Act One

The Appearance of Megurine Luka

Night time was so calming.

For a few hours, everything just seemed so peaceful. No one was up, it was quiet, and…god, she could just feel the peace that was radiating from the gigantic full moon.

Hands in her sweater's pockets, with a pair of pale pink headphones sitting on her shoulder-length hair, slightly messy from the gentle breeze, the lone girl strolled across the deserted park near her apartment. She whistled a happy note as she observed the serenity of the scene before her, walking down the path leading to the main street with short, almost soundless steps. As soon as she crossed the street, which should be deserted by now, she would be right in front of the building which held her small abode.

It was a perfect end to an otherwise terrible day. Then again, her days were never that exciting, or likable, in the first place.

As she passed the fence that separated the grassy hills of the park from the concrete sidewalk, a most peculiar thing occurred.

Just as she stepped onto the sidewalk, she ran into someone she knew wasn't there mere seconds ago.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, pulling her headphones down to her neck, "I didn't see you there."

"It's alright," the other woman replied, "No harm was done. But if I may, could I ask you where I am?"

The girl looked at the woman strangely due to the fact that, for a lack of better words, the woman just screamed strange. Her hair was long and pale pink, falling just past her waist, with brown and gold headphones over her ears. Her outfit consisted of a brown vest-like garment with an intricate gold breast ornament and a blue jewel on her neck and leaving a small part of her midriff showing. There were two bands of brown around her upper arms, with an odd detached sleeve on her right arm, starting at her elbow. The skirt she wore reached to her knees, but with a massive slit on the left side that left very little to the imagination. There was also a strange 03 tattooed on her left arm.

To be fair, based on how the woman dressed, asking where she was is a very valid question.

"You're in Kingstown," she replied to the strange woman, "Just outside of Sanders."

"Kingstown…" the woman replied slowly, as if mulling over the word.

"Yeah, it's just a small town; Sanders is the big city around here," the girl shrugged and pulled her headphones back on her head, but leaving one side just behind her ear, "Anyway, I guess I should go. It's late."

"Wait, please!" the woman called out, just as the girl began to walk away, "I'm…I'm not sure where I am, or how I got here. Could you please help me?"

The girl stopped and turned to face the woman. Really, of all things, fate decided to play games with her and throw another curveball into her already chaotic life? With a sigh, she ran her hand through her brown, pulling her headphones back down to her neck as she did so. "Well, I guess I just can't leave you here dressed like that." She said, mainly to herself, "Why don't you come to my house? You could tell me whatever it is you want me to know over a cup of cocoa or something."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," the woman said and followed her as she walked into the building.

"Hey, Nattie," the security guard at the door greeted, tipping his hat towards her, "Late night walk?"

"You bet," she replied, pulling out her keys from her pants pocket as the security guard looked at the pink-haired woman that followed her.

"Who's your friend?"

Nattie looked at the woman, and then back at the security guard, "Oh, just a guest…" she said as she pulled the lobby door open. The pink-haired woman bowed slightly at the guard before following, leaving the man with a curious look on his face.

There was a silence as the two rode up the elevator.

"So, your name is Nattie?" the woman asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, its short for Natalia."

The other woman nodded slightly, "Natalia." she said, before turning and offering her single sleeved hand towards her, "My name is Luka."

"Nice to meet you," Nattie said, taking the hand and shaking it.

With a ring, the elevator stopped on the ninth floor, the doors opening to a rather narrow hallway. Nattie motioned for Luka to follow, turning to the right, and then again once they reached the corner. At the door marked 916, Nattie reached for her keys again, unlocking the door into the apartment.

The apartment itself wasn't that large; it was made for a single occupant. A small kitchen was on the left, leading into a dining area with nothing but a small, glass table and four chairs. On the right, a small hallway led to a door on the right, and another door at the end. A small couch and a television set was placed against the wall opposite of the door.

"Well, come on in," Nattie said, flicking the light on as she kicked off her shoes on the small mat by the door, "And take off your shoes; I don't like cleaning."

Luka nodded, bending down to untie the knee-high boots Nattie had just realized she had been wearing. As the pinkette did so, the brunette entered the kitchen and opened a cupboard, pulling out two mismatched mugs. Filling each cup with water, and then stirring in a cocoa mix, she placed both mugs in the microwave and set it for two minutes. The machine whirred into life as Luka finished untying her boots and placed them neatly besides Nattie's haphazardly thrown sneakers.

"Make yourself comfortable on the couch," Nattie said, removing her headphones and MP3 player from her pocket, placing them on the glass dining table. Luka walked towards the sofa, sitting on it with her right leg crossing over her left, so that the massive slit on her skirt didn't reveal anything, and placed her hands on her knees. She looked around, as if fascinated by the apartment.

"It's not much," Nattie said, noticing the look on the woman's face, "But it's enough for someone like me."

"It's very cozy," Luka replied just as the timer on the microwave alerted both women that the cocoa was finished. Nattie walked over and took the mugs, handing one to Luka as she leaned on the wall across from the sofa with her own mug.

"So," she began, blowing into the mug, "Where are you from?"

"I'm not sure."

"You're not from here, are you? No one dresses like that."

Luka gave her a curious look, "Really? I'm not sure where it is, but where I come from, many people dress like this."

Nattie tilted her head slightly, "Well, I guess everyone has their own taste in clothes. I can see someone from Europe wearing something like that. It looks kinda steampunk." She remarked, taking a sip. "Is your hair naturally like that?"

The woman nodded, "It's been pink for as long as I can remember."

"And that 03 tattoo?"

"Always been there."

"Curiouser and curiouser," the brunette mumbled slightly, "Well, what can you tell me about yourself?"

Luka paused slightly, "Well, my name is Megurine Luka, I'm somewhat positive that I'm at least twenty years old, and I think I'm bilingual."

"Megurine Luka? But you told me Luka was your name."

"It is my name. Megurine is my last name."

"And you're bilingual?"

"I think so. The words on this cup say Coffee is my best friend."

Nattie raised her eyebrows as Luka pointed to the non-English script written on the mug. Her cousin had gotten it on her trip to-

"Japan."

"I'm sorry?" Luka asked.

"You're from Japan," Nattie answered, "The way you said your last name before your first name is something Chinese and Japanese people usually do. And the fact that you can read the mug probably means that you can speak Japanese too, am I right?"

The pink-haired woman looked down into her cup, as if thinking about the conclusion Nattie had come to. "I guess it makes sense."

"Well, that certainly clears up a lot of things." Nattie said, drinking the last bit of cocoa, "The Japanese are very unique people. And your English is a little accented."

"Where is Japan?"

The brunette looked at Luka unbelievingly, "Did you just ask me where Japan is?"

Luka nodded, "I'm sure I've heard of it, but I just can't seem to remember where it is."

"Japan is across the world, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean," Nattie explained, "It's beside Korea."

"On the other side of the world?" the woman asked in an astonished voice, "Then how did I get here?"

"I don't know. How did you get here?"

"Well, I…" Luka paused, "I remember there was a door, and a flash of light. I'm sure there were some noises too, something like beeping and clicking. After that, I don't remember anything until I ran into you."

Scratching the back of her head with a sigh, Nattie exhaled, letting her shoulders drop. This definitely was a problem that couldn't be solved in one night. "Are you done with your cocoa?"

Luka took one more sip before handing the cup over to Nattie, who placed them in the sink and filled them with water. She would get to it in the morning.

"I'm guessing you don't have a place to stay,"

The woman shook her head slightly.

"Alright then…" Nattie said, rubbing her shoulder, "I guess you can stay here until we get this thing straightened out. Do you have any other clothes?"

"I don't think so."

"I guess you can borrow some of mine too."

Luka watched as the brunette disappeared into the door in the hallway, coming out with a pale green pyjama set, a pillow and a blanket. "Here, you can wear these for tonight. The bathroom is the door at the end of the hallway. You can change in there."

The woman took the clothes and nodded, "Thank you very much,"

"And, eh, I guess I could stay on the sofa tonight." She said, holding up the pillow and blanket.

At that suggestion, Luka stiffened. "No, please, let me sleep on the couch. This is your house, and I already feel bad about borrowing your clothes and staying the night. Please."

Nattie sighed again, "Alright, fine, if that's what you want." She placed the blanket and pillow beside Luka, "My room is the door on the right. If you need anything, just wake me up." She then pointed to the light switch beside the door, "I'll leave it to you to shut the lights. It shouldn't be too dark; the windows are open and the moon's pretty bright tonight."

Luka nodded again, "Thank you very much for this."

With a slight shrug, Nattie grabbed her headphones and MP3 and walked towards her room, "Don't mention it."

Just as she entered her room, the brunette, paused, taking a final peek at the strange pink-haired woman on her sofa. She was running her hand through over the fabric of the pyjamas as if the clothes were alien to her. With a shake of her head, Nattie entered the small room, shutting the door behind her.

Curiouser and curiouser…

Authoress' Notes

Kingstown and Sanders are fictional places. Pretend they're both somewhere in Canada or America, if you will.

Written for Luka's second anniversary. Updates from now on will be random and sporadic.

Please Read and Review.