Chapter 1: New Beginnings
"Len! Hurry up! We've got a new arrival!" Meiko shouted at the blond boy. According to her, he was taking much too long getting ready for the new addition to the already huge Vocaloid mansion. Usually it was the Officials' job to welcome the Vocaloids or Utauloids into the mansion and the brunette was growing impatient.
"Ack, sorry, Meiko! I got caught up with something." The male Vocaloid ran out from the room, crossing over into the foyer, smoothing his uniform down, putting on a smile.
"Took you long enough, kid," Meiko sighed, and opened the door where everyone else was waiting to catch a glimpse of the car pulling up the hill. The pair walked outside into the front yard, Len walking over to stand next to his sister, Rin. All of the other Official Vocaloids were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new housemate.
The car soon reached the property. It was a sleek car, with tinted windows that enabled the passenger to watch outside without being spotted inside. Which was nice in case fans of the Vocaloids decided to follow the car, thus finding out where they all lived. It screeched to a halt on the edge of the driveway. A man in a dark suit stepped out and opened the back door and trunk, allowing the passenger to climb out and get her things. She crawled out gracefully, booted foot crunching underneath the gravel and snow of the driveway. Her shiny black hair cut in a layered, fringed style swayed as she went around the side of the black car to retrieve her things. A single suitcase was pulled from the trunk, and she set it on the ground to provide time to introduce herself.
"I'm assuming you're all here for me, right? I'm Yuki Reikonne. Nice to finally meet you all!" She gave a sparkling grin, beaming her pride at being one with the Vocaloid family. Picking up her bag with one hand, she went over and greeted the entire official Vocaloid family by shaking their hands.
"Well, now that we're all introduced, I think it's time to show Miss Reikonne to her room," Kiyoteru's voice broke the silence that had held tight for too long.
"Right! This way," Meiko piped up, stepping into the parlor of the mansion. The rest of the group followed, beginning with the newest addition. All of the Vocaloids who had gathered on the lawn returned to what they had been doing before Yuki had come into their midst, except for Meiko. She turned and strode up the stairs, ascending multiple flights before coming to stop at the fifth floor.
"Your room is down the hall, the second one from the end of the hallway. Feel free to decorate the door as you wish, just nothing permanent. You know how that is." Yuki nodded and padded down the carpeted passageway to her room, opened the door and set her suitcase down on the bed. She glanced around. The room was pretty basic, with a bed, a nightstand next to that, a set of drawers, a full-length mirror, a desk, a closet, and plenty of space. After taking off her headphones and sitting down to unpack, there was a knock on her door.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"It's Len," he answered.
"Come in," she replied. He did as she told him to and sat down on the bed, watching her unpack.
"It's amazing what you can fit in that tiny suitcase, Yuki. You some kind of magician?"
In the middle of folding a dress she wore on special occasions, she looked at him strangely. "Uh, no, not exactly. It's just some technology that enhances its volume. My Master invented it."
"Must've been one hell of a Master, then. Mine hasn't even thought of something like that. The incompetent idiot." He shrugged.
Continuing, he said, "So what brought you here?"
She thought for a moment before responding. "I was given instructions to come here once I'd arrived in Japan. Something about fine-tuning my technology and abilities as a Vocaloid."
"So you weren't made here? Interesting." He stared at her, looking for any indication as to where she was made.
Strolling over to the closet, she hung up a few skirts. She then turned around and replied, voice even and smooth. "Yeah, I lived in America for a few years, scrounging up money to get my butt over here. It took a while, and I had to disguise myself as a human, but I made it to Japan. So, as a result, I learned to speak and sing in English decently. I'm a little rusty because I practiced and practiced my proper Japanese so I wouldn't look foolish in front of all of you Officials." She eyed him suspiciously, making sure he didn't think she was lying.
"Prove it. Tell me an English phrase that I wouldn't recognize," he stated, his voice commanding and almost cold.
Caught off guard and distracted by a few thoughts swirling around in her head, she faltered and stuttered but came out with an English phrase she heard a lot. "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Her accent was prominent, but Len nodded and crossed his arms.
"Not too bad. I'll admit, you speak more fluent English than the rest of us, including Luka and Ruko, but then again, you don't have dual voice banks, do you?"
"I don't. I guess I picked it up on my own." She shrugged and sat down on the bed next to him, closing the suitcase and moving it to the floor. "Why did you come up here?"
"I just wanted to get to know you a little bit more, I guess. I'll let you finish unpacking. See you whenever." He stood up, turned on his heel and strode out of the room, not even giving Yuki a chance to say anything.
"Well, that was weird." She sighed and picked her suitcase back up off the floor.
Later that day, Yuki sat on the couch and nibbled at a dark chocolate bar she had brought with her. She had neglected to introduce herself to any other Vocaloids or UTAUloids that she'd passed in the hallways out of disinterest and the fact that there were a lot of them. She'd never remember all of their names.
"…Shit!" A voice sounded out behind her, and she turned around to see who it was. The stranger was peering into a cabinet that looked like it was made for wine and liquor. He was dressed in what could only be described as punk clothing, sans shoes, which Yuki assumed would be combat boots. He slammed the cabinet door closed and turned around, sighing to himself before he noticed the purple eyes staring at him from behind the couch. "Can I help you?" he asked.
She quirked an eyebrow at him and kneeled on the sofa, so she could see more of this foul-mouthed stranger. "Well, it's not usually a good thing to hear someone say 'shit' and slam a cabinet door shut. What were you doing?"
"If you hafta know, I was lookin' for the vodka, but there doesn't seem to be anything." He frowned and crossed his strong-looking arms across his chest.
"Well, that's saving your liver some exercise. Take it as a sign from the heavens."
He raised his hands above his head and looked upwards. "Oh, Kami, why must you abandon me so?" He looked back down and dropped his hands to his sides.
"Bullshit." He ran a hand through his platinum blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and relaxed against the counter.
She rolled her eyes and put her hands under her chin, one hand still clutching the half-eaten chocolate bar, and rested her elbows on the couch's back. "So, Mister Booze-'n-Metal, what's your real name?"
"Len Magane. But you can call me just Magane. Len's a name for spoiled brats. Shame I share a name with that fuckin' loser."
"I see. I'm Yuki Reikonne. I just got here today."
"I kinda figured. The Officials made such a fucking racket because we were getting a new addition. Mostly Meiko yellin' about how we needed to act civil 'n shit. No way is she getting civility outta me."
"I can see that. Why don't you come over here and sit down since you can't seem to find what you're looking for?" She patted the blue couch and turned around to face the television that was on, tuned to a station she wasn't particularly paying attention to. Magane strolled over and hopped over the back of the couch, landing next to Yuki, dangerously close to planting himself in her lap on accident.
"…You almost landed on me," she said, deadpan, staring at his grinning face. His tongue flicked out and nudged the red ring in his lip back into place.
"Yeah, and? You got a problem with that, shorty?" He scooted over despite what he had said.
"Actually, I do have a problem with strangers I just met sitting in my lap."
"Well, excuse me, Princess, but I didn't know you had personal space issues. Pardon my ass for almost settlin' itself in your lap."
"Whatever. You want to watch something?" she asked, picked up the remote, and put the candy on the side table near the couch.
"Nah, I'd rather just ask you berating questions about your life before you got here. First question: Where did you come from?" He eyed her like a cat would.
"Pft, that's too easy. America."
"Really?" His eyes widened, and she could see that they were a piercing shade of purple-blue, despite the heavy eyeliner concealing them in a ring of maroon.
She couldn't help but blush a little. It made her feel a touch vulnerable in front of this heavy metal boy. "Yeah. I was made over there and I managed to scrounge up enough money to get a ride here. I knew that I wasn't alone in being a machine in a human world. Once I figured out what I was, I instantly did some research and found out about you guys. I was given instructions to come to the mansion after I arrived in Japan and ended up here, sitting on a couch with a possibly drunk metal-loid."
He poked her in the side accusingly. "Hey, I'm not drunk! …Though I want to be right now." he spoke the last part in hushed tones, but she still caught it.
"Maybe not, but why do you want to be so intoxicated in the middle of the day?"
"Isn't it obvious? I need to filter down this gorgeousness. I see myself better when I'm fuzzy-headed."
When she looked at him strangely he clarified. "Okay, no, seriously, I'm not one to admit this easily but I'm kind of getting over a breakup right now. My ex gives me a major motherboard ache." Magane rubbed his temples as if he were assuaging a headache.
"Aw, is Magane getting over an achy breaky heart?" She grinned at him, showing teeth, and poked him in the side as revenge for his jab earlier. He flinched at the action.
"It's not like that, but if you want to think of it that way, then be my fucking guest," he growled; his husky voice took on an icy tone.
"Whoa, okay, hotshot, I was just joking. No need to take it personally."
"Sorry, it's just that whenever I think of her I get angry. She was kind of a clingy bitch. I think she might've been a yandere or something. She left a while ago. Just kind of up and disappeared…"
"Damn, that's rough, buddy." Unsure of what to do, she patted him on the shoulder lightly in what she thought was a comforting gesture.
"It's whatever," he said, crossed his arms again, and frowned.
"You know what might help?" she asked, flicking off the television and looking at him with eager eyes.
"What?"
"Some music. C'mon, I want to show you something." She stood up and pulled him upright, dragging him along to the room where all the Vocaloids practiced. Yuki sat down at the piano and readied her hands, fingers poised over the keys. She brought up the sheet music for the song Leia in her head. Glancing around to see Magane leaning against the doorframe where she had left him, she began the song. She played every note with feeling, humming along as she went, up until it ended. As the last note sounded out, she smiled at him, who gave her a thumbs up and walked over slowly.
"That was nice, but not what I'm used to. As you can prolly tell, 'm more of a heavy metal guy. I could play you somethin' if you want, but my usual guitar isn't down here."
"I don't mind. Give it a shot!" She beamed at him from the piano's bench.
"Alright." He strode over to the guitar stands and chose an electric one from the many that were available. Magane shouldered it, plugged it in and began to play, the first licks from the red Gibson powerful and loud. "Myself, where? White, black. I want to see you, but still. Tears are falling and isn't that enough? My memories are shut in the very depths of my heart, and that unreachable voice still echoes. 'Let our luck always continue,' is what I used to think. And I called out your name and the coming night will be so long..." Yuki's mouth dropped open at the sound of his gruff voice crooning the lyrics to Hope. He finished the song, the last chords hanging in the air between the pair.
"How was that?" he asked.
"Amazing. I'm impressed. I'd only heard recordings of the songs the other Vocaloids have done, but I don't think I've ever come across any of yours. Magane, you're incredible."
He unshouldered the guitar, unplugged it and placed it back on the stand. "Thanks," was his short response.
Yuki pushed a strand of black hair behind her headphoneless ear and looked down for a moment, as if studying her striped stockinged feet would diminish the awkwardness. "So, uh," she said, looking back up at him, "Do you wanna go back to the living room?"
"Nah, we can stay here for a bit longer. I want to, anyways."
"Okay. I'm going to go back there and finish eating my chocolate bar." She stood up, the bench of the piano screeching against the wooden floor, and started walking over to the door. As she reached the threshold, she turned around, grabbed the door frame, and said, "If you want to join me, you can. We can watch a movie or go outside or something."
He looked like he was pondering this for a moment. "Maybe later. I don't know if I'll even go back through the living room. If you can't find me back here, I'll be in my room. Third floor, to the left. The door has a lot of scuff marks on it. You can prolly guess what from."
Yuki nodded and left, plodding back to the living room. She reclaimed her spot on the couch, grabbed the lonely chocolate bar, and nibbled on it as she mindlessly stared at the television screen.
"Yuki. Yuki, wake up. It's ten at night." A voice filtered in between a dream that involved a lot of snow.
"Huh? What?" she muttered, her sleepy eyes opening slowly. A familiar blond stood in front of her, hair messy, long, and out of its usual ponytail. "Len? You came down here to wake me up?"
"Yeah. What of it? I noticed you on the couch passed out with chocolate around your mouth and thought you crashed from a sugar high or somethin'." The boy shrugged and pushed his bangs back from his forehead as he stepped away from Yuki to allow her to stand up.
"Oh, gosh, is it still there?" She turned away from him and wiped the remains of the candy from her lips with the edge of her shirt. It didn't matter to her that it was going to stain. She had plenty more of them.
"You're fine now. But you might want to go to bed. Unless you wanted to hang out down here for a while, but it seems like you've already spent your fair share of time in the living room." He chuckled a little bit.
"I think—" In the middle of her sentence, she let out a huge yawn, "I think I'm going to go to my room. I didn't quite unpack all the way. And there's probably stuff on my bed still." Yuki stood up and swiped at her eyes. "Goodnight, Len. See you tomorrow."
"Night." He wandered off to the smaller, connected kitchen, probably in search of a snack. Yuki stole a last glance at the teen, smirking to herself how he looked positively adorable with his hair sticking up in places and in his fluffy pajama bottoms with road rollers on them.
As she tiredly strode upstairs, she thought to herself about how her life was going to change from this moment on.