Full summary:
Miku, the bright and bubbly girl everyone loves, will sing no more. Having been hospitalized with a terminal illness, she's already lost her vision, and now she's slowly losing the ability to speak with the voice that sang the music she treasured so much. But it's not just Miku that's been affected by the illness. Kaito, Miku's beloved step-brother, is doing everything he can to find a way to somehow save his precious little sister. Meiko, Kaito's closest and longest friend, is trying to keep Kaito from falling into a pit of despair, all while drinking away her own depression when she's alone at night. Rin, Miku's best friend ever since childhood, is slowly going crazy under the stress and grief, and begins to see a boy reflected in the mirror every time she looks at it named Len. Everyone seems to be preparing themselves for Miku's ultimate demise. But can't anyone save her?
Chapter One
A light breeze drifted through the open window, causing the white curtains to flutter gently before settling back into place. Pale sunlight flooded the room with a warm glow, but still the plain white of everything seemed cold and unwelcoming. Despite it being late August, Kaito got shivers just from being here.
"I'm back," he called as he entered the room and took a seat in the chair next to the bed.
Miku turned her head toward him and smiled warmly. "Good morning! Er... or is it afternoon?"
"It's afternoon," Kaito replied.
"Right," Miku chuckled a bit sheepishly. "I never can tell anymore. Guess I've been here too long, huh?"
Kaito didn't feel like pointing out the fact that she couldn't tell because she was blind now, so he merely sighed and simply responded with, "Yeah, you've certainly been here too long."
"Hey, don't sound so sad, Kaito! Things could be worse," Miku said in an attempt to reassure him.
"Like how?" Kaito asked, not at all convinced that things could get any worse.
"Well, I could be dead."
Kaito knew this was meant as a joke, a very crude one at that, but it didn't make him feel any better. Then again, Miku was known for her strange sense of humor. Kaito sighed again and leaned back in his chair, observing the surprisingly cheerful face of his little sister. Technically, they were only related in the sense that a few years ago Kaito's mother married Miku's father after both suffered a divorce with their previous partners, but to Kaito they might as well have been born siblings from the start. Miku was a year younger than he was, and she was always a bundle of energy and joy. Her favorite thing to do was sing, and people would always be entranced by her voice whenever she did. She loved it so much that she sang her heart out every day. Well, she used to, anyway. Kaito couldn't help but wonder if he would ever get to hear Miku sing again.
"You're thinking about depressing things again, aren't you?" Miku pouted and puffed her cheeks out in annoyance.
"How can you tell?" Kaito asked, slightly surprised.
"Because I know you! You've been way too quiet for too long, so you must be thinking about sad things," Miku answered.
For someone who couldn't see anything, she was oddly observant.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I mean, everyone's been thinking about sad things lately, so you can't really blame me, can you?" Kaito pointed out.
Miku gave a thoughtful hum and began fiddling with her bed sheets. She was silent for a moment, before she responded slowly. "Rin comes to visit me sometimes... but every time she does she ends up crying and I don't know what to do about it. What with my condition becoming steadily worse and all, I can't exactly do much to reassure her. All I can do is listen to her sob uncontrollably, and it's absolutely heartbreaking."
Kaito knew about the blonde girl's visits. Rin had been best friends with Miku for the majority of her life, and she seemed to not be able to handle the fact that Miku was so close to dying. Rin's own health had been deteriorating ever since Miku was admitted into the hospital, and the young girl was generally advised against visits. Still, Rin would come occasionally to see her friend, only to end up in tears every time. She clearly wasn't taking it well.
"I'm sure she'll get better soon. She's just not used to seeing you like this, that's all," Kaito stated, but honestly he was just telling Miku what she wanted to hear. It wouldn't be any good to have Miku become depressed when everyone else already was. That would only make things worse.
"I hope so..." Miku trailed off.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a moment later one of the many doctors at the hospital entered the room.
"I'm sorry to cut your visit short, but Ms. Hatsune has some testing to do now," she informed them.
"That's fine," Kaito responded as he stood up from his seat. He looked over at Miku to say a quick goodbye. "I'll be back tomorrow, like usual. Good luck on your test."
"You say that like I'm at school," Miku laughed.
Kaito smiled faintly. "Yeah, I guess so. See you later, Miku."
"See ya!" Miku chirped in response with her typical bright smile.
The two of them never really said the word "goodbye". Kaito supposed it was because "goodbye" seemed a lot more definite than "see you later", and they both felt more comfortable with that in mind. Kaito left Miku's room and made his way through the hospital, heading toward the exit. When he stepped outside, he saw Meiko standing a little ways away, most likely waiting for him as she sometimes did. It didn't take long for her to notice him, and once she did she walked over with a small, friendly smile.
"How was it?" Meiko asked.
"Fine," Kaito replied. It was the standard question, and that was the standard response.
"No news on her condition?" Meiko questioned.
"Nothing, other than the fact that she has testing again today," Kaito answered.
"I see..." Meiko trailed off thoughtfully.
There was a moment of silence, but it made Kaito uncomfortable, so he decided to break it with whatever the first thing on his mind was.
"Why don't you ever wait inside? It's much cooler in there," Kaito inquired, noticing the summer heat was already causing him to sweat.
"I don't really like hospitals, to be honest with you. I'd prefer just to stand out here," Meiko responded.
Kaito gave a small shrug. "Whatever floats your boat."
"Hey, I know! Since it's so hot out, why don't we go get some ice cream? You must be hungry, right?" Meiko suggested.
Kaito honestly didn't feel like eating anything, but he knew Meiko was just trying to cheer him up, so he responded with a simple, "Sure."
Before this whole mess had started, Kaito loved ice cream and would jump at the chance to get some. Meiko, having been his closest friend for who-knows-how-long, knew this of course, so it made sense that she'd think this would cheer him up. But, honestly, Kaito didn't particularly care about stuff like that anymore. He supposed indifference was his coping method.
The two friends began walking to a nearby ice cream parlor. Once they arrived, they each ordered an ice cream cone, Meiko with chocolate and Kaito with vanilla. Apparently, neither of them felt like getting very creative with their flavors. As they headed back to Kaito's home, they ate their frozen snacks in silence. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence like before at the hospital, it just seemed like two people who didn't have anything to say but were fine with each other's company. It didn't take them long to reach Kaito's home, seeing as it wasn't too far away from the hospital.
Kaito lived alone in a small, one-person apartment. He never said so, but he actually moved out here shortly after Miku was admitted into the hospital simply to be closer to his sister. Of course, Meiko figured as much, but she didn't say anything. Sometimes, when Kaito looked especially distressed, Meiko would stay the night and keep him company to make sure he didn't do anything that could potentially hurt him or others. In a way, Meiko had become his guardian of sorts ever since Miku's illness developed. Kaito wondered if this was how Meiko coped with things, seeing as how she had never been this patient and supportive before.
"Make yourself at home," Kaito stated while unlocking the door and stepping inside, shortly followed by Meiko.
"One of these days, you really do have to clean up this place," Meiko pointed out as she looked around the room, which was littered with trash and dirty laundry.
"Not like I ever really have time," Kaito remarked a little bitterly.
Whenever he wasn't visiting Miku at the hospital, he was working to pay for her medical bills. Of course, the teal-haired girl had no clue just how many hours Kaito was putting in to make sure she could continue with treatment, but that was for the best. Kaito knew if she found out just how hard he had been working, she'd insist he relax a little and take a break.
"Then I'll help you," Meiko replied firmly, tossing aside a T-shirt that had been carelessly left on the couch so she could sit down.
Kaito sighed and took a seat as well, though he didn't bother to move anything. "Fine, fine, I'll find some time to clean."
"Hmm... When's your next shift at work?" Meiko asked.
Kaito looked over at her, not understanding why she was asking him this, but he replied anyway. "In about an hour. Why?"
Suddenly, Meiko stood up and clapped her hands together once, turning to face Kaito with a determined look in her eyes. "Then let's get cleaning!"
A/N: Apparently, when it's 5 in the morning and I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep I come up with depressing story ideas. I wonder why... Anyway, I've never really written a Vocaloid fanfic before, so I'm kind of excited about this. Please tell me what you think so far (even though it's only the first chapter)! :3
Have a nice day/night/whatever~