🎶春日の響きと記憶の音 — 番外 — 舞台 — From Actors to Guardians

🌸✨ 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 far end of the market was far livelier than any of them had imagined. Wooden shops lined both sides of the street, while vendors neatly displayed vegetables, rice, cloth, and everyday goods outside their storefronts. The air carried a mixture of cooking smoke, tea, and freshly baked pastries, punctuated now and then by the calls of merchants trying to attract customers. If the changes to their bodies had not been so blatantly obvious, Miku might have believed they had simply wandered onto an enormous period-drama set. “This is way too real…” Miku lowered her voice. As she walked, she couldn’t stop looking around. “Even the stuff inside those shops is real.” MEIKO glanced at her. “So don’t touch anything.” “I wasn’t going to.” “You’ve already stared at that steamed-bun stall three times.” “That’s because it smells really good!” “Now isn’t the time to eat.” “I know…” Gakupo, walking at the front, did not join their conversation. He remained on guard. His long purple hair swayed gently with every step, and his right hand never strayed far from the wooden sword at his side. Luka walked beside him. She still wasn’t used to her current male body. Every so often, she would unconsciously adjust the length of her stride, but after walking for a while, she was no longer as stiff as she had been when she first woke up. “The road ahead matches the script pretty closely,” Luka said quietly. “Once we’re through this market, we should reach the warehouse district on the eastern side of town.” KAITO nodded. “In the original story, that area was supposed to be a little rougher.” Len froze. “Wait.” He turned toward KAITO. “Don’t suddenly remind me of that.” Rin immediately grinned. “Scared?” “I am not!” “You totally are.” “I’m saying that if this world really operates according to the script’s setting, then that means the enemies who were originally supposed to appear in the warehouse district…” Len trailed off. Nearly everyone stopped walking at the same time. Teto blinked. “Don’t tell me they actually exist.” “Don’t jinx us,” MEIKO said at once. Teto shrugged. “I’m just making a reasonable assumption.” At the back of the group, Mio had been quietly listening to the others talk when she suddenly frowned. She stopped walking. みお noticed immediately. “Mio?” Mio did not answer. She tilted her head slightly. As if listening for something. “What is it?” Miku asked, turning around as well. Mio raised one hand. “Shh.” Everyone fell silent at once. The market was still filled with voices. The wind. The sound of wooden cart wheels rolling over the stone road. At first glance, nothing seemed unusual. But a few seconds later— BANG! A tremendous crash sounded in the distance. Then came a scream. “Aah—!” Everyone’s expression changed at once. Gakupo spun around. “East.” Luka already had a hand on her wooden sword. “The warehouse district.” “Go!” KAITO shouted. All ten of them broke into a run. The clatter of wooden sandals and shoes echoed over the stone pavement. The townspeople walking through the market hurriedly moved aside. The closer they got to the eastern district, the clearer the screams became. “Move!” “Run!” “Someone’s broken in!” A woman clutching a child came rushing toward them in a panic. Gakupo immediately stepped aside. “What happened up ahead?” The woman’s face was pale with fear. “There—there’s a group of men with swords!” She pointed toward the warehouse street. “They suddenly stormed in and chased away everyone who was guarding the place!” “How many?” Luka asked. “I don’t know… more than ten, maybe even more!” With that, the woman hurried away with the child in her arms. The group exchanged glances. The easygoing look on Len’s face vanished completely. “So there really are enemies…” Rin tightened her grip on her wooden sword. “Well, at least we don’t have to wonder whether we’re still filming anymore.” MEIKO frowned. “Don’t do anything reckless.” “I know.” When they rounded the final corner, the scene ahead finally came fully into view. The once-peaceful warehouse street was in chaos. Several wooden crates had been knocked over. Burlap sacks had been cut open, spilling rice all over the ground. The townspeople had all taken refuge at a distance. More than a dozen unfamiliar men occupied the middle of the street. Some carried wooden clubs. Others held real swords. Their leader was in the middle of kicking open the door to one of the warehouses. “Take everything we can carry!” “Yes!” The instant Miku saw the cold gleam of the blade in the man’s hand, her expression changed. “Wait…” She looked down at her own weapon. “We’ve got wooden swords.” KAITO fell silent for a moment as well. This wasn’t rehearsal. A wooden sword colliding with a real steel blade was an entirely different matter. Teto narrowed her eyes. “Then don’t block the blades head-on.” MEIKO immediately turned toward her. “Don’t give me that look like you’re already about to charge in.” “But we can’t just stand here and watch them rob the place, can we?” “I never said we were going to ignore them.” Gakupo raised a hand. Everyone stopped arguing at once. “Observe first.” His gaze swept rapidly across the street. Fourteen men. Most of them didn’t appear to have any formal training. Loose stances. Some of them were carrying nothing more than clubs. Only four had actual swords. “Don’t get dragged into prolonged fights,” Gakupo said quietly. “Our goal is to drive them off, not defeat every single one of them.” Luka nodded. “Leave the ones with swords to those with more experience.” KAITO stepped forward slightly. “Me, Gakupo, and Len take the front?” “I’m going too,” MEIKO said. Rin immediately added, “Me too.” “You should wait—” Len didn’t even get to finish. Someone up ahead suddenly noticed them. “Hey!” A man holding a club pointed in their direction. “Who the hell are those people?” The others all turned around. Their leader stopped kicking the warehouse door as well. His eyes swept over Gakupo and the others. Then settled on the wooden swords in their hands. For a moment, the man looked stunned. Then he burst out laughing. “HAHAHAHA!” “You think you can come at us with a few sticks?” Several men beside him laughed as well. Miku frowned. Teto’s eyebrow twitched. “I’m starting to dislike these guys.” “You never liked them to begin with,” みお muttered. The leader drew his sword. “If you don’t want to get hurt, get lost.” The next instant— SWISH! He swung the blade violently at a nearby wooden crate. The sword bit deep into the wood, splitting it open. Miku instinctively took half a step back. “…That’s real.” Luka glanced at her. “If you’re scared, stay in the back.” Miku drew a deep breath. She tightened her grip on her wooden sword. “No.” Her blue-green eyes lifted again. “We’ve already come this far.” On the other side, Mio had remained silent the entire time. She simply stared at the enemies ahead. Everything that had happened today was absurd. Originally, they had only been acting. Originally, they had only been using wooden swords to perform choreographed stage combat. Originally, all they had needed to do was follow the director’s instructions—swing at the designated spot, lower their swords, and deliver their lines. But now— There were real people destroying the town in front of them. Real people who were afraid. And they were really standing here. There were no cameras. No director. And no one was going to shout, “Cut.” Mio slowly reached out. Her hand closed around the hilt. みお noticed the movement. “Mio.” Mio drew her wooden sword. Swish—! The tip pointed straight ahead. She was now in a male body. Her voice was deeper than before. But the expression in those purple eyes was exactly the same as it had always been. Then— Mio suddenly raised her wooden sword high. “Everyone—” All eyes turned toward her. A grin spread across Mio’s face. “Charge!” “YEAH—!” Rin and Teto rushed forward almost simultaneously. “Wait! You’re seriously just going in?!” Len complained, but his body was already moving after them. Gakupo and KAITO sprang into action as well. “Luka, right side.” “Got it.” Gakupo went left. Luka went right. The two of them charged the front line at nearly the same moment. A man with a club met Gakupo first. “You’re dead!” The man swung hard. Gakupo did not block directly. He stepped sideways. The club swept past his chest. Then— Smack! His wooden sword struck the man’s wrist with perfect precision. “Ah!” The club immediately fell to the ground. Gakupo reversed his grip and pushed again. The body of his wooden sword pressed against the man’s shoulder, sending him staggering backward. “Next.” On the other side, Luka fought in a completely different way. Rather than overpowering her opponents head-on, she relied more on speed. A man swung a sword at her. Luka immediately stepped back. The blade passed just beside her sleeve. “That was close…!” Before, the change in her body might have thrown off her balance. But after spending the earlier part of the day patrolling the town, she had gradually begun to understand where her new center of gravity was. A second slash came at her. Luka twisted aside. Then— Smack! Her wooden sword struck the back of the man’s hand. “Guh!” His sword nearly slipped from his grip. Luka didn’t give him time to recover. She stepped in at once, braced her wooden sword against his forearm, and used the greater strength of her current body to shove outward. The steel sword fell to the ground. Clang! Luka herself froze for a fraction of a second. “My strength…” She really was stronger than before. “Luka!” Gakupo’s voice rang out. “Behind you!” Luka ducked immediately. A wooden club swept over her head. Gakupo had already rushed over from the other side. Smack! His wooden sword struck the attacker’s shoulder. The man cried out and toppled backward onto the ground. Luka straightened again. “Thanks.” Gakupo smiled faintly. “Don’t space out.” “I know.” Meanwhile, the noisiest part of the entire street was unquestionably wherever Rin and Teto happened to be. “Come on!” Rin knocked aside a wooden club with her sword. “Wait for me!” Len was right beside her. “Stop running so far ahead!” “But I can run super fast now!” “This is not the time to brag about your new body!” Teto came charging from the other side. “Rin, duck!” “Okay!” Rin instantly crouched. Teto’s wooden sword swept over her head. Smack! The club of a man sneaking up behind Rin was knocked clean out of his hands. Rin looked up. “Nice!” “Of course!” The two high-fived. Len looked ready to lose his mind. “Do not high-five right now!” MEIKO followed close behind. “You two, stop messing around!” “We’re taking this seriously!” “In what world is this serious?!” Elsewhere, KAITO had just parried a wooden club. “Miku!” “Coming!” Miku ran over. Still unused to her male body, her stride was a little too long. She nearly crashed straight into KAITO. “Whoa!” KAITO hurriedly caught her. “Careful!” “S-sorry!” “Watch the front!” The enemy charged again. Miku clenched her teeth. Relying on the movements she remembered from rehearsal, she gripped her sword in both hands. “Hah!” Smack! Her wooden sword slammed into the opponent’s club. The force was much greater than she had expected. The man was actually knocked back two whole steps. Miku stared. “Huh?” KAITO stared at her too. “You’re really strong now.” Miku herself looked amazed. “I know!” Then her eyes lit up. “This body is actually really useful!” “Don’t start getting excited about it now!” Mio and みお, meanwhile, stayed together the entire time. One on the left. One on the right. They barely needed to speak. Mio raised her sword. みお instantly knew which direction she intended to attack. みお stepped back. Mio naturally moved into the opening she left behind. A man with a club charged straight between them. Mio moved left. みお moved right. The man froze. “Which one—” Smack! Mio struck his wrist. Smack! みお immediately followed with a strike to his opposite shoulder. “Ah!” The man spun halfway around on the spot before crashing down onto his rear. The twins stopped their swords at the same time. Mio blinked. みお blinked too. “Are we maybe a little too in sync?” “We’ve always been like this.” “But we’ve never fought people together before.” “Well, now we have.” They both laughed. The enemies who had occupied the entire warehouse street quickly fell into disarray. “What is with these people?!” “They’re not ordinary patrol guards!” “The purple-haired guy is strong!” “So is the pink-haired one!” “And those two who look exactly alike!” Their leader’s expression grew darker by the second. At first, he had assumed the people facing him were nothing more than a group of youngsters waving around wooden swords. But once the fighting actually began, the coordination between the ten of them was unnaturally smooth. Especially the purple-haired man at the front—Gakupo. His movements were nothing like random flailing. No unnecessary swings. No chasing enemies down. Every strike was meant only to disarm, break balance, or force the opponent backward. And Luka was constantly at his side. Their positions even shifted naturally according to the flow of the fight. When Gakupo advanced, Luka protected his flank. When Luka became surrounded, Gakupo immediately moved in to cover her. “Damn it!” The leader suddenly charged at Luka. “Watch out!” みお shouted. The man raised his sword high. Luka immediately lifted her wooden sword to defend herself. But before the blade could come down— Smack! Another wooden sword slammed into the hilt from the side. It was Mio. “Don’t forget about us!” The impact sent a shock through the man’s arm. Luka seized the opening immediately. She stepped forward. Pressed her wooden sword against the back of his blade. Then shoved outward with all her strength. Clang! The real sword fell onto the stone pavement. Mio immediately followed by pointing the tip of her wooden sword at the man’s chest. “It’s over.” The area suddenly fell silent. The remaining enemies stared at the weapons scattered on the ground. Then at the ten people who had regrouped in front of them. No one dared to step forward. Their leader gritted his teeth. “Fall back!” “Move!” The men quickly helped their companions to their feet. Then fled toward the far end of the warehouse district in disarray. Teto immediately started after them. “Don’t run!” Gakupo reached out and stopped her. “No need to chase them.” “But—” “Our goal is to protect the town.” Teto stared at the fleeing figures in the distance. At last, she reluctantly lowered her sword. “Fine.” Only after the men had completely disappeared from view did everyone finally relax. A few seconds later— “…” They looked at one another. Their clothes were disheveled. Their hair was a mess. There was even dust smeared across Rin’s sleeve. Miku was breathing hard. Len had his hands braced against his knees. MEIKO was checking to make sure no one had been injured. KAITO, meanwhile, picked up the real swords lying on the ground and carefully placed them off to one side. Finally— Everyone’s gaze slowly settled on Mio. Mio blinked. “What?” Rin suddenly grinned. “‘Everyone—charge!’” She deliberately copied the pose Mio had made while raising her sword. Teto immediately joined in. “That was so cool!” Mio’s expression froze. “Wait.” Miku laughed too. “You really looked like the main character in a drama.” “I was just…” みお stood beside her, trying not to laugh. “You shouted it really loudly.” “Don’t you start too!” Mio’s ears instantly turned red. Rin raised her wooden sword. “Everyone—” “Do not do it again!” “Charge—!” “Rin!” Laughter instantly filled the entire street. The townspeople who had been hiding slowly began to emerge from behind doors. Some looked astonished. Some looked relieved. Others began thanking them. And as the ten of them stood in the middle of the crowd, a very strange feeling suddenly came over them. Only a few hours ago— They really had just been acting. Holding wooden swords. Wearing costumes. Preparing to follow the script and patrol a town that didn’t exist. But now— They had really driven off enemies. They had really protected the people here. Gakupo looked into the distance. The direction those men had fled led toward the mountain road beyond the outskirts of town. Luka noticed where he was looking. “What are you thinking?” “Those men didn’t look like they acted on impulse,” Gakupo said. Luka’s smile slowly disappeared. “You mean…” “They knew there were supplies in the warehouses.” KAITO walked over. “And they knew there weren’t many guards here.” MEIKO frowned as well. “They might come back.” Mio tightened her grip on her wooden sword again. Her face, which had still been red from everyone teasing her moments earlier, became serious once more. “Then we keep patrolling.” みお moved to stand beside her. “Yeah.” Miku nodded. Rin and Teto stopped joking around as well. Len rested his wooden sword on his shoulder again. KAITO looked toward Gakupo. “Captain?” Gakupo gave him an exasperated look. “When exactly did I become the captain?” Luka smiled faintly. “Probably when you started giving everyone orders back there.” Gakupo was silent for two seconds. In the end, all he could do was sigh. “Fine.” He looked at the others. “We’ll inspect the eastern side of town again.” “Especially the warehouses, the entrances, and the roads along the outskirts.” Mio rested her wooden sword over her shoulder. A grin returned to her face. “Got it.” Then, deliberately, she took a deep breath. Len immediately grew wary. “What are you doing now?” Mio raised her wooden sword high. “Everyone—!” “Stop shouting that!” Once again, the group burst into laughter. And so— The ten people who had originally come here merely to act in a production set off down the street once more, wooden swords in hand. Except this time, they were no longer patrolling simply because the script told them to. Because somehow— the safety of this town really did seem to be falling into their hands.