There seriously aren't enough really well written, interesting Piko fics around, y'know. At least, in my opinion. So, I decided to do something about it! Hence, this story! It's semi-serious and somewhat weird! Yet, I do enjoy writing it! Plus, this is my first attempt to write in the Vocaloid category, so here goes!

Before you read:

I must tell you, there will be eventual GakuLuka. There won't be any GakuPiko that isn't brotherly, because Piko is around 5 or 6 in this fic, and Gakupo is in his 20's. That would make GakuPiko pedophilic. And we all know that pedos are sorta creepy... and have mustaches...

There is some language there that isn't so clean and pretty, so be prepared for that! There may be some sexual innuendos and actions later on, so be prepared for that too!

Disclaimer: It's fanfic, so obviously I don't own it, nor does almost anyone else that uses this site.

The silver haired, young woman looked down worriedly at the little boy curled in the hospital bed. His tiny body looked unimaginably frail, being tangled in a nest of plain white sheets, and a mass of cords and wires attached to different parts of his body.

She knelt down, cradling the small head in her arms. She lovingly ruffled his hair, silently marveling the fact that it was a shade lighter than her own. A single tuft of near-white hair sprouted from the top of his head, while the rest framed his round face like a silvery curtain.

He was comparable to a porcelain doll. His skin was soft and pale, and his cheeks were rosy. One would have thought that the boy was simply sleeping, despite the fact that he was, and still is, practically comatose for almost two weeks. He had remained almost motionless for those few days, and had only awoken once.

The young woman felt tears beginning to brim, as she looked down at the still form of her only remaining family member. His breaths were slow and shallow, and the heart monitor beside him gave a slow, occasional beep, signaling that there was at least some sign of life in the tiny body.

She brushed back a loose strand of silver hair from his face. A light grimace crawled across her face upon seeing the transparent oxygen mask resting over his little nose and mouth. She jumped slightly, hearing the sound of footsteps entering through the open door behind her. She looked up to see one of the nurses standing adjacent from her.

"I-Is he going to be okay?" she asked the nurse, her soft voice stuttering slightly.

The nurse gave a kind, sympathetic smile at the other woman, before answering her question. "He seems to be doing a bit better than the day before! He's still coming out of a severe relapse, so we can't expect him to be back to normal overnight."

The young woman simply turned her attention to the window, not bothering to respond. She cringed when she heard the nurse's footsteps coming closer to her.

"Poor girl," the nurse crooned, "Having to watch over the poor baby, when you're nothing but a baby yourself…"

She whirled around, giving the nurse an adamant look. "I am no baby! I am twenty two years old, and well capable of taking care of another life!"

The nurse seemed taken aback, but had done a good job of hiding it. "You may be old enough to be on your own, and you may well be old enough to care for a child. But, the question is, are you able to take care of this child?" She pointed to the motionless two-year-old in the bed.

The young woman stayed silent for a moment. She mentally berated herself for allowing tears to fall down her face, and for showing her weakness. "I really don't know…But I'm the only one he has now."

The nurse gave a sad smile. She admired the strength that shone in the young woman. She had her doubts on whether the woman had made the right choice or not, but somehow, she knew that the same girl would try her hardest to make it right.

She gave a good hard look at the teary eyed woman in front of her, seeing the resemblance between her and the boy.

"You do know that he is only going to get worse from here on?"

She received no answer.

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"To put this plainly, your objective is to kill this boy."

All eyes shifted to the figure at the end of the table. Gakupo stared back at them, a vindictively devious smile painted across his face.

"That's it? Really?" he purred, deftly sweeping a loose lock of hair back into place. "I thought I'd be getting something more interesting than this. Is this brat even really worth my time?"

Meiko Shion returned his frigid smile with one of her own, from the other end of the table. "Of course it is! Do you know who this kid is? Or should I say, will be?"

A look of subtle interest shot across Gakupo's face. "Nope!" He leaned forward with a toothy grin. "Go on, surprise me. I'm curious."

"As you should be." She replied matter-of-factly. "This 'brat', as you so eloquently put it, is the sole heir to a massive fortune. The death of this one child could mean enormous luck for us." she said, gesturing to every person sitting at the large table. She tossed him a small piece of paper. Upon further inspection, he discovered it to be a photograph.

"And this is…?"

"The kid."

The small photo showed the cheerful face of a young child with a snow-white head of hair, in the center of a playground while being surrounded by other children. He had a large, triumphant grin on his face, and was positioned on a pair of stairs leading to a tacky blue coloured slide.

"This is who I have to take out?" he asked, eyeing the photo critically. "Geez, I feel like a murderous pedophile or something." He leaned back lazily in his seat, grumbling mainly to himself. "It just had to be a kid, didn't it?"

"You say that as if you've never done anything like this before." Meiko replied levelly.

"I know, I know." Gakupo said, giving a sly grin. "So what's the deal with this little monkey?"

"I'm glad you asked." Meiko said, a chilling smile slipping across her face. "The boy's name is Piko Utatane. He's five years old, and 3 feet, 4 inches, and is enrolled in kindergarten."

"This kid's a midget." Gakupo interrupted.

"He is a member of the Utatane/Yowane clan-"

"-That sounds familiar…"

"-and currently under the care of his remaining family member, Haku Yowane, age twenty five. Their relationship is that of two cousins, the latter of them being the oldest, obviously."

"Well, it looks like someone did their homework before class!" Gakupo remarked cynically.

"I simply keep myself focused on my work." She countered steadily. "Unlike you, I choose not to be ignorant and reckless."

Gakupo glared irritably. "Says you, ya' booze-monkey. If I'm not mistaken, aren't you the party girl here?"

"I may be, but I'm certainly not a lazy idiot with nothing better to do, than make up a bunch of snarky comments!" she retorted snappily.

"Thanks for all the compliments, but I really must be on my way." He said dryly. "Can we kindly wrap this up?"

With a sigh, Meiko continued. "There are two main objectives. One, you must keep the boy alive, until you get the order to kill him. Two, you must kill him when we tell you to. Delays and disturbances aren't to be tolerated."

"A little harsh, aren't we?" he mused. "Why so serious?"

"Our rivals also have their eyes on the little twerp." She said, propping her chin on the back of her hand.

"Heh, you mean the UTAU's?"

"No others besides them. They're out for the money, and their target is the kid."

Gakupo sat up in his chair by this time. Curiosity was written all over his face. "Well, well. This just got a lot more interesting!"

"Well, you better be on guard. There are more of the UTAU's than there are of us." She stated. "Anyways, to sum this all up, you will be going undercover as a babysitter, in order to get closer to the target easily. Thi-"

"-Whoa, I'm gonna have to stop you there. What about babysitting?" Gakupo asked indignantly.

"I wasn't aware of the fact that your ears are broken." Meiko said smartly.

"There is no way in hell that I'll play a nanny to a snot-covered brat! Either pick someone else, or another profession." He snarled.

"It's what you were assigned, and it's what you will do. I can change the title name to 'bodyguard', but it will basically be the exact same job."

There was an awkward silence as the two silently argued with their matching glares. Gakupo's violet-grey eyes radiated with rebellious defiance, while Meiko's chocolate brown ones left no room for argument. The others sat on the sidelines, making no noises except for the occasional muffled cough or shuffle of feet.

As hard as Gakupo struggled, his hard glare wilted under her steady gaze. He ground his teeth together as he felt his will begin to crumble.

"Fine then." He huffed, crossing his arms in a quick defeat. " I prefer the title 'bodyguard', thank you very much." His grimace deepened, hearing the soft, subtle snickers of the other occupants of the room.

Meiko slid a piece of paper towards him, an address written on the back.

"Glad you feel that way. So why don't you get started, 'bodyguard'?"

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"Ah! You must be the babysitter I was told about!"

Gakupo smiled as politely as he could manage, at the young silver-haired woman standing in the doorway. "Yes ma'am, I am." He said flatly. "Although I prefer the use of the word 'bodyguard' instead."

The woman let a kind, yet tired smile shine on her soft, girlish features. Her hair was a silvery gray color, bordering on white, and pulled into a ponytail, by a black and purple bow. Her eyes seemed to be just as tired as her smile, seeing as the vivid scarlet irises were lined with light purple bags around her eyelids.

"Hmm, isn't that cute?" She put a delicate finger to her chin. "Maybe 'bodyguard' is acceptable, because you really would have to protect my Piko from doing something crazy now, wouldn't you? After all, it is a bit more masculine than 'nanny', or 'babysitter'."

Gakupo instantly decided that he didn't hate her. Don't be mistaken, he hated practically everyone, but he simply hated this woman a bit less than the others. At least she could think exactly the same way as he did! Not to mention, she hadn't verbally assaulted his ears with a deafeningly shrill voice, or annoy the hell out of him by bitching about minor details, like most of the girls he knew. Or all of them…

"Ah! Why am I making you wait out here for so long? Come in, come in!" She retreated into the quaint little house, and motioned for him to follow. The woman led him into the living room, and indicated for him to sit on the couch.

"You can have a seat here if you want! I'm Haku Yowane, but Haku is just fine! Now, I'll get you some tea or something!" and with that, she rushed out of the room. Gakupo took the chance to let his eyes wander around the house. As he looked around, he found that the house was slightly smaller than expected, yet amazingly clean and somewhat bright. Along one side of the room, he was surprised to see a whole rack of sake bottles shelved high up on a shelf.

'Well, it looks like someone enjoys having a drink…or twenty…' he thought snidely to himself.

Along the other wall, there were bookshelves filled with books and decorative ornaments, and photos in picture frames. A small, white, stuffed-toy cat was slung across one of the book stacks, showing evidence of a child living in the house. There were small Lego bits scattered on the floor, along with something that seemed like a partially dismantled …keyboard? Why?

Soon enough, the young woman came back, balancing a teapot precariously on a tray, along with two teacups. "I'm so sorry for taking so long! It took a while!"

'A while? That was only a minute or two!'

"Don't worry about it." He said kindly, not voicing the words in his head. She quickly poured the hot liquid into the two cups, handing one to him and taking the other for herself. She took a seat on the opposite couch.

"Let's get to business, shall we?" she remarked, smiling into her cup of tea. "I don't really want to, but I have to get to work in about 20 minutes or so!"

"Just tell me what to do, ma'am! Anything interesting about the little bra-…kid?" he grinned, in what he prayed wasn't his menacing smile. He figured that he had gotten it right, because she grinned back and continued to talk.

"Well, his whole name is Piko Utatane –he's taking a nap upstairs right now– and he's five right now. His birthday will be coming up in a month! He's a December baby, so he'll be six soon!"

"I'd say, that's very nice." He complimented dryly. To be honest, he didn't give a crap about this kid, or his birthday. What was the point anyways? He'll probably be dead before he reached ten anyways.

"He goes to the school down the road, and classes started in September. His favorite toy is this-" She reached over and grabbed the stuffed cat plushie. "-thing, and he rarely leaves it behind. I think one of his little friends gave it to him at some birthday party or other…"

"He seems to be active, doesn't he? Can't wait to meet him…right about now…" Gakupo remarked tightly. Sadly enough, she didn't get the message to begin wrapping the conversation up. Instead, she nodded her head in agreement and continued even more.

"He really is! He's a really smart kid, and I'm so glad to have him around, even if I don't get to see him often! He really is a happy boy, even if he's been through such awful things…"

A neat eyebrow arched in curiosity. "Awful things? Is it too much of a bother to ask for elaboration?"

Haku's scarlet-colored irises were downcast. Her pale hands began to fiddle with the hem of her dark, yet airy dress. "Um…well…do you wonder why he lives with me, his cousin, instead of his parents? Well, they…passed away a few years ago."

"Really?"

"Yes… I guess Piko doesn't remember it much, because he was barely two at the time." Haku's voice grew steadily shakier as she began reliving the untold memories. She walked towards one of the bookshelves, and pulled down one of the picture frames. Giving a watery smile, she pointed to the small child in the photo. "This was around the time he started his first week at school!"

Gakupo leaned back, taking a sip of his tea. He was mildly surprised to see that it was the exact same photo that he had been shown by Meiko earlier. "Hmnn…cute kid…pretty short though…"

Haku gave a light giggle. "That's because he's a premie!"

"Excuse me?"

"A premie! He was a premature baby!"

"Ah…that explains a lot…"

Haku giggled again. "I know. When he was first born, I swear, he was no bigger than a stick of butter, or one of those medium sized bag of chips!" She cradled the little photo to her chest, swept away in the nostalgia. "But of course, being that small isn't healthy. He wasn't expected to even last a week on this earth."

"Guess he was lucky then." Gakupo commented, looking into the dark brown liquid. Haku agreed wholeheartedly.

"Of course he was! Now he's growing up to be a big boy fast! The only problem is that he gets sick a bit more often than normal." She said with a sigh.

"Ah. That's understandable…" Gakupo trailed off, at loss of whatever else to say. They both sank into uncomfortable silence.

Haku seemed to be struggling with her words. "Ah…y-you see, he really isn't as healthy as he should be. Almost as soon as he was born, he had to go into extensive surgery. They found that his organs were too small for his body, and that he wasn't expected to survive the night. What's worse is that the doctors found a hole in his heart!" She wailed, trying to keep back the tears.

Gakupo could see that this was a sobby, crying-type of person. Leaning back a bit in the seat, he gave a sympathetic "Ah no…that sounds terrible…" in order to seem still interested in whatever she had to say.

"Oh, it was awful! His parents were heartbroken! The entire family was worried! Their little boy wasn't going to last the night!" Haku was borderline hysteric by now. "Everyone was crying that night, and nobody got any sleep!"

"It's getting kinda late…" Gakupo muttered, hoping she's stop talking.

She didn't.

"But we were so lucky that night, because he really did survive! It really was a miracle! The next day, he was kicking and screaming, just like any other little baby would! Well, at least, like any other little baby on a ventilator…"

Gakupo's eyes started to wander out towards the window.

"The doctors said that he'd never be fully healthy, and that his breathing won't be as normal as it should. But, he's really lucky to be alive!"

After what seemed like an eternity of babbling, Haku stole a glance at the clock hanging on the opposite wall. She jumped in shock at seeing how late it was. "Ah! I'm going to be late! I'm so sorry, but I have to go now!"

Gakupo smiled politely. "That's no problem. I'll be just fine watching over the little guy."

She sighed in relief. "I'm so glad to hear you say that!" She clapped her hands together to show her gratitude. She began to give him the instructions as she prepared to leave. "Remember, he isn't supposed to run around too much, because he gets tired easily. His inhaler and all of his medications are on the kitchen counter. Make sure that he takes them all when he's supposed to. There's a list of instructions on that also on the counter. I left my cell number on the fridge, if you have to call me for anything at all."

At that moment, they were interrupted by a small whimper coming from the other room. Soon after, a small tuft of silvery white hair peeked out past the door frame.

"Haku-nii…?" a soft, juvenile voice called out. Haku's head turned swiftly, and a bright smile spread across her face. An amazingly small boy shuffled into the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily with his sleeve. "Haku-nii, I'm hungry…"

Haku leaned forward, pulling the boy into her embrace while ruffling his snow white hair affectionately. With a kind smile in place, she turned towards Gakupo, who was still perched upon the couch with his tea.

"Hey Piko, I have a guest for you!" She unlatched the boy's tiny fingers from her dress, and nudged him forwards.

Gakupo eyed the newcomer with cold interest. The boy fidgeted under his harsh glare, a tiny frown adorning his chubby little face. Haku shuffled about blissfully, unaware of the tension.

The boy really was a small thing. Gakupo could vaguely remember his childhood pet, (a dog he had foolishly named 'Eggplant'), being bigger than that child. But then again, Eggplant was a labradoodle mix, so he was bigger than most human babies below the age of seven. The boy's eyes were wide and bright, and had a complexion comparable to a porcelain doll. His head was adorned with a sleep-mussed mop of hair, almost identical to Haku's in color, if not a few shades lighter.

Gakupo was shocked to see that his left eye was a vivid, spring green, while the right was a cerulean blue color. 'Huh, heterochromia. That's not something you see every day…'

A little whimper of fear squeaked out from the boy, when Gakupo tried his best to give a happy, non-assuming smile. It came out as more of a predatory grin. He wasn't surprised to see the kid shy away from him, when he raised his hand for a wave. A friendly wave, mind you.

But still, it sucked.

'Damn kid. I ain't that scary.'

"Come on now!" Haku said, shoving him forward once more. "This is Gakupo! He's going to be your new babysitter-"

"-Bodyguard."

"-bodyguard, until I can find a more permanent one! He's really nice!"

Piko looked up at his older cousin dubiously, as if to say, 'You for real?'. She smiled back, and absentmindedly readjusted her long silver ponytail. He scooted even farther behind Haku for protection, burying his face in her skirt.

"C'mon Piko! We can be friends, if you want! How about playing a game or something?" Gakupo said, trying his best to sound inconspicuous and friendly.

Piko shook his head vigorously.

Haku pulled out of his grip once more with an exasperated sigh, and pushed him forwards. "You'll have lots of fun, if you just play with Mister Gakupo for a bit!"

Stubbornly, the little boy refused to make a sound. He stayed behind the protection of his older cousin, making it clear that he wasn't prepared to move an inch.

"C'mon!" Gakupo assured the little boy, his smile being visibly strained. "We can play all types of games together! We can get ice cream, go skating, and all the other cra-…stuff that kids do nowadays!"

Wide eyes looked at the strange man indecisively. Unsure of whether to trust the older male, Piko turned back to Haku for confirmation. Taking the chance, Haku nodded her head encouragingly while ruffling his more-than-fair hair.

"You promise we can do that?" the airy, childish voice asked uncertainly.

"Yep! Every day, if you want!" Gakupo declared. Mentally, the 'bullshit!' alarm was going off at the boldfaced lie."Well, at least…some of the days…"

He grimaced as the doe-like eyes grew wider and wider with a glint of excitement.

"See? He's nice! C'mon Piko!" Haku added, before bringing out the trump card that worked on almost every small child to date. "Aren't you supposed to be a big boy?"

She knew that she had won, when she saw the adamant look on her little cousin's face.

"I am too! I AM a big boy!" Piko protested, puffing out his rosy little cheeks.

"Really? Because all the big boys I know, looove to play with other big boys!" Haku snorted, feigning intelligence on all things grown-up.

Piko's round face clearly showed his inner conflict. It was obvious that he wanted to be a 'big boy' like Haku stated, but he was also still apprehensive towards the man with the monster smile.

"Hnm…I guess I can play…" the little boy mumbled, pulling at the hem of his oversized sleeve. It was still clear that he still seemed a little frightened.

"That's great then," Gakupo chirped. For extra measure, he added "…buddy!"

'Buddy? You're talking out of your ass again!'

He knew that he was laying it on a little too thick, when he saw the obstinate expression on the five-year-old's face. Haku didn't seem to notice one bit. After hearing the admittance from her little cousin, she ruffled his hair, planted a kiss on his chubby cheek, mumbled something about 'being late for work', and was out the door in a matter of minutes.

The door shut with a soft 'click', leaving the two males alone in silence.

.

.

.

"Sooo…" Gakupo stalled, trying to break the awkwardness. "What do you like to do?"

Multicolored eyes just blinked nervously in response.

"Okay then…" he grumbled, pissed by the fact that he was rejected by a mere child. It was obvious that this was going to be an ordeal.

He raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, but stopped when he saw the little boy flinch at the movement, eyes still locked on him.

"Whoa, you think I'm gonna do something to you?" Gakupo asked skeptically. He stepped closer towards the smaller person. "Hey kid, don-"

"-STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER! NO MEANS NO!"

And with that, a small fist lashed out, making contact with his crotch. Gakupo saw glaring stars dance across his vision as he hit the floor, cradling his junk in agony. He vaguely heard little feet run at full speed up the stairs, followed by the distinct sound of a door slamming shut and the 'click' of a lock.

Gakupo groaned inwardly. These six months were going to be hell.

And thus ends the first chapter! YAY~! Although, it did look longer on Word...

Anyways, would you believe that I started this chapter in August? Yeah, it took a while to finally complete it! And when I finished, I had to go back and adjust it. And then adjust it again. Then I started the other 2 chapters, and didn't finish the 3rd one until now. I take a while to finish my chapters, because I want them to be extra perfect! So that's why I have three up right now, so you don't have to wait forever for the next one.

Anyhoo, how'd you like it? Tell me!

Remember, equivalent exchange. I write, you review. It's the least you can do. (that rhymes!)