🎶春日の響きと記憶の音 — 番外 — 舞台 — The Battle Isn’t Over Yet

🌸✨ 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 setting sun still lingered to the west of the town. Orange-red light streamed through the gaps between tiled roofs and wooden buildings, dyeing the entire eastern street a deep golden hue. Long shadows stretched all the way across the stone-paved road, and every now and then, the evening breeze stirred the fabric curtains that still hung in front of the shops. Although the battle from earlier had temporarily died down, the atmosphere in town had not truly returned to normal. Many residents were still hiding inside their homes. Some shopkeepers only dared to crack their doors open slightly, secretly peering outside to see what was happening. Miku and the others—the ten of them in total—were once again patrolling the eastern streets. But unlike before, what now hung at their waists were no longer wooden swords prepared for a performance. They were real blades. After the earlier battle ended, the town guards had handed them several spare swords. It was only when Miku actually fastened one at her waist that she fully realized— The weight was completely different. She took a few steps, then looked down at the sword at her side again. “…It’s heavy.” KAITO, walking beside her, turned his head. “Not used to it?” Miku reached down and steadied the scabbard with one hand. “It’s not just the weight.” She lowered her voice. “Just knowing there’s a real sword inside feels strange.” She was still in the male form she had transformed into. Her voice was much deeper than before, and her shoulders were broader as well. And yet, the expression she wore when she spoke was still unmistakably the Miku everyone knew. MEIKO was walking a little farther ahead. She glanced back at them. “That’s why you shouldn’t draw it for no reason.” Rin immediately protested. “I only wanted to check it earlier.” Len turned toward her at once. “Who was talking about you?” “The way you looked at me was obviously saying it was me!” “Because you’re the most likely one to randomly draw your sword.” “I am not!” Teto laughed beside them. “I think Rin definitely would.” “Teto!” “Hahaha.” The tense atmosphere relaxed slightly. MEIKO, however, did not laugh along. Her gaze continued sweeping across both sides of the street. Ever since they had left the warehouse district, she had felt that something was off. It was too quiet. Those people had retreated, but if they had truly come for the supplies, there was no way every last one of them would have left so easily. Especially during all the chaos earlier— No one could say for certain how many of them had actually escaped. MEIKO gradually slowed her pace. KAITO noticed. “What is it?” “…Wait.” MEIKO suddenly stopped. Miku and the others stopped with her. The setting sun shone into a narrow alley on their right. All they could see inside were several wooden barrels, bamboo baskets, and a few boards leaning against the wall. There was no sign of anyone. Rin asked quietly, “Did you see something?” MEIKO did not answer. Her eyes narrowed slightly. Then— Click. A very faint sound. Like the sole of a shoe brushing against loose gravel. MEIKO’s hand instantly moved to the hilt of her sword. “Someone’s there.” Gakupo immediately turned toward the alley as well. “Inside?” “Yeah.” And just as everyone raised their guard— A dark figure suddenly burst out from the depths of the alley. “Run!” Then came a second. A third. A fourth. In an instant, seven or eight men came charging out. Several of them were the very same enemies who had escaped after attacking the warehouse earlier. Two were even carrying supplies on their backs that they had failed to take away before. Mio recognized them immediately. “They’re the stragglers from before!” “So they really were hiding here!” みお gripped the hilt of his sword as well. One of the men turned around and spotted Miku’s group. His expression changed immediately. “We’ve been found!” “Go!” The men turned and bolted. MEIKO’s expression hardened at once. Shing—! Her blade came free of its scabbard. The metal flashed with a dazzling orange-red gleam beneath the setting sun. “You’re not getting away!” MEIKO was the first to give chase. “MEIKO!” KAITO had barely managed to shout her name before she had already sprinted past the mouth of the alley. Teto’s eyes lit up. “After them!” Rin immediately followed. “Let’s go!” Gakupo frowned. “Everyone stay together! Don’t get separated!” All ten of them immediately launched into pursuit. Rapid footsteps echoed across the stone-paved streets. The remaining enemies fled through the maze of alleys. MEIKO stayed at the very front of the chase. After turning male, both her stride and explosive speed had improved considerably. Combined with the anger still burning inside her over what those men had done earlier, she was moving so fast that even KAITO had to pick up his pace just to keep up. “MEIKO!” KAITO finally managed to pull alongside her. “Slow down!” “If I slow down, they’ll get away!” “They have real swords!” “So do we!” “That’s not the point!” MEIKO showed no sign of stopping. Several of the fleeing men glanced back. When they saw that she was still relentlessly chasing them, panic immediately spread across their faces. “That red-haired one is still after us!” “Stop her!” “It’s a him now!” Another man shouted, “Who cares if it’s a man or a woman?! Just stop them!” MEIKO raised an eyebrow when she heard that. “You still have time to chat?” “She’s catching up!” One of the men suddenly spun around. Shing—! He drew his long sword in an instant. MEIKO did not slow down. The man swung horizontally at her. “Watch out!” Miku shouted from behind. Clang! The two real blades slammed into each other. The metallic crash rang sharply through the narrow alley. Sparks scattered instantly. MEIKO gripped her sword with both hands and managed to block the blow head-on. Her arms trembled slightly. It was her first time blocking an actual sword strike with a real blade, and the impact was completely different from anything she had experienced with wooden swords. Her opponent was visibly surprised as well. “You—” MEIKO looked up. “What?” She forcefully shoved her blade outward. The man was forced half a step back. MEIKO immediately advanced. Their blades crossed again. Clang! Clang! Two consecutive impacts. These were not rehearsed movements from a staged fight. Every one of his attacks was genuinely aimed at her body. MEIKO quickly realized that. A third strike came down toward her shoulder. She twisted sideways and dodged. The blade grazed her clothes. Riiip— A slit opened in the fabric. “MEIKO!” KAITO’s expression changed. “I’m fine!” MEIKO swung back. The man hurriedly blocked. Clang! The two separated once again. And during that brief pause, two more of the stragglers suddenly doubled back. “Together!” One approached MEIKO from the left. The other moved in from the right, trying to surround her. “MEIKO!” Gakupo shouted. MEIKO immediately stepped backward. The first sword swept past her chest. The second thrust toward her from the side immediately afterward. She could not completely dodge in time. Clang! KAITO’s sword suddenly intercepted from beside her. He forcefully knocked the incoming strike away. “Didn’t I tell you not to charge so far ahead?!” MEIKO turned toward him. “I never asked you to save me!” “Is this really the time to argue about that?!” “Left!” Gakupo’s voice suddenly rang out. KAITO and MEIKO turned at the same time. A third enemy was rushing toward them. Gakupo was already there to meet him. Clang! Their blades collided head-on. Rather than trying to overpower his opponent, Gakupo moved with the strike and redirected the enemy’s sword to the side. Luka immediately darted out from behind him. “Move!” The man flinched in surprise. Luka’s blade did not strike directly at his body. Instead, she brought it down hard against the hilt of his sword. Clang! His weapon was knocked aside. Gakupo immediately stepped forward. The man had no choice but to retreat several steps. “Luka, behind you!” “I know.” Luka turned. Another man came charging out from around the corner. By now, she had become much more accustomed to her male body than she had been at first. Her movements were no longer awkward either. She quickly sidestepped. The enemy’s blade swept past her. The next instant— Clang! Luka knocked the weapon aside with a backhanded parry. “Gakupo!” “Coming.” The two immediately switched positions. Gakupo took over the enemy in front of her. Luka stepped back slightly and adjusted her breathing. On the other side, Miku, Len, and Rin had caught up as well. Two of the remaining men tried to use the confusion to escape toward the left. “Len!” Miku pointed ahead. “I see them!” Len immediately cut through another side path. “This way’s blocked.” The man drew his sword. “Get out of the way!” Len drew his own blade and met him head-on. Clang! The first true clash between real swords sent a visible jolt through his arm. “Whoa…” Rin caught up from behind. “You okay?” “I’m fine!” “Want me to take over?” “No!” The man swung again. Len backed away. But Rin circled around from the side. “Now!” She did not slash directly at him. Instead, she swung the flat of her blade hard into the side of his forearm. The man’s hand went numb. Len immediately stepped forward. Clang! His blade pressed down against the man’s weapon. “Drop it!” “Dream on!” The man gritted his teeth and resisted. Neither side could overpower the other. Miku was just about to move in to help— “Miku!” みお’s shout suddenly came from the right. Miku turned. Another straggler had climbed out from behind one of the wooden houses. “There’s another one?!” The man charged straight at Miku with his sword. She instinctively drew her blade and blocked. Clang—! The impact traveled through the sword and into both of her hands. “Ugh!” Miku staggered back a step. The additional strength from her male body barely kept her from being knocked completely away. But real combat was far more difficult than she had imagined. The man’s second strike came down immediately. Miku hurriedly blocked again. Clang! “Miku!” Mio rushed forward from behind. “Duck!” Miku immediately crouched. Mio’s blade swept over her head. It did not strike the enemy himself. Instead, it hit his sword with precision and knocked it away. Clang! The impact threw the man’s arm outward. みお immediately followed up. The tip of his sword stopped directly in front of the man’s chest. “Don’t move.” The man froze. Mio immediately moved into position on the other side. “Drop the sword.” “…” The man slowly loosened his grip. Clang. The sword fell to the ground. Only then did Miku finally let out a breath. “Th-thank you.” Mio smiled. “No problem.” みお looked at her. “Can you still fight?” Miku took a deep breath. She tightened her grip around the hilt. “I can.” “Then this isn’t over yet.” And indeed, it wasn’t. Because even more stragglers were now pouring out from the alleyways behind them. It turned out that the men MEIKO had discovered earlier had only been the first group trying to escape.