. “Where are the ghosts?” Len shrugged. “Maybe they’re waiting for the right timing.” Teto crossed her arms. “But we’ve already walked this far!” MEIKO glanced at her. “You really are as impatient as ever.” Teto looked down the dim corridor ahead. Then she looked at Miku. Then at みお. A mischievous spark suddenly flashed in her eyes. “Fine, then.” Mio noticed something was wrong, but it was already too late. “Teto, don’t—” Teto suddenly slipped behind Miku and みお, raising both hands high like claws. “Boo!” “Kyaa!” Miku and みお screamed at the exact same time. The next second, the two of them clung tightly to each other. Miku’s twin tails bounced from the fright, and her eyes squeezed shut. みお buried her face against Miku’s shoulder, shrinking into herself. “W-Was it real?!” Miku answered in an equally trembling voice: “I don’t know! I didn’t see!” Teto immediately laughed so hard she bent over. “Hahahaha! That reaction was perfect!” Mio hurried closer, looking both worried and a little amused. “It was just Teto. You’re okay.” みお slowly opened one eye. “…Teto?” Teto waved cheerfully. “That’s right! Your friendly school festival ghost!” Miku opened her eyes too, though she was still holding onto みお. “Teto!” Teto showed no sign of remorse at all. “Because the two of you reacted way too cutely.” Rin stared at them for a moment. Then her smile slowly grew brighter. “Ohhh—I get it.” Len immediately narrowed his eyes. “Rin. Don’t.” Rin completely ignored Len’s warning. She quietly circled behind KAITO and raised both hands. “Boo!” KAITO only turned around calmly. “Ah, how scary.” Rin froze. “…That’s it?” KAITO smiled. “I was frightened spiritually.” MEIKO couldn’t help laughing. “So that means you weren’t frightened at all.” Rin puffed out her cheeks. “Fine! Then I’ll choose another target!” She spun around and jumped beside Luka. “Boo!” Luka gently placed one hand near her cheek and smiled. “Oh my, what an energetic little ghost.” Rin completely deflated. “Everyone is way too calm!” Gakupo nodded thoughtfully. “A ghost that announces its own arrival loses half of its power.” Len snickered. “He’s right.” Teto wiped a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye, still looking very pleased with herself. “See, Rin? Scaring people is all about timing! Like this!” She turned her gaze back toward Miku and みお. Miku immediately hugged みお tighter. “Don’t do it again!” みお quickly nodded too. “Please don’t!” At last, everyone else couldn’t hold back their laughter. MEIKO laughed openly. KAITO covered his mouth, trying to remain polite. Luka’s eyes curved gently with her smile. Len leaned against the wall, his shoulders trembling. Gakupo also let out a quiet chuckle. Rin pointed at Miku and みお, laughing. “You two are still hugging!” Miku and みお both looked down at the same time. Only then did they realize that they were still holding onto each other tightly. Their faces instantly turned red. Miku hurriedly let go. “S-Sorry!” みお shook her head in a panic. “No, I was holding on too…” Mio looked at them and smiled warmly. “It’s okay. That just means you were protecting each other properly.” Miku and みお looked at one another. Then both of them couldn’t help laughing softly. Teto clasped her hands behind her head and walked forward, completely satisfied. “Now this feels like a school festival!” Rin immediately chased after her. “Wait! I still haven’t managed to scare anyone properly!” Len followed behind with a helpless smile. “Please don’t start a second performance inside the haunted house.” MEIKO laughed as she walked. “Too late. They already started one.” KAITO looked around the dim corridor. “At least everyone seems to be having fun.” Luka nodded. “As long as everyone is together, even fear can become a memory.” Gakupo looked toward the deeper darkness ahead. “Then let us see what awaits us beyond this path.” Mio gently squeezed みお’s hand. “Ready?” みお looked at Miku, then at Mio, and finally at everyone laughing and joking ahead. This time, she smiled and nodded. “Yeah.” Miku also smiled, a little embarrassed but relieved. “Let’s go.” And so, the ten of them continued deeper into the haunted house. The stage lights were already far behind them. The song had ended too. But the afternoon school festival was still in full swing. And beyond the corridor covered in black cloth, the real haunted house performance was just about to begin.