Everlasting Sunrise

Vivid DAYBREAK's 3rd Anniversary Event

Coming soon...

Chapter One

It was becoming monotonous; where passion once burned now laid the ashes of passive obligation.The early morning sunrays shone through the windows of the empty cafe, leaking in between the gaps of the decorative leaves and highlighting every dust particle. Cleaning and preparations were split among Miku, Kaito, and Luka, easing the workload between each other. Chairs were pushed back into their corresponding tables as the faded chalk of the specialty drinks menu became legible again. With 10 minutes to spare before opening hours, Luka quietly made her way into the corner booth, having finished refilling the ingredients behind the counter, and let her mind glaze over while she enjoyed the peaceful moment to herself. She tried to recall the breathing techniques she taught herself.But, this moment was short lived. The doors flew open, the sound of the handle slamming against the building wall as their hyperactive rapper came barreling through the cafe, jumping excitedly with a flyer in her hand. As much as she loved the girl, the pounding of Rin’s heavy platform sneakers against the floorboards as 10:00AM was just now approaching made Luka’s head pound. She didn’t exactly get the most sleep, but she tried her best to swallow any visible exhaustion. Len came jogging through the door a second after, stopping next to Rin and desperately catching his breath.“I.. I told you.. to slow down..,” he breathed out.“Not my fault you're slow! Look, this is important!”The page Rin held was splashed with several neon colors all over it. With the girl flailing around, it was hard to make out the details, but the bolded words at the top were clear: Dance Competition. Now Luka was wide awake.“The first place prize is a PS5! I’ve been telling you guys how much I want one!” Rin pointed at Luka, “And with this girl doing our choreography, it’s a guaranteed win!”Despite enjoying their break, Luka couldn’t be surprised that she was the first person to point to when in need of a dance. After all, it was her thing—it was her job! It was what she did all the time, undoubtedly the reason why she was even in this SEKAI. And, well, mapping a dance for them on the spot that would be a surefire win for a competition? That was just Tuesday for her. She was more than ecstatic to help Rin with the competition. Luka could barely even contain her own excitement, fidgeting with her hands and wiping the moisture from her palms. All eyes stared at her, waiting for the obvious answer.“You know, we can just buy one for you if you really want it that badly,” Luka spoke, pulling out from her booth. She was tempted to make her way back to the second floor of the cafe but was blocked by the tall brunette giving her an odd look from atop the stairs“No way, there’s no glory in that! It’s way cooler if I win one—I mean we win one!” Rin held the flyer closer to Luka’s face, now being able to make out the graphics of sunglasses and surfboards. “Besides, it’s getting held at the beach. You guys don’t wanna go to the beach?”“..I could definitely use a vacation right now,” Kaito mumbled to himself.It hadn’t been long since the days of Ghost and the chaos that psycho created, and seeing Kaito's tired expression brought Luka back the moment she extended a hand to him that twilight evening. It was usually the stylist pushing a front of unfazed confidence, but she had to admit that she was holding up a mask of her own back then—no one would be reassured by somebody trembling in their own fear. Luka wondered if the weariness she was feeling now was the anxiety of that awful situation catching up to her.Kaito continued, “When is it?”“Oh, good question.” Rin pulled the paper away and studied the page. “It’s in 2 weeks! Pfft, that’s plenty of time for you, Luka.”Luka flinched. Of course, they were spoiled by how she pumped out moves for them like they should’ve already had it memorized, but clearly, recent events have affected her train of thought—she could barely bring herself out of bed, let alone make an entire choreograph. But, she spoke faster than she could think.“Yeah! I can get it done before today’s even over. And then we can really work on perfecting it!”As soon as the words fell from her mouth, Luka regretted it—the crashing thud of her heartbeat drumming in her ears as her shoulders froze, and her sight became a daze trying to process what she put herself in. Both agreed to be in the competition, but her demeanour was a stark contrast to Rin who was practically vibrating, ready to jump through the ceiling at any moment. As Kaito was trying, and failing, to calm her elation, Meiko made her way down the stairs from where she had overheard the entire conversation, her footsteps sharp as she made a b-line straight over to the group.“ █ █ █ █ ..“ Meiko called, but the dancer’s gaze stayed fixed. “Lu █ █ .. Luka!” She called again, her brows creasing.The woman’s voice, calm yet authoritative, was enough to draw the attention of the others in the room, though she only intended to invoke a reaction from the frozen girl beside her. Luka hadn't even noticed the firm grip Meiko had placed on her shoulder until everything fell to a stiff silence. The change in atmosphere, and Meiko’s grounding presence by her side, broke Luka out of her trance, the ringing in her ears fizzling out. Her head turned to meet Meiko’s vermillion eyes.“Are you sure you want to do this?” The woman asked her.Rin’s energy dropped, “Why, what’s wrong?”“You don’t have to do this if you’re not feeling up to it,” Meiko continued, “We can just enjoy the event without participating.” She removed her hand from Luka’s shoulder and placed it on her hip, offering an empathetic smile.Luka's eyes shifted from Meiko to Rin. Holding the flyer close to her chest, Rin appeared to shrink inwards, paper wrinkling as she slowly moved her hands closer together.“Uh, I mean.. yeah. If you don’t wanna then, like, it’s not a big deal, honestly.” Her eyes were glued to her sneakers as she shuffled awkwardly, looking a little dejected at the thought of not participating. “We can just enjoy the beach!” She grinned, but her voice had a hint of wavering to it.Luka’s chest tightened at the sight of their ray of sunshine being snuffed out, but.. She couldn’t pretend anymore. At this point, she understood; the feeling that was bubbling inside her was a feeling she knew all too well—no, she was past that now. She already learned how to push things to the back of her mind and forget about it, and she could do it again. After all, Luka was the girl who got the job done no matter the exhaustion creeping on her; she had a formula perfected of going through every move until it was up to her standards. Despite the all-nighters and the countless rehearsals by herself, ending a performance with a standing ovation and seeing the smiles on her friends’ faces made every last gruelling minute in her studio worth it.But, maybe it was that rinse-and-repeat system that had left Luka’s recent choreography feeling empty. The others wouldn’t say anything, not versed enough in dancing to notice, but she would still be able to feel it, and it would never sit right to pass that off.Luka fingers twitched before she balled them into tight fists. “I want to do it,” she spoke with certainty as she stood up straight. Maybe this was just the challenge she needed to break the cycle.With growing enthusiasm, she continued, "Besides, Kaito is right. We could all use that vacation, and snagging a PS5 along the way doesn't sound so bad!” She slyly winked.Rin’s face lit up as she looked at Luka before snapping her head towards Meiko, awaiting confirmation. The brunette’s gaze lingered on Luka for just a moment more before closing her eyes with a small nod of approval, allowing a shallow chuckle to escape her lips at the thought of having to review the group’s schedule yet again with their manager. Kaito just barely dodged a smack to the face as the small girl’s arms flew up with a shout; sneakers squeaking on the floor as she sprung.“ALL RIGHT! This is gonna be so awesome! Thank you, Luka!” Rin jumped in pure joy at their agreement.“Oh man, you guys are really going to do it?” Len said, having caught his breath.Rin smacked his shoulder. “What do you mean ‘you guys’? You know you’re doing this too, right?”“No way!” The boy exclaimed back. “You know I don’t care about competitions.”“Yeah, I was hoping to relax myself,” Kaito added, Miku nodding along.Rin’s expression dropped in disappointment, as she realized not everyone was going to be interested in participating, but Luka swooped in.“Don’t worry, it can just be you and me! We’ll crush it, okay?”Rin brightened and cheered once more before very quickly halting her own excitement, “Wait! I don’t have a bathing suit.. Do we even have beach things?”“Will this be all of our first times going to the beach?” Len asked.Miku thought for a second, “Hmm, no, we went there once before, but that was so long ago! I’ll help you and Len pick something out, and we’ll grab some other stuff while we’re there.”Rin, still full of energy, cheered for a third time and bolted to the door, her thanks barely audible. Miku and Len followed behind her and waved goodbye to the others. The door handle slammed into the wall for a second time, forming a small dent.The cafe returned to that tranquil environment Luka was enjoying just a few moments ago. Meiko eyed the new dent with exasperation, lifting the hand by her side to her temple, rubbing it in small circles.“You’ll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that.” Kaito joked, poking her forehead and earning him an unimpressed look in return. Luka stifled a small giggle.“Alright you two, I better tend to the cafe.” Meiko sighed, already looking down the corridor, the muffled conversations from the main entrance echoing around them.Rin's colorful exit had attracted quite the crowd, and the cafe’s new speciality drinks menu was already going viral for being "the best summer refreshers to beat the heat". It wasn’t long until the place became swamped with visitors with a line formed outside the door. While Meiko took care of the customers, Kaito took a look at the door handle that now hung sadly on its hinges after taking its fair share of beatings today, along with the dent in the wall. Grabbing his toolkit, Luka questioned whether he picked up the odd job out of good faith or if he just wanted to get out of cleaning duty. He gave no clear answer, but she knew it was the latter.Deciding to leave the cafe, Luka was left alone with only her footsteps and her thoughts.

Over the days, Luka worked herself to the bone creating a winning choreography. Papers littered with dance moves surrounded her—sketches scribbled out, redrawn, and then scribbled out again. Coffee became her only beverage, she added extra concealer under her eyes to her makeup routine, and she missed the day she was meant to touch up her roots.Luka saw the mess she became in the studio mirror, but even with all the work she did, it wasn’t enough. Her moves felt too repetitive, too clunky, too slow. They lacked the fluidity that usually echoed throughout the motions of the group. The sheets have frayed with use—crumpled up and littered in her trashcan and desk and floor and bed and anywhere else it could fit. Luka slumped into her chair and sighed. No matter what she did, it wouldn’t be enough to win the competition.There was a whisper inkling in Luka's mind: it was all pointless in the end. Even after this mess, she had nothing to show for it. But, the sight of Rin’s gloomy expression flashed in her mind. No, she couldn’t give up now, not when she had someone depending on her. She swallowed her thoughts and stared at the mirror with determination—there was only one way this week was going to end.The day before their trip, Luka cut her time in the studio early, wanting to make it back home in time to pack. She stumbled into the cafe, trying to play it off as just a trip on the air, but she knew that if someone were able to see through it, it would be Meiko, left tidying up for the evening. That woman was too attentive, like she was watching them under a microscope. Sometimes Luka couldn’t tell if she respected or despised it; she even noticed that Luka was wearing twice her usual amount of concealer.Meiko walked up to her, helping her friend to a table. “Luka, are you sure you’re alright?” She inquired softly.“Uh.. huh? Oh, yeah.. ‘m fine..” Luka yawned. Meiko brought over a freshly brewed Spiced Chai Latte; she gingerly took a sip as her mind drifted. “This is really good, Meiko. Thank you.”Meiko sighed fondly. “You’re welcome.” She quickly glanced around the area to make sure no one else was nearby before continuing, “But we need to talk.”Oh, Luka knew this tone, it was the same kind Meiko would use on Rin and Len when she was scolding them. Luka squirmed in her seat, her eyes looking anywhere but at the woman in front of her.“It’s because of the dance competition, isn’t it?” Meiko’s gaze fixed on Luka.Luka tensed. “Well, you know I’m always tired after creating a choreograph—”“Luka.”There was no way out of it. Luka already knew she lost as she slid down in her seat. “You got me.”Meiko’s gaze softened, “Luka, you don’t have to force yourself to finish. We can buy Rin a PS5 as a surprise.”Luka chuckled. “Sorry, I’m ahead of you there. It’s already done.”Meiko narrowed her eyes for a moment before conceding with a huff. “Alright, Luka. Just.. get some sleep, okay? You’ll need it for tomorrow.” She winked at her.Luka nodded. “Thanks.” She got out of her seat and made her way upstairs, thankful that Meiko didn’t press the issue.“But,” the woman stopped her in her tracks, “I’ll be with you and Rin, now. So you won’t be alone.”Luka stared for a second, trying to read if Meiko had other motives behind this decision, but she was too tired to detect anything. Instead, she gave a silent nod before continuing to her room.

The morning sun shone into Luka’s eyes. She was still groggy getting up, but it was the most sleep she had in a while. Downstairs, everyone had already gathered, waiting for their favorite pink-haired dancer. Miku was behind the counter, pouring everyone a beverage before their hour-long car ride to the shore, with Kaito and Meiko chatting at the bar. Rin couldn’t contain herself, practically bouncing off the walls from not just the competition but her first ever beach vacation while Len continued to hype her up, but she stopped when she spotted Luka just barely reaching the last steps.“Luka!”Everyone turned their heads towards her. With the entire group now gathered, they would be ready to set off soon.Meiko walked up to Luka, taking the duffle bag and placing it on her own shoulder. “Get enough sleep?”“Yeah.” The girl responded, giving a slight but genuine smile.Kaito locked the doors of the cafe, its handles fixed as good as new, and double checked with everyone that they had everything they needed: toothbrushes packed, bags in the trunk, drinks in the cup holders, youngsters in the back, absent sign on the door, keys on his body—they were good to go. With Kaito as the driver, and Meiko claiming shotgun, Luka was stuck with the middle seat. Her view was mostly blocked by the rearview mirror, but it wasn’t anything to complain about. In the reflection, she could see Rin pressed between Len and Miku, carrying the bright smile that made all of those sleepless nights worth it. Peeking out behind her was the view of the cafe fading further into the distance as they sped down the roads of the Celestial SEKAI.

Chapter Two

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Chapter Three

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Chapter Four

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Chapter Five

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