Cantarella
"The ball?" Miku's mouth gaped at what her mother said. "Yes, the ball, my dear. You are coming with us to the ball." Miku's mother replied. "Do you.. perhaps, not want to?"
"Oh, no, Mother! Of course I want to!" Miku pounced on the opportunity. As a princess in the Hatsune family, she had never gotten the chance of going to a ball. Except her older sisters, Gumi and Luka, were able to go. It was so unfair, yet now that she was 16, she would jump on the chance of a lifetime.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime offer," Miku's mother announced to Miku, watching her and her sisters inside the carriage. Their father was quite a good rider of horses, so he was able to ride the horses outside of the carriage. Besides, there wouldn't be enough room for him if he didn't.
"Yes, Miku! It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime offer. Well, me and Luka, as you know, have only gotten to go for once. So, it's your time." Gumi exclaimed happily. "..and, I forgot to mention that only you will dance with one of the boys."
"What? So everyone will be watching me?" Miku's eyes widened as her jaw dropped. "Oh.. that would be embarassing!"
"Ahem," her mother tried to get some attention. "Manners, manners, manners. And I suppose you know, Miku, that once you have accepted the chance you cannot refuse it now."
"Oh.. oh.. that, huh, explains a lot, Mother." Miku coughed, obviously unamused with her new discovery. Gumi and Luka politely rose their hands to cover their mouths as they giggled at their little sister. Then, as they had did such a thing, the carriage stopped. "We're here!" their father exclaimed proudly. Miku was the first to get out of the carriage, since she was the closest to the exit. Next came her sisters, and finally her mother.
Miku's pupils grew at the sight of such a grand, royal ball. It was in the shape of a crown, and guards were welcoming the families inside.
Miku's father was the first to step in the line of families, and soon followed her Mother, her sisters, and finally, her. Before they knew it, they were already shaking hands with the guards. "Ah, you must be Miku Hatsune. You do know the spotlight will be on you and your to-be prince?" one of the guards commented, shaking Miku's white gloved hands. Miku nodded with a fake smile on her face.
Warm air filtered into Miku's nose as she noticed many people seated, dressed in gowns or royal suits as there was a center, where she realized the spotlight was going to be on.
However this only made the tension increase.
"And next, is Hatsune Miku of the Hatsune Family. She will be choosing a boy from one of the lines, firstly." The announcement explained why there was three lines of handsome boys. "Please, step out, Miku."
Miku grabbed the rims of her silk dress and left the aisle, going towards the center as her legs shook. This was not noticed.
She looked at one of the boys. A green-haired boy with blue eyes stared at her, though his head bowed. Moving on to one of the next boys, she noticed a black-haired boy with golden eyes. Next. She noticed a neon blue haired, azure eyed boy. Not quite on my interesting factor. At once when she said that, she laid eyes on a boy with blonde, golden twines for hair and blue, cerulean eyes.
She laid eyes on him for a moment, and suddenly, the announcer spoke. "She has chosen Kagamine Len from the Kagamine Family. She has chosen Kagamine Len from the Kagamine Family."
Shock awaited for Miku. The announcements never said whoever she laid eyes on for a long time would be her partner in dancing!
The line of boys shuffled and separated into long lines, returning to their aisles as the spotlight turned to Len and Miku, who remained in the center. Miku pursed her lips, annoyed. Though this could not be seen as she had on an aquamarine, glittered mask as Len also had a black and white mask.
Doki, doki, doki! The beats of her heart echoed as she lifted a hand to feel her heart. The song of Cantarella played in the distance as Len kneeled down and took Miku's hand that was laid on her heart. Or, rather, stole her heart?
Miku blushed as Len kissed her hand and stood up, twirling her.
"Whoooooo! Romeo and Cinderella!" a voice cried without manners. It was a girls' voice, and as she turned to look at Len, his lips tilted up into amusement. Though Miku wondered why he was secretly laughing at her.
This next twirl, was very embarrassing. They twirled around, both of them, and as Miku let go, she accidentally lost balance and as she turned around her face was near Len's.
Miku turned as red as an overboiled tomato as she noticed that for the last act, Len had once again made her twirl, but this time she landed in his arms, and her lips and Len's own were mere inches away as their cool, mint breath mingled. This was it. Miku couldn't handle it anymore.
She made a move to escape Len's grasp. Bad idea.
This resulted on their lips being placed upon each other in horror, and loud cheers and claps rose from the audience. Then something strange happened, too. Miku's arms placed themselves on Len's neck for stabilization. Even so, the Hatsune Family, strangely, stood up and clapped, looking proud of what had just happened. How would they be proud of a kiss..? Miku thought as she pulled away from the kiss. And why am I feeling so disappointed that I had just ended the kiss?
Len's cerulean irises stared back at her own, seemingly disappointed of what she had just done too. Nonetheless Miku stood up, bowed, and left the center of attention, though how much her reluctance increased.
What are these feelings? Miku unwarily sighed. Why does it feel like.. I.. like him?
Ch. 2: Turning to the Future
A heavy-lidded tealette rubbed her eyes, sitting up fully in bed. "Phew.. it was just a dream," she reminded herself. Why did it seem so real though? As if it had actually happened in the past? Miku knew these questions would never be answered.
"Miiiiiiiku!" a small, annoying voice rose. It was Mikuo, her little brother of 5 years. "You woke me up!" he stated, crossing his arms. Miku giggled, then slipped on her slippers and ran over to Mikuo, giving him a small hug. "I'm sorry, will you forgive me?" she asked sincerely. "Waaaaah!" Mikuo ran away. "I guess that's a no, eh?" Miku said, trudging over to the hallway when she noticed that her cellphone suddenly rang. She rushed over to her room, picking up the small, tiny digital device. "Kagamine Rin?" Miku queried, reading out the caller's name out loud. "Oh, my best friend! What could have led her to calling me at 9 in the morning?"
She pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear. "Miku.." a drained voice of a girl said. It sounded like she had been crying for hours. "Yes? Rin, is that you?" Miku asked in a sing-song tone. "Yes.. it's me." Rin replied. "Please.. come to the hospital."
"What? What happened?" Miku asked, alarmed as she came to her senses. Rin seemed to weep. "Miku.. Len got into an accident. Not much scrapes or cuts, but.. the doctors predict that his brain might be damaged."
"Rin? You're lying, right? No way. Rin, I know you're a great prankster, but now isn't the time to be joking about stuff like that." Miku replied, unsure of what she had just said.
"No, Miku, I'm serious.." Rin pressed on. "Please come. We're admitted at Saokyu Hospital right now, room 1108."
Miku's face twisted in horror as she clasped one hand over her mouth. She then removed it, replying with an abrupt yes and a nod, even though she knew Rin wouldn't see it.
Knowing that the twins were, as weak and frail as they could be, Miku wanted to rush to their aid as quickly as possible. Of course Miku knew that their parents had died long ago; it was a fact they never chose to hide. She quickly rummaged into her closet, searching desperately for her jacket. She knew exactly where Saokyu Hospital was, it was the place her mother had been admitted when Miku was about to be born. And it was only one train away from her house.
Obviously, Miku never even bothered changing her clothes, for she was such in a hurry she only put on a jacket, leaving her in her teal pajamas plastered with drawings of leeks.
She rushed out of her room, meeting her parents and brother as they were sipping their morning breakfast. "Miku, we prepared a breakfast for you! It's your favorite meal-leek soup with spring onions sprinkled on very bitter soup." Mr. Hatsune pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "Where are you going?"
Miku bowed politely. "I'm sorry Papa, Mama, I'll have to miss it because my friend has been in an accident! I need to go there quickly!"
"Is it Rin?" Mikuo lifted his gaze over to his sister, raising an eyebrow out of curiosity. Miku ignored him and saluted her parents with a fake smile on her face. "I'll see you soon, love you all!"
"Such an impolite child," Miku heard her stepmother sigh. She was unwary of a tear that fell out of her left eye, knowing that she could never impress her stepmother. Slipping on her slippers, Miku ran out of the house. "The bus!" Miku shouted as she saw a blue bus approaching. It was, fortunate for her that the bus stop was right in front of her porch. Waving her hands in a frenzied way, the busdriver quickly noticed Miku and stopped. It was Mr. Minotta, the young man in his thirties who was a kind busdriver, yet an expertise in machines. Sometimes Miku even asked him why he would be a busdriver when, he could be an engineer. Mr. Minotta sighed and replied, "It's just a matter of time."
That line, Miku never understood. And she thought of that line while the gates of the bus hissed, opening as a cloud of gas floated from the sudden pollution of the air.
"Thank you Mr. Minotta!" Miku bowed in her gratefulness as she passed her bus pass to Mr. Minotta as he nodded silently, waving his hand towards a front, newly cleaned seat. However Miku didn't think about the seat she sat on, instead she thought about what Mr. Minotta had replied to her when she asked him why he didn't choose to become an engineer instead.
A matter of time? Did that mean that he wanted to become an engineer, but somewhat couldn't afford it or understand it as he thought he could? Could it be that he wished to rewind time, and learn more about engineering? That cloud of mystery, as Miku thought, would never leave the words that Mr. Minotta had replied that day. Never. "Mr. Minotta, can you drop me off at the route closest to Saokyu Hospital? I really need to go there!" Miku exclaimed.
"Sure, Hatsune. Just let me have a second and we can swerve over there.." Mr. Minotta said, his last word turning into a groan.
Sure enough, after about 10 minutes and a half, the bus did swerve over to a destination. "Here, Miku. Saokyu Hospital." Mr. Minotta said.
"Thank you once more!" Miku bowed her signature bow politely, then ran out of the bus.
"Also, what's up with the pajamas?" she heard Mr. Minotta's voice try to chase her. However she had no mind for that, running towards the hospital. Mr. Minotta had not given her the route closest to the hospital, he had dropped her there!
Such a kind bus driver, Miku thought to herself as she waited patiently in front of the doors that automatically opened. Then she ran inside, looking for the nearest station that would lead her to the rooms. "Excuse me, do you know where Room 1108 is?" she asked.
The nurses who she asked stared at her for a while, then whispered to each other words of "Do you think she's the patient who ran away?" and replies of "No, how did she wear her pajamas then?"
Then the nurse whom she had asked faced her, muttering words she could not hear but only the words fifth floor.
She thanked the nurse. However, when she looked around, there was no elevator.
No elevator? Is there.. stairs?
There was, in fact, stairs that led to each of the floors, numbers marking the floors. Miku cringed, but continued her run to the stairs.
Each step made her breath run faster, pedaling her feet to run faster.
That was, until she reached the fifth floor, with the number 5 marked on the walls. "Fifth floor, that's it.." Miku said breathlessly as she pressed a button to open the doors of the fifth floor. The doors opened obediently, and Miku came looking for Room 1108. It was the fourth room she came across in the hallway.
She knocked, out of complete worry, four times. As she did so, the door opened and she saw a blonde-haired girl, her eyes puffy and swollen. Rin. She must have been crying.
Then she looked towards the boy in the hospital bed, whom she presumed to be her brother, Len. His partially blonde and golden strands of hair enchanted her as she drew closer to him, her breathing eventually slowing down. She could compare herself to a magnet that was attracted to a piece of metal.
"You two..are alone?" she asked Rin, turning around to see Rin crying some more as she blew into her handkerchief. "We've always been, Miku."
Miku looked down at the floor, sighing in disappointment at Rin's hopeless response. She then took a seat beside Len, taking more notice of how he looked. He was so handsome, so flawless. And so.. familiar?
"Your brother?" Miku asked uneasily as she looked at Len, unsure why she found him that familiar. As if he were a relative of some sort..wait, why, of course he was sort of her relative. She was her best friend's brother!
"Yeah. Guess you never really saw him in reality, eh? He doesn't come out of his room that much." Rin replied.
Miku nodded slowly, then observed Len some more. She was so entranced by him. True it was, she had never saw him in personal, but he looked so.. h-Don't say it, Mind! Miku hushed herself, sighing as she put a finger to her lips.
"Miku?" Rin said softly. Miku looked up from her gaze and turned around to meet Rin staring at her.
"Yes, Rin?"
"You're still in your pajamas.. you really must have rushed over here, haven't you? Aren't your parents.. maybe worrying about you?" Rin asked, a look of worry on her face. Miku laughed. "My parents? Ah.." she scratched her head, looking for answers. "I'll just make up for it by doing some chores later."
Rin stood up, walked over to Miku and hugged her best friend all of a sudden. "You're such a risker, Miku! You'd really risk getting punished because of.. me and my brother."
Miku pulled away, finding it was quite awkward to hug a girl. "Um.. yeah!" she replied. "Sorry Rin, I'm not a tomboy."
Rin pursed her lips to keep herself from laughing, her inches of hair softly falling. "Miku, I don't mean that kind of way."
"Oh." Miku smiled embarrassingly as her hands fluttered up to her mouth, realizing what she had just mistakenly said.
Then, all of a sudden, at that very moment, a female and male doctor came inside the room without permission. "I'm very sorry for our interruption," the female doctor said. "It's just that.. aren't you the Kagamine family?"
The male doctor nodded. "Hayley, as long as my suspicions are accurate, isn't that girl," he pointed to Rin. "the patient's sister?"
"What about that teal-haired girl?" The female doctor, whom the other doctor addressed as Hayley pointed to Miku. "Well, I am pretty confident that she is the patient's girlfriend." the male doctor replied. As soon as he had said that, Miku had turned so red, it looked like she ate a jalapeno with extra wasabi filling inside. "What? Am I wrong?" the male doctor exchanged glances with Dr. Hayley, who had nodded and looked back to see Rin unable to keep from laughing as a soft giggle filled the room.
"Sorry, we'll be back on task then." Dr. Hayley said. "My name is Hayley Williams, and this is my accomplice, Burt Robins. We are here to inform you that, the patient you are currently nursing has amnesia. If he remembers some things-"
She was cut off by hoarse breathing, as Dr. Robins ran to Len, inspecting him. "Oh! He has awoken!" he exclaimed happily, as if he were also affected.
Rin ran over to Len, and Miku turned around to meet a face that looked exactly like Rin's, except more masculine-ish. Not like Miku hadn't stared at him enough to forget how he looked like, right?
It took a while for Len to regurgitate that he was awake, then looked at Miku and squinted, as if he didn't know who she was. Wait-what are you thinking? Baka, baka baka! Of course he wouldn't know who you are, he only saw and met you now! Miku scolded herself.
"Hon-e-y." the words came out of his mouth freshly as he pointed to Miku.
