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Ena and Akito knew that they were screwed the second their fuming principal demanded they take a seat outside of his office, to wait until he summoned them inside for their inevitable accosting.
Neither sibling thought that it was fair that they were being punished so quickly for what they both considered to not be worthy of punishment, especially seeing as Rui and Tsukasa can actively set bombs off in school halls and still manage to walk away scot free.
Ena’s arms were crossed tightly while Akito’s leg bounced in anxiety. Occasionally they’d share a nervous glance, one of solidarity, before feeling the judgemental eyes of the receptionist trained on them like a hawk. They were covered in untreated bruises and scrapes, though with all their nervousness they hardly felt the wounds anymore.
It really wasn’t their fault.
Okay well, yeah it was a little bit, but there was nothing else they could do!
Ena had switched to day classes weeks ago in an attempt to socialize more (especially with Mizuki) and try to get out of her room (which at this point was like her cave). It was also her attempt at fixing her schedule so that one day when she applies for art school, she wouldn’t have to worry about it then.
The transition had not been smooth.
Ena had never been a morning person, and her internal clock was thrown out of whack with the sudden change. Her late nights with N25 were taking their toll on her, and day classes were brutal for someone who was accustomed to being asleep when she was now expected to write essays and exams.
Akito sympathized with her.
Ever since he’s brought her to his Sekai in his last minute attempt to cheer her up, and then as a result discovered that she had her own, the Shinonomes had been oddly close.
There was a camaraderie between them that had never existed before, or at least hadn’t in a very long time.
Gone were the days of Ena scratching Akito’s face while he pulled at her hair. Now, they had a strangely affectionate relationship. Admittedly they’d spent so long fighting that they had forgotten what normal siblings were supposed to act like.
At first, Akito tried to use Tsukasa and Saki as an example, but he immediately rescinded that idea the second he saw how they interacted. Tsukasa was unbearably doting and was Leo/Need’s number one fan. Saki wasn’t all that different, attending every WonderlandsXShowtime performance while dragging her band along to cheer him on. They’d always end off with tight hugs and phrases like, “You’re the best big bro!” and “I love you dearest sister!”.
…Yeah. They weren’t like that.
If anything, Akito found them closer to the Hinomoris - Shizuku and Shiho.
They also had a prickly relationship, though it was a bit more one-sided than his own, but they still cared about and loved each other dearly.
Still, it wasn’t the best example considering how openly affectionate and caring Shizuku was to her little sister, gladly doing all the work just to get Shiho to smile.
It was sweet and all, but it still wasn’t him and Ena.
Reluctantly Akito was forced to accept that there was no blueprint for mending a strained relationship like theirs. Sibling fights were normal, but they had both resented each other for years. Moving on from that was harder than it seemed.
In spite of that, Akito had to admit… It was kind of nice.
Ena would show up to his classes at lunch and toss a bag at him with a carefully crafted expression of indifference. He’d open it to find pancakes, freshly bought from his favorite bakery, just to look up and see that Ena had vanished.
Sometimes he’d be shopping with Toya when he’d notice an outfit that Ena would like, and would begrudgingly make the purchase quickly before handing it to Mizuki to give her.
He figured they’d love to take credit for it, but they always snitched and told Ena he had done it.
Ena also attended nearly every show that VBS performed, standing as close as she could get alongside Mizuki, who she undoubtedly dragged over there. She’d cheer the loudest, and pretend afterwards that she was just clapping to be polite.
Akito discovered N25’s music, despite Ena insisting he wouldn’t tell him. It wasn’t hard, considering Ena had left her phone out one time, allowing a hologram of Len to appear and offer to send him the link.
He had used a separate account and left comments on it, just about how good the art was. He figured it’d mean a lot to her.
At some point she figured out it was him. He could only guess that Len snitched (or maybe Mizuki did, again) and awaited the uncomfortable confrontation.
She didn’t tease him for it, though. She just knocked on his door lightly and whispered a thank you before leaving. He knew he wasn’t imagining the sniffles that came from the room next door, but he wasn’t worried. He knew they were happy tears.
So yeah. The Shinonomes were figuring their shit out.
Akito was pretty grateful for it, it was nice having a family member on his side. His Father was brutal with his disappointment and made it clear when he wasn’t proud of his children. He held no punches and could be terrifying when he was angry. His Mother was quiet, not necessarily condoning their Father’s actions but not saying anything about it either.
And therein lies Akito and Ena’s current crisis.
The inevitable call home to their parents.
Akito cringed at the thought of their Father slamming open the office door and shooting a venomous glare at the two siblings. He’d act civil enough in front of the school faculty but the second they were home? All bets were off the table. Neither sibling had ever done anything too bad to evoke his wraith, and neither ever wanted to.
Again, it really wasn’t their fault.
Chilling in his empty classroom, Akito had his earbuds in as he listened to the sample of the song An wanted them to sing for an upcoming show. He hummed the melody once he caught onto it, tapping the beat on his jeans as he tried to imagine what kind of choreography they could play around with.
In his distraction he almost hadn’t noticed when Ena appeared in front of his desk, tapping on it insistently to catch his attention. Quickly pulling out the earbuds and letting the wire hang off of his sweater, Akito looked over to see that next to his sister was a hologram of Rin and Len, who were arguing the way they always did. Miku sounded exasperated in the back as she tried to placate them, and he knew he had missed something.
“Uh, what’s up?” He asked as Ena rolled her eyes.
“You need to pay more attention, Rin and Len were calling for you so loudly I could hear them from the hall. They want you to settle a debate, I guess, but if you aren’t more careful someone could spot them!”
Akito cringed at the thought of having to try and explain why they had access to holograms of the world’s most beloved Virtual Singers, remembering Miku’s warning from early in their discovery of Sekai.
“You need to be careful, if people who don’t have a Sekai discover us and try to investigate we could risk compromising the Sekai itself. It’d collapse, we’d have to abandon it to avoid anyone else from trying to sneak in.”
It was an ominous warning that left much to be desired, but Akito hadn’t really wanted anyone to know about the Sekai much back then anyway, so it was fine.
Until earlier today, of course.
“Right right,” He murmured, ruffling up the back of his head. “My bad, I guess I was too caught up in the song.”
Ena’s expression softened slightly as she leaned forward to his phone, underneath the holograms of the still arguing virtual singers, and read off the song title.
“Meltdown? Didn’t you and Kohane already sing this?” Sometimes Akito forgot about how much Ena knew about Vivid Bad Squad now, and that she listened to all of the videos they posted online.
“Uh yeah, but unofficially. We think if we add it to our setlist as a group performance it could make a good showstopper.”
Ena hummed in consideration, while Akito’s words caught the attention of the Vocaloids.
“Oooh!” Rin cheered. “You’re gonna sing my song again?”
Len rolled his eyes. “It’s overrated…”
“Excuse me?!” And so the bickering continued, although slightly out of frame as the hologram grew just enough for the rest of the Vocaloids to appear.
“Nevermind them,” Meiko sighed. “I think it’d be great. You should come in and practice. We all miss you here, you too Ena!”
She blushed at her mention and shrugged as she tried to feign indifference again. She had mentioned a few times to Akito how bizarre it was to interact with his Sekai’s Vocaloids compared to her own - especially Meiko.
“Ah, Ena, I've been meaning to ask!” Luka popped her head in despite Meiko’s protests and leaned forward. “Have you started working on that commission I asked for?”
Ena laughed at the enthusiasm and nodded. “Er, yeah I have. It might take a while though-”
“Oh that’s fine! Ooh wait, maybe you could come here and work on it? We’d love to watch!”
Flustered by the sudden attention switched to her, Ena just gave a sharp nod and looked away blushing at the Vocaloid’s cheer of happiness.
It was a nice moment, but of course it had to be abruptly ruined by the sudden appearance of one of their classmates. Akito didn’t know his name, but he was usually pretty shy and something of a teacher’s pet. When he glanced up and saw the six Vocaloids who were now frozen and staring back at him, he quickly snapped a picture before sprinting out of the room.
“Oh shit-” Akito bolted, running after the kid yelling out for him to stop, that he could explain, but despite his scrawny frame this guy was fast.
Ena was somewhere behind him - not athletic in the slightest and probably miserable at the prospect of using up all her energy for this.
Shoving past other students, Akito finally managed to grab the kid by his backpack straps and pulled him back. The kid tried squirming away but Akito was stronger, and able to snatch the phone out of his hands.
Ena finally caught up, wheezing as she tried to catch her breath. Akito sighed in relief at the fact that this guy hadn’t locked his phone since taking the photo, so deleting it permanently was easy.
He threw the phone back at the kid and rolled his eyes. “Next time mind your business.”
He just nodded frantically before scrambling up and away. Akito only felt a little bad, but he cared more about protecting his Sekai than whoever that guy was.
As he began walking back he froze at the sound of someone else’s grating voice.
“Ooh, the Shinonome are awfully scared of whatever picture that guy took. You don’t think that they’re like that , do you?”
Another kid laughed. “Ewww no way, dude.” A smirk grew on their face. “Besides, we know that they’re both f-”
So maybe a few punches were thrown, and maybe Akito and Ena won the fight since they already had years of practice fighting each other, and maybe they got caught and dragged away by the scruff like misbehaving cats.
And maybe now they were awaiting their executions, hand delivered by their principal in the form of their own parents.
With a snap of a finger and an uncaring glare, Ena and Akito were ushered into the Principal's office, which felt more like a prison interrogation room than anything else.
The Principal was a terrifying man when he wanted to be, a look of pure anger written on his face. The room was silent save for the incessant ticking of a clock and the sound of their own hearts pounding.
“Words cannot describe the absolute disbelief I am in at your abhorrent acts of harm upon your fellow classmates.”
He’s certainly finding words to describe it, though . Akito thought to himself. Does he even know what any of that means?
“-The absolute audacity that you took upon yourselves to maltreat innocent-”
Akito admittedly tuned out most of his speech. Well, up until-
“-And now you both can sit here while I call your parents to inform them of your delinquency.” The Principal seemed satisfied by the sudden dual expressions of fear that struck both of the Shinonomes. “You both can sit right here until they’ve come to pick you up.”
“But they’re at work, they won’t be able to-”
“Then it seems you’ll be waiting a while, hmm Ms. Shinonome?”
Ena seethed as she leaned back in her seat, her fingernails digging into her arms while she glared so hard at the Principal you’d think she was trying to light him on fire.
Akito watched as he picked up his phone - an old digital landline that was clunky and surely had seen better days - blinking when he could’ve sworn he just saw it emit a strangely familiar light.
The Principal cleared his throat as the phone rang, Akito held his breath as he spared them one last look of disgust before the call went through and he spoke.
“Hello? I presume I am speaking to one of the Parents of both Ena and Akito Shinonome?”
This was it. This was where Ena and Akito met their early, unfortunate end.
The voices on the other end were muffled, though they strangely enough sounded rather calm. Akito was endlessly frustrated that they could only hear one side of the conversation.
“Er, Sorry could you repeat that? Your voice is coming out a bit robotic. Ah there we go. Yes well, I’m afraid that I don’t call barring good news. Both of your children were involved in - no, responsible for - an altercation with other students.”
“Yes, I can only imagine your disappointment as parents.”
Geez .
“We can discuss this further but I’ll need at least one parent or guardian to come here directly to the school to pick them up. Ah, wonderful, I will see you then.”
The Principal looked back towards the Shinonomes.
“They’re on their way.”
Akito and Ena were absolutely shaking in their boots when they could hear voices from out in the hall, the sound of footsteps making their way towards the door.
One last exchange of terror, Ena and Akito looked at each other with nothing but pure fear in their eyes. This would be the last day that either Shinonome were seen alive, surely.
The door quickly flew open, and both siblings ducked their heads to stare at the floor, too mortified to look up and see whatever expression was written on their parents faees.
“Ah, Mr. And Mrs. Shinonome, I presume? Oh and er, who might you be?”
Huh? Who else would’ve come along with their parents?
“Yes, sir, I’m Kaito Shinonome, Akito and Ena’s father, it’s good to meet you.”
Akito’s head flew up and his jaw dropped to see that yes, it was the KAITO standing before him in an ill-fitting suit and the fakest mustache he had ever seen. Ena wore a twin expression as Meiko slammed her palm against her face muttering, “Fine I guess we’re going with real names, then…”
“...Yes,” Meiko seethed out. “I’m… Meiko Shinonome, I’m their mother.”
“I’m Luka!” The third voice said cheerily, as the peppy Vocaloid wandered around the office, examining every object and oohing and ahhing at the most mundane of things.
Meiko quickly grabbed her by the hood and dragged her back with a nervous laugh. “Sorry about that, Luka is um… She’s their older sis- cousin! Yes, she’s their cousin. I apologize for her behavior, she’s been studying abroad and um, has forgotten her manners.”
Luka pouted at this but the Principal only nodded seriously. “Ah yes, I understand. The West doesn't take as much consideration into respect as we do.”
Meiko just laughed nervously as she and Kaito sat down on the seats next to the Shinonomes, who were still left staring in complete and utter shock.
The Vocaloids looked so strangely… Real .
Even in their Sekais there was an aura about them that made them appear more robotic, a reminder that they only existed digitally. But now? You could be convinced they were just ordinary people - if not just a bit eccentric.
“What the fuck…?” Akito whispered under his breath before Ena quickly smacked his thigh in a silent plea to keep quiet.
Luckily the Principal didn’t seem to hear him, seeing as he was distracted by the three supposed relatives of the Shinonomes. Looking at them now, Meiko could surely pass as Ena’s mom, but Ena and Akito hardly resembled each other anyway so maybe the Principal wouldn’t question the genetics too closely.
“I am truly sorry to have you bring you both away from your work - Sorry, what is your work exactly?”
Meiko just smiled, it was only strained if you looked close enough to see it. “I run a cafe.”
The Principal nodded, and before Kaito could speak he interjected. “And you’re the famous artist, right Mr. Shinonome?”
Kaito looked panicked for just a moment, like he hadn’t been expecting that answer. In his heart of hearts, Akito knew that he was about to answer truthfully about being a DJ. They would’ve been much more screwed if that were the case.
“Yes sir!” Kaito nodded with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm. “But um, enough about us, you called us in about Ena and Akito?”
The Principal nodded very seriously, his hands clasped on top of his desk. “I’m afraid to tell you that they instigated a fight against other classmates.”
Luka let out a dramatic gasp that somehow went unquestioned. “Our sweet Ena and Akito? But they’d never hurt a fly!”
The Principal kept nodding, you’d think he was a bobblehead at this point. “Ah yes, some children can be very behaved at home but then lash out at school when their parents are not present.”
“This fight they got into,” Kaito said slowly. “Did you ask them why they did it?”
The Principal looked briefly taken aback before recomposing himself. “We have a zero-tolerance for violence in this school, there are no excuses for students to get physical with one another.”
“What about your policy on bullying?” Meiko asked, head tilted with mock innocence, her hand resting on her chin as if she were thinking this for the first time. “Afterall, if our children were being continuously bullied then I think that should be taken into consideration.”
“We don’t have any proof of bullying,” The Principal responded. “But we do have proof of a fight.” He gestured lamely towards the Shinonomes who were still staring at their “parents” in shock.
“Oh, but we do.” Kaito said casually, pulling out a phone that Akito vaguely recognised as… Mizukis? He looked over to Ena who seemed to come to the same conclusion. Kaito pulled up a recording and showed it to the Principal.
It depicted the scene immediately after Akito got his phone back, showing the other students whispering cruel words and snickering behind their backs. Silently Akito was grateful that the part of him chasing that one student was edited out, it would be much more difficult to explain that one away.
The Principal paled at the video, clearly he hadn’t expected this case to be complicated in any way. He paused for a moment, staring at the paused screen right before the actual punches were thrown.
“...I see.” He murmured. “That certainly does… complicate things.”
He was too distracted by the video to see Meiko’s smug grin, Kaito’s relieved sigh, or Luka’s distracted fidgeting.
“I still cannot allow their actions to go unpunished.” The Principal said after a moment of consideration. “However, I must agree that the other students were out of line, and seem to have exaggerated elements of this fight.”
Akito hadn’t realized exactly how tense he was until that moment, when he finally let his body go slack. Was this actually working? Were the Vocaloids actually pulling this ridiculous stunt off?
Meiko nudged Kaito who quickly sat upright, a stern expression on his face. “R-Right, I can assure you that they will learn their lesson when we take them home. This kind of behavior is unacceptable in our household.”
This seemed to really resonate with the Principal, who looked satisfied at this answer. “I trust that you will ensure this never happens again. On that note, I believe that a month of cleaning duty plus a formal apology should suffice… Though I will also make sure the other students apologize as well.”
Akito’s jaw dropped once again. This couldn’t have actually been happening-
“That sounds perfect, sir. Thank you very much.” Meiko stood before extending a formal hand to shake. “I also must say, your tie suits you quite well.”
The Principal tried to hide his blush as he accepted her hand. “O-Oh, Mrs. Shinonome, you're too kind.”
Maybe Meiko was laying it on a little thick, especially considering they had already succeeded. Plus Kaito did not look amused - a now sour expression on his face.
With a few more words to sort of formalities, before the Shinonomes knew it they were being ushered out of the office. Luka walked in the middle of them, arms linked to either sibling beaming. They got a few strange stares from other students - a group of girls very clearly swooning over the Vocaloids - as they made their way outside.
Meiko and Kaito kept up the expressions of two disappointed parents the entire way through. It wasn’t until they were well off school property that Meiko let out a sigh before groaning. Kaito gladly ripped off the mustache and let it fall to the floor.
“That was the most stressful moment of my life. Luka, what were you thinking?! We told you to stay outside!”
The other Vocaloid just pouted, arm’s crossed as she flipped her long pink hair to the back. “I wanted to help. I could’ve totally been the mom!”
Meiko gave her a flat look. “Yeah, no one would’ve believed that.”
“Well- fine, I could’ve been the dad then! It can’t have been that hard if Kaito could do it.”
A scandalized gasp came from the aforementioned Vocaloid, who now seemed jolted out of his grumpiness. Meiko rolled her eyes, resting her hand on his arm.
“And you, stop twisting up your face like that. You looked way too soft in there, I needed to do something to get you angry.”
While Kaito began to argue in his defense, Ena and Akito stared at them, unable to find the words to speak until in unison, “What the fuck?!”
“Oh right,” Kaito laughed. “Sorry to have sprung that on you both, there was no time to let you in on the plan.”
“R-Right and um, how exactly did you- How’re you here? Are you real?” Ena stuttered up.
Luka pinched herself and shrugged. “Real enough!”
Meiko’s expression softened and turned a little sheepish. “We felt really awful that all of this only happened because we popped in unannounced.” She then murmured a little quieter. “Even though frankly we weren’t the ones really causing mayhem…”
“Rin was panicking because she remembered Ena mentioning your father,” Kaito said gently. “That he wasn’t the… most understanding guy around. So we knew we had to do something. Think of this as our way of saying sorry.”
“B-But how did you-?” Akito felt so flustered and unable to look away from how hyperrealistic the Vocaloids all looked.
“We already exist digitally so sneaking into the phone was no biggie,” Luka said, kneeling on the ground and picking at grass with the fascination of a toddler. “Your parents never got the call - and they never will. Anything your school wants to send to your parents has to go through us first.”
“Miku found a way to heighten our holograms to look hyperrealistic, we can even physically interact with you all,” Meiko continued to explain. “Although once it’s over we won’t be able to do it again for a while, it definitely sucks a lot out of us.”
“Holy shit,” Akito whispered, his brain not entirely catching up with what was happening. He had been so certain that his life was over that this abrupt save was really throwing him for a loop. “So then… We’re fine? Dad’s not gonna kill us?”
Ena laughed from the nerves, burying her face in her hands. “I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes… God it was depressing.”
Meiko ruffled both Ena and Akito’s hair as they tried to catch their breath from all of the dramatics. Once they were calm enough they started walking down the city street, moving away from the school.
Akito saw the group’s reflection from a shop window and was shocked at how natural of a family they appeared to be. He mentally fit Rin, Len, and Miku in there and it just seemed right. Then he added the rest of VBS and it all came together. He felt more at home here than he ever could’ve with his real parents. One look at Ena’s melancholy expression told him that she felt the same.
Once they made it to an empty alleyway, hidden from sight, Kaito grabbed Mizuki’s phone and opened up their music app.
“Oh yeah, how did you get that?” Ena asked, staring at the little miku charm she had gotten them as a gift a few months ago.
“It wasn’t hard to find Mizuki, they stand out quite a bit,” Kaito grinned. “I’ll give it to you to return to them after this, but it’s time for us to head back to Sekai.”
Luka’s eyes widened with a frown. “What? But we just got here, can’t we explore and look around? There’s so much I wanna do!”
Meiko grabbed Luka by the hood again, ignoring her whines. “Calm down, we’ll come back eventually.”
Ena tilted her head. “Really?”
“Well of course. Now we have to show up for parent-teacher interviews and stuff like that.”
Akito huffed out a laugh at the idea of the Vocaloids acting as their parents on a more permanent basis. The thought was comforting in a way.
“Besides, Rin and Len are already grumpy that they couldn’t come along, so we shouldn’t keep them waiting.” Kaito added.
“How come? I mean, you brought Luka?”
Meiko just laughed. “Those three are a bit too recognisable, they’d never be able to blend in. There are benefits to having less extravagant designs.” After a moment she just sighed. “God I need a drink…”
Without further adieu, Kaito pressed play on Ready Steady and with a bright flash of light, the group wound up back in Meiko’s cafe, where the Twins and Miku eagerly jumped up to ask questions about how it all went.
As everyone began chattering and laughing, Akito took a step back and watched the scene. A lot has changed lately, but with how close he’s been with Ena lately, VBS improving and reaching new heights, and now this strange mismatched family, he figured that maybe it’d all be alright.