Epilogue

They partly wished that they've brought a picnic blanket, but sitting on the grass wasn't so bad either, ignoring the fact that it was a bit ticklish and an ant had crawled up Miku's arm until she looked down at her sandwich to find a wriggly black speck clinging onto the bread. With a shriek, she tossed the sandwich as far as possible – into the lake – and was now stealing bites from Rin's bento. Kaito chuckled, and Meiko picked at her salad while she watched, amused, as Rin protest against Miku's large, famished bites.

"I'm hungry!"

"Go buy yourself something else then! The cafeteria's right there!"

And there was a certain pink-haired girl heading out of the cafeteria into the clear, spring day. The air quivered in on tense neutral ground between spring and summer, and many students had decided to venture out onto the vast Academy campus to spend their lunch break, but Teto, her hot pink hair bright against the beating sun, was the only one who caught Meiko's eye.

The teenage girl's pink eyes swept through the open grounds, and were attracted by frantic waving from a person sitting with a few others near the lake.

"Hey, Teto!" Meiko's powerful voice reached her ears easily. "Come on!"

It was awkward, suddenly joining a group of people you barely knew, except-

"Hey, you're in my Art class, aren't you?" Rin's smile was beautiful, untainted by greed, her voice high and sweet but casual and welcoming.

"I remember you!" and Len was ready to trust whoever his sister trusts, but it was no longer blind obedience. "You sit just across the room, right?"

Teto nodded timidly, a small smile hanging on her lips. She simply could not blame them for things they don't even remember doing.

Spring was passing, summer was coming, and it was a new beginning, after all.

~o*o~

"Shut up!"

"You shut up first!"

Sibling rivalry is truly something mysterious, entertaining, but very complicated in the network of emotions threaded into each insult.

"You snot-faced, pig nosed piece of-"

"We basically have the same face, you idiot!"

"You-! Just stop stealing my dessert!"

"Well, sorry to be you, but I made it!"

Haku's voice was exasperated and amused at that same time as she patted her friend on the shoulder. "Neru, calm down…"

Iroha chuckled, turning to Yukari, who sat across her. "I doubt I'd ever be able to get use to so many people."

"Oh, I don't know," Yukari replied, smiling quietly. She glanced at Rion, who was silently watching the entire exchange by one side, grinning as the others goofed around. "I'm plenty happy here."

"Didn't say I wasn't," Iroha retorted.

"Don't worry," Gumi interjected. "Neru's always like that." She nudged IA. "Remember when she got so mad at Nero she ran away from her own dorm room?"

Iroha was incredulous. "She what?"

Beside her, Hibiki turned towards them. "Who what?" Piko blinked, curious.

"Well, we were just reminiscing about that time when Neru-"

"Shut up!" The blonde's face flushed in anger and embarrassment.

Of course, Nero would take any opportunity to stand against his sister. "Dude, you seriously need to improve your insults. Using shut up so many times would only make you sound stupid and uneducated."

"No wonder she ran away," a quiet voice spoke up. "If you told me education was how to swear and different ways to tell people to shut their trap, I'd run away from you too."

Nine pairs of wide eyes pivoted to Rion, not expecting the comment to come from her, of all people.

Then, very slowly and deliberately, Hibiki drew in a deep breath, and said, "Buuuuurrn."

And that was when they cracked. Laughter overflowed uncontrollably, accompanied by tears of mirth, even though the situation had not been particularly funny. But it was a bright, happy day, and they were willing to match their mood with the weather. The moment seemed almost perfect, a fond memory to look back and clutch close, seemingly unable to be broken by anyth-

"Um…"

And Mayu was laughing then, on her perch on the roof of the school. She clutched her stuffed bunny close as she giggled, her axe resting beside her leg, the polished blade reflecting the sunlight. It was just so funny though, and she thought that things just couldn't get any better.

Hibiki Lui's mouth was clamped shut, his face slowly reaching the shade of a tomato as Ring Suzune peered curiously at the boisterous group, most of whom were still chuckling.

"If you don't mind…" she began timidly, "May I join…?"

And that was the last of the conversation Mr. Hiyama heard. He had decided that the students outside were a bit too rowdy for his concentration, as he still had several piles of papers to grade, and so he slid his window shut, willing to sacrifice the soothing warm breeze that had previously flowed into his office. But annoying as the children may be sometimes, the teacher couldn't help but smile as he glanced at each of their open, comfortable expressions.

The students weren't just happy, they were something more. They were together, they were friends. They had broken down walls to breathe in the fresh air and they were alive.

They were at home in a school perched in the middle of an overgrowing forest, and to them, it was just another day at the Vocaloid Academy.

Just another bright, living day that will last forever and ever, and the laughter shall never end.

~The End~

We're done! Thanks for reading! Bye!