One-way traffic

"That's true. Miku-nee should be perfect in everything she does, right?"

"Hmm...could it be that he secretly went to see someone he likes?"

"That's not true at all! Rin, don't talk nonsense..."

Amidst the commotion of the crowd, the girl quickly sat down beside them.

Megurine Luca with her long pink hair, Meiko with her short chestnut hair, and Kaito with his ice-blue hair—Rin and Len Kagamine, shining like twin stars.

And finally, Hatsune Miku.

They are all idol groups belonging to the same agency, namely VOCALOID, the world's largest idol group today.

For Hatsune Miku, they are like family, giving her a wonderful sense of warmth and closeness.

Sitting at the stall that had already been set up, Hatsune Miku gently picked up a piece of sushi from the box and began to taste it.

"It tastes really good, Meiko-nee!"

"This is a new technique I just learned a few days ago, and I really need you guys to give it a good taste. I'd be so happy if it suits my palate!"

"So, we're just guinea pigs...?"

"Hmm? Kaito-kun, is there anything you'd like to say?"

Seeing Meiko staring intently at him like that, Kaito didn't dare to say anything he had wanted to say.

His face showed only simple helplessness.

"That's right, that's right."

Kagamine Len immediately took out his phone and, under the watchful eyes of the others, opened a strange app.

The other five were stunned.

"Lian... what are you going to do?"

"Hehe, there's a new software recently released online that supposedly can calculate the time and distance of a comet's approach to Earth! Maybe we'll be able to see the comet soon, I'll have to calculate it carefully!"

"These kinds of things are usually scams, how could they possibly be done with just a mobile app?"

Kagamine Rin said with a hint of disdain, while Kagamine Len raised an eyebrow.

"Then we'll have to wait and see."

"Hmph! Fine, I'll see just how capable your so-called app really is!"

The two of them were staring intently at their phones like little kids, which made the others both amused and exasperated.

However, the people around them soon began to be surprised.

"Oh! That's a comet!"

Someone in the distance shouted something, and everyone started looking up at the sky.

A blue-white, aurora-like glow shone on the distant horizon.

Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"It's a comet! It's really coming!"

"Quick, quick, try that app to see if it works! I really want to record those specific values!"

"If I could, I'd like to see what the surface of a comet looks like, but that's definitely impossible..."

Everyone was pleasantly surprised by this.

After all, it was a comet that even scientists couldn't predict in time, so it was impossible to immediately determine whether it was real or not. But now it seems that it is undoubtedly real.

"Um, if it's a comet, we should be able to make a wish, right?"

Hatsune Miku looked at everyone and said with some anticipation.

"Miku-nee, is it really possible for that to succeed? There's absolutely no scientific basis for it."

"You can't say that. This kind of thing isn't suitable for judging with scientific evidence. It's like a white lie; once you expose it, it loses its meaning."

"That's true, everyone. Why don't we make a wish on the comet too?"

Led by Megurine Luca, the group all looked in the direction of the comet.

Put your hands together and make a gesture similar to making a New Year's wish.

They all closed their eyes and silently made a wish in their hearts.

then.

Hatsune Miku, I sensed something was off.

"Hey."

Still in the distance, someone suddenly shouted.

"Hey! Look, guys, isn't that comet hurtling this way?!"

what?

Everyone stared wide-eyed.

They saw it; the comet in the sky was hurtling straight toward Earth.

Although the comet itself wasn't very large, it was heading straight towards their park.

In other words, it was an event similar to a meteorite impact on Earth.

Once everyone realized this, they panicked completely.

"Is that comet actually going to fall down?!"

"Now's not the time to talk about this, let's run away!!"

"Damn it, why did such an absurd thing have to happen?!"

People scrambled to get away from the park as quickly as possible.

Hatsune Miku stared blankly at the sky.

In any case, they never imagined that a comet would fall from the sky.

And it will still fall directly into the park.

"Miku! We need to hurry!"

When Miku came to her senses, the five people around her quickly pulled her away and fled outside the park.

"A comet actually fell down... Why didn't the scientists report such a serious event beforehand?!"

"No, wasn't it said that even scientists couldn't detect this immediately? This is a completely unexpected event!"

Meiko and Kaito quickly led the group out of the park; no one dared to linger in such a place any longer.

but.

Hatsune Miku stopped in her tracks at that moment.

“…Miku?”

Everyone was immediately startled, and then...

They then discovered that Hatsune Miku had run rapidly into the interior of the park.

"Wha, what?!"

Meiko and Kaito stared wide-eyed, while Megurine Luca was utterly terrified.

"What are you going to do, Miku! A comet might hit you there!"

"I'm sorry! But, but I—"

Even Hatsune Miku herself couldn't understand all of this.

Something was guiding her.

Even she herself was unable to control being led towards the park.

Even if a comet is about to fall there, it will be the same.

There's something there that's drawing me in!

——————————————————————————————————————

The girl entered the interior of the park.

The comet had already struck, but it wasn't very big; it was only about the size of a small living room.

however.

"……Eh?"

Hatsune Miku wore an expression that was hard to believe.

She slowly stopped in front of the flames, which were caused by the impact of the comet.

then.

Outside the flames, a figure lay fallen.

A figure dressed in gray and white clothing, with white hair and black electrodes.

She recognized the figure.

It should be said that it's simply impossible to forget.

"Accelerator?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Fateful Connection

Consciousness is incredibly dull.

Whether he was alive or dead was unclear. The only thing this person could feel was that he was in this space.

He opened his eyes, but he couldn't see anything in front of him. It was like the starry sky, with occasional glimmers of starlight twinkling in front of him, but he couldn't understand what they were at all.

Honestly, his thinking ability should have been completely destroyed. Without the electrodes, he should just be a piece of junk.

However, some things have changed.

What is it?

He cannot understand this yet.

"--that's all?"

A voice came from the darkness.

It's impossible to tell if it's a male or female voice. To be honest, this kind of voice is something that shouldn't be understood in this dimension.

"It's much better than I expected, but it doesn't even meet the standard."

"That's why I said that even if you come back, it will be of no use."

then.

The sound disappeared, and so did the light.

Everything became clear to him.

————————————————————————————————————————

"……cough."

The discomfort that had been emanating from deep in his throat gradually subsided, and he opened his eyes.

The first thing that catches the eye is the ceiling, which is a slightly bluish-white color.

The room had a unique fragrance unlike any other room, and the figure was lying directly on the bed. The room's layout had a distinctively girlish style.

The fragrance emanating from the sheets was especially strong.

"This is…?"

He moved his fingers and sat up from the bed.

The entire room exudes such a lovely atmosphere that just one glance at its interior decorations is enough to evoke a fairytale or a shoujo manga-like ambiance.

But something twisted all of this.

The monster lying on the bed distorted this pleasant atmosphere, its aura creating a stark contrast, like a Grim Reaper-type super slaughter robot suddenly appearing in a children's candy park.