🎶春日の響きと記憶の音 — Chapter 117

🌸✨ 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 Hottest Band Performance The applause was still burning. みお’s voice had just carried everyone over that invisible wall, and the air in the entire gymnasium felt as if it had been lit up. The audience did not quiet down right away. Glow sticks swayed wave after wave, while shouts, laughter, and applause blended together, as if no one wanted to let that heat cool. Miku felt the atmosphere rising around them, and her eyes grew brighter. “With this kind of mood… we have to make it passionate, don’t we?” Teto was the first to laugh. “Finally! I’ve been waiting for someone to say that!” Rin immediately raised her tambourine too, her voice full of anticipation. “Then this time, let’s go all out!” Len adjusted the strap of his guitar again, a confident smile lifting the corner of his mouth. “I can handle a faster rhythm too.” MEIKO twirled her drumsticks, her eyes shining like fire. “All right. If we’re going passionate, then the drums can’t hold back.” KAITO’s fingers gently rested on the keys, and a trace of excitement appeared in his gentle smile. “I’ll hold up the melody and make sure no one falls.” Luka picked up her guitar, her pink hair drifting softly in the stage breeze. Her smile was still elegant, but there was a brighter fighting spirit in it than usual. “Then let everyone hear what we sound like at full strength.” Gakupo gripped his bass again. His purple hair fell to his waist, and the long strands in front of both ears slipped forward as he lowered his head. He did not make any loud announcement. He simply plucked a string. The deep sound of the bass spread through the base of the stage like thunder. “We can begin.” That sound made みお’s heart jump too. She looked down at the keytar on her shoulder, the courage she had just built still lingering in her purple eyes. She had only just led a song for the first time, only just felt that she could guide everyone forward too. And now, a new heat had arrived. It was not gently taking her by the hand. It was like a flame, inviting her to burn together with it. Mio looked at her, microphone in hand. Her black leather jacket gleamed coolly under the lights, and the pink drawstrings swayed softly with her breathing. “Ready?” みお took a breath. “Yeah.” Mio smiled. “This time, don’t just keep up.” みお lifted her head. Mio’s purple eye shone with mischief and expectation. “Let’s blow the stage open together.” みお froze for a moment, then could not help laughing. “You always make it sound so dramatic.” “Because it sounds cooler that way.” みお tightened her grip on her keytar, and the last bit of hesitation in her heart disappeared. “Okay.” She looked toward the audience. “Then let’s do it together.” When Miku heard that, she smiled brightly. “Then—Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival, let the hottest part begin!” The lights changed instantly. Golden and red beams poured down from above the stage, crossing like flames. The glow sticks below immediately seemed to boil over, and the audience’s cheers surged upward all at once. MEIKO’s drums exploded first. Boom! Boom-boom-boom! It was not the gentle rhythm from before that had led the clapping. It sounded like a heart beating at full strength. Each beat landed cleanly, sharply, and powerfully, pushing the air of the whole gymnasium forward. KAITO’s keyboard rushed in next. The bright tone sliced across the drums like blue lightning. Len’s guitar immediately joined in, its crisp rhythm like running footsteps, growing faster and brighter. Rin’s tambourine made every sound fall between the beats like sparks. “Come on!” Her voice lit up the entire venue like a fuse. Luka’s guitar unfolded in the next instant. Elegant, but not fragile. Her melody was like light spreading its wings, beautifully cutting through the drums and keyboard, giving the entire song a higher sense of flight. Then came Gakupo’s bass. The low notes pressed down steadily, but not heavily. They were reliable, like the ground itself. Every plucked string added more depth to the stage, letting every melody run across it. Miku lifted her microphone. “Everyone, follow us!” The moment her voice rushed out, the audience answered in unison. Teto took the next line, her voice brighter than ever. She was not simply singing; it was as if she had thrown all of her energy into the song. Mio joined in too. Her voice was playful and sharp, like a streak of pink light suddenly flashing across a black night sky. As soon as she sang, the front rows of the audience began to scream. みお’s fingers landed on the keys. This time, she was not cautious. She pushed the melody forward. The clear keyboard sound became a shining road, rushing straight into the center of the song. Her heartbeat was fast, and her fingers were fast too, but she did not lose control. Because she could hear them. MEIKO’s drums were opening the path ahead. Gakupo’s bass was supporting everything from below. Luka, Len, KAITO, Rin, Miku, Teto, and Mio—all of their voices were beside her. She was not rushing forward alone. She was moving forward with everyone. “みお!” Someone in the audience called her name. This time, she did not blush so hard that she wanted to hide. She smiled and answered directly with a short, bright melody on her keytar. Those few notes seemed to say— I heard you! The audience immediately cheered. When Mio heard it, she smiled even more happily. “Not bad. You already know how to strike back!” みお kept playing as she answered, “That’s called responding!” “Same thing. It was cool!” The song entered its first climax. Miku, Teto, Mio, and みお’s voices overlapped, like lights of different colors rushing upward together. Rin and Len’s harmonies danced beside them, making the melody shine brighter like sparks. Luka’s voice wrapped elegantly around the venue, while KAITO’s voice steadily carried every transition. MEIKO’s drums grew hotter and hotter. Every strike seemed to tell everyone— We can go higher. We can go farther. Gakupo’s bass was steady and powerful. He did not show much expression, only a faint smile, but that steadiness made the whole band feel fixed in the most reliable place. みお suddenly understood that passion was not only about being loud. Nor was it only about impulse. It was everyone offering their own strength and trusting the others to catch it. Only when sounds gathered like that could they become music that truly burned. The instant the chorus burst open, all the stage lights came on. Streamers fell from above, paper flowers danced through the air, and the audience’s glow sticks surged like waves. Miku sang the main melody at full strength. Teto pushed the atmosphere even higher. Mio threw her voice toward the audience with a smile. みお caught that melody and pushed it even farther with her keytar. The audience below joined in too. It was not a perfectly orderly chorus. It was an entire field of burning voices. Some shouted, some sang, and some were so excited their voices cracked. But those voices felt more real than any perfectly polished performance. Rin could not help shouting, “Everyone, you’re amazing!” Len also shouted with a smile, “A little louder!” The audience immediately answered with even greater volume. KAITO looked at that sea of light, his smile gentle. “This isn’t an ordinary encore anymore.” MEIKO laughed as she played the drums. “The whole venue is burning together!” Luka’s gaze swept over everyone, then finally settled on みお. The girl who had once cried in the center of the classroom, unable to lift her head, was now standing onstage, a keytar on her shoulder and the lights and the audience’s sea of stars reflected in her eyes. She was no longer hiding behind anyone. Together with everyone, she was pushing the entire stage toward its hottest point. Gakupo saw it too. He faintly raised the corner of his mouth, and his bass grew even steadier. “Good.” The word was soft, but it gave みお one final burst of strength. When the song entered the instrumental break, the instruments took turns stepping forward. Len’s guitar jumped out first, bright and full of youthful momentum. Luka’s guitar followed right after, making the melody smoother and more brilliant. KAITO’s keyboard scattered clear notes like starlight falling onto the stage. Gakupo’s bass answered in a deep tone, instantly adding depth to the interlude. Finally, みお’s keyboard came in. She did not show off. She was not afraid either. She simply played her melody clearly, brightly, and firmly. That melody felt like everything she had gone through. From fear to being caught. From crying to laughing. From following behind everyone to finally being able to step forward. The audience gradually grew a little quieter, as if everyone were listening to her speak. みお lifted her head. She saw Mio smiling at her. She saw Miku nodding. She saw Luka’s gentle gaze. She saw Gakupo’s steady smile. She saw everyone waiting for her to bring the melody back. So she pressed down the final note with strength. MEIKO’s drums immediately came back in. The whole song exploded once more. “Together—!” The moment Miku shouted, the entire venue sang into the chorus. This time, it was louder than before. More passionate than before. More like everyone running together than before. みお sang too. Her voice was no longer only gentle. There was light in it. There was courage. And there was a strength that could finally lift its head and look forward. When Mio heard her voice, she could not help smiling happily. “That’s more like it!” Teto shouted too, “みお is on fire!” みお blushed, but she did not stop. “I am not!” She said that, but her voice was brighter than ever. When the audience heard it, another wave of cheers rose. The sound of the band pushed toward its highest point. The drums were like a running heartbeat. The bass was like solid earth. The guitars were like burning wind. The keyboard was like shining light. The singing was like everyone’s hearts flying into the sky together. In that moment, the stage of the Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival no longer felt like a small corner inside the gymnasium. It felt like the brightest center of youth itself. During the final chorus, the ten of them stood together in the light. Each of them burned in their own way. Miku’s smile was dazzling. Teto’s voice was fiery. Mio’s gaze sparkled. みお’s melody was steady. Rin and Len were clear like sunlight. MEIKO and KAITO firmly supported everyone. Luka was elegant and gentle. Gakupo was quiet yet reliable. And the audience below answered them with every voice they had. Just before the final note was about to fall, みお suddenly lifted her microphone. “Everyone—!” Her voice rang through the whole venue. “Thank you for singing with us until now!” The cheers from below surged upward like waves. みお smiled and continued, “Then let’s send out the final sound together too!” The ten of them sang the final line at the same time. The audience sang the final line with them. All the instruments pushed to their peak in the same instant. The lights burst open. Streamers and paper flowers filled the stage. The final beat fell. Boom! The world seemed to go silent for one second. Then— the entire venue erupted. Cheers, applause, screams, and the light of glow sticks all surged toward the stage together. みお stood in the light, her chest rising and falling heavily. She was so tired that her fingertips felt numb. But she could not stop smiling. Mio walked to her side, her voice full of pride. “See? You really did it.” みお looked down at the audience. At that sea of light still shining for them. She nodded softly. “Yeah.” This time, she did not say she had only been pushed forward by everyone. She did not say she had merely managed to keep up. Because she knew. That song had contained her voice. Her melody. And a part of the light she had lit with her own hands. Miku came over and placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile. “みお, you were super passionate just now.” みお smiled shyly. “I… didn’t know I could sing like that either.” Luka said gently, “That’s because it was how you feel now.” Gakupo spoke quietly from beside them. “Good. You didn’t lose yourself, and you didn’t step back.” みお looked at him. That brief praise made her heart feel warm. Teto suddenly raised her hand. “Then, Captain みお! Next time, lead us into another charge too!” Rin laughed along. “I want to join Team みお too!” Len smiled helplessly. “The team keeps getting bigger.” KAITO laughed softly. MEIKO cheerfully tapped the edge of the drum. “Not bad. You’ve got spirit.” みお blushed at everyone’s words, but she did not panic anymore. She simply held her keytar and slowly smiled. The audience below was still calling their names. And at last, she could lift her head and receive those voices directly. Because this time, she knew she was not merely standing on the stage. She was part of the band. And she was one beam of light that helped set this performance ablaze.