It was a day like any other day, rainy and uneventful, set to a strict routine. Miku arrived home at the same time, the same place, and in the same mood as usual. She entered her house quietly, removing her shoes at the door.
There was no one to greet her when she got in. Her loved ones were gone; they had passed away two months ago in an awful car crash. Before the incident, Miku had started to show signs of depression, worrying the doctor she went to and her parents.
After their death, Miku wasn't too sure what happened. She was numb for days, sitting blankly in her bed, believing she no longer had a purpose. The news of their deaths had sent Miku over the edge, immediately claiming her as a victim to full-blown depression.
It was around that hopeless time when Miku came across a strange downloadable application on her computer labeled "VOCALOID Project." Curious, Miku read on. She learned that the purpose was to test communications between real people and androids that were recently developed.
With her life already in shambles, she decided to try it. She was given a choice of androids to choose from, and in the end, picked the pair of twins. The program was neat, taking science to a whole new level.
The androids Miku chose were cute little things, able to hear and respond with Miku through her computer thanks to a cheap headset she'd ordered along with the app; all free, of course. They acted like humans, at first wary of their new environment, then eventually warming up to the change. The twins expressed emotions in a surprisingly life-like way; their moods fluctuating from happy to sad to angry, and sometimes even to arguing with each other just as siblings did.
Their bickering reminded Miku of how she and her brother used to fight, another family member who had died from a sudden heart failure, which was why from then on, Miku only kept one out of the VOCALOID folder at a time.
Like almost anything else, the application grew boring and annoying. One of the androids was always present, snooping around in her files and trying to spark up a conversation every ten seconds, and they'd find different ways to escape from the folder whenever she put them in there.
Miku thought it was a glitch, and attempted to delete the software, but no matter what she did or how hard she tried, the androids refused to disappear. She kept them around for a while longer, finding that their company did soothe her much more than she originally thought.
The twins were the only other important things in her life. They came after her parents, meaning they had been there through some of her worst moments, talking and helping her as best as they could throughout each of her breakdowns. It didn't really matter if they were just computer-generated robots as long as they cared for her, even with fake emotions.
Getting home to an empty house every day only gave Miku a number of things to look forward to, her computer being one of them. Miku sluggishly trudged up the stairs. Every part of her ached, not from the stress of manual labor, but from the internal struggle that she had to deal with in her mind.
"Hatsune Miku-chan! You're home!" The computer lit up as Miku passed into her room. A small girl with short blonde hair appeared on the screen, waving excitedly at the exhausted girl. Miku didn't show any sign that she heard her computer friend, eliciting a pout from the blonde.
"Hatsune Miku-chan," she whined. At the same time, she switched layers in the screen to give her access to the volume, which was hidden at the bottom of the server bar. She turned it up to its maximum volume so as to guarantee Miku's attention. "Hatsune Miku-chan!"
This time, Miku jumped. She whipped around to glare at the now sheepish looking android who had directed her gaze to her feet in embarrassment. Miku shook her head; she wasn't about to start an argument.
Finally, after some time of doing absolutely nothing, Miku spoke. "What do you want?" She sighed, coming to take a seat at her desk and placed her headphones on. The android perked up. "I'm so happy you're home!" she smiled.
Miku muttered something incoherent under her breath. "How was your day," the blonde asked. When Miku didn't answer, she assumed the worst. "Not good?" Miku shrugged.
"I've had better." Miku admitted. The little robot bit her lip in contemplation, wracking her computer chip brain for a way to lift Miku's spirits. "Want to play a game?" she glided down to the menu, giving one giant tug on a page to bring up a game of Tetris, a window she had opened the entire day.
Miku denied her offer, exiting out of the page. "Not now," the android looked disheartened. "Maybe another time, Rin-chan."
"Yeah, okay." Rin said, disappointment evident on her features. Miku ignored her, used to the expression. Rin did it often, usually as a way to rope Miku into doing what she wanted. She didn't fall for it.
Instead, Miku went to surf the web, mindlessly searching through some of her favorite websites. She found nothing worth mentioning out loud to Rin as she sometimes did. Miku reclined in her chair, rolling it back towards her bed.
She gazed up at her ceiling, not pondering on anything in particular. She adjusted the microphone on her headset, placing it closer to her mouth. "Hey, Rin-chan, where's your brother?" Miku wondered. Rin leapt up at her voice, happy to provide an answer. "He's in the folder sleeping. He thought he felt a virus coming on and decided to reboot."
Miku nodded thoughtfully. It was the third time this month he felt himself coming down with something. Rin's brother got sick regularly, so it wasn't an unnatural occurrence; nevertheless, Miku couldn't help feel concerned about his welfare, alive or not.
"I hope he feels better soon." Miku told Rin. She smiled reassuringly. "He'll be better in no time!" Rin guaranteed, giving an overly exaggerated thumbs up for extra emphasis.
The conversation stopped there. Miku removed her headphones and turned down the volume, warning Rin not to turn it up again. The last thing she wanted was to be frightened again by Rin's squeaky tone.
She took her time getting changed out of her itchy uniform. There was no reason to rush since she had no place to be and no one to please. The thought dampened her mood; she had been doing so well before. She glanced back at her computer, monitor now black, debating whether to get beck on and talk to Rin or not.
She settled on the latter, instead busying herself with cooking. Miku had never been good with recipes, but it was one of the pastimes she enjoyed. It put her mind at a temporary halt.
Tonight, Miku felt like making something simple, such as her favorite lentil soup. As she prepared and mixed the ingredients, she was again reminded of her lost kindred. Lentil soup with extra leeks was a family recipe, passed down through the generations.
As the last of the Hatsune family, Miku carried out this traditional dish, making it every so often, despite knowing she'd never be able to share it with anyone else, let alone another generation.
To be honest, Miku couldn't picture herself meeting a boy and starting a family, not in her current state of health, not even if she managed to get better. It was like an unreachable dream, pushed back to the deepest depths of her brain. She'd come to realize dreams weren't meant for people like her, someone destined to have them crushed in the end.
Bad thoughts put aside, Miku finished up cooking her meal. She poured the brown substance into a red porcelain bowl, and sat down at the kitchen table, digging in right away.
Nostalgia hit Miku in waves with each spoonful of the soup she swallowed. Now that she thought about it, it was the first time since her parents died that she was eating the broth again. She endured the bitter feeling for a few more bites until she couldn't take it anymore.
Miku flew out of her seat, sprinting to the closest bathroom where she instantly dumped all of her stomach's contents into the toilet. She hunched over the bowl retching for ten minutes. When her gagging ceased and she felt she wouldn't vomit anymore, Miku washed out her mouth, and returned to the kitchen to clean up the mess she made.
Plugging her nose, Miku cleaned out the pot she used to cook, and deposited her dirty utensils and bowl into the dishwasher. She ignored the fresh wave of nausea that came back to her in doing those tasks, opting to take a moment to lie on the couch and calm her upset belly.
She laid face up on the couch, her head cushioned by a feather-stuffed pillow. Her eyes closed, her breathing slowed, and the sweat that once covered her forehead began to dissipate as she cooled down.
Miku was close – real close – to having a mental breakdown. She could feel her sanity slipping from her. If she didn't get everything under control, then she would completely lose herself in an irrepressible fit.
Taking deep breaths, Miku thought of all the things that made her happy. She avoided all and any thought of her family, rather letting her mind wander to Rin, who was probably upstairs waiting for her with that glowing beam of hers.
Musings such as that greatly relieved Miku of her anxiety, slowly bringing Miku back to stability. She breathed in relief, but dared not to move just yet, afraid that she would crumble again with even the slightest twitch.
Miku was a fragile girl, teetering on the fine edge between sanity and lunacy. For now, Miku was fine, but she feared the future and the troubles it may bring for her.
Ignoring the nagging sensation in the back of her head begging her to lie there forever, Miku stood up. She had to at least make it back to her room, prove to herself that she could get through the tough times on her own.
So she ignored Rin as she came into her room, too caught up with keeping herself sane to notice the peppy android. Robotically, Miku put herself to bed, moving in a stiff, zombie-like manner. She turned off her lights and pulled the covers tight around her body.
Miku had coped through one of her first mental failures. If she was able to get herself through that one, then surely the others would be the same. She could do it all on her own, juggle everything on one plate without dropping a single thing.
For sure, Miku would be able to live on for a long while, or, at least until tomorrow.
Mashuka-chan: Uh . . . Hi?
Sorry, I'm kind of at a loss as to what I'm supposed to say after all that above. I guess I could explain that this story is the result of sleep deprivation and having too much time on my hands to think. I'm not usually one for angst type things, but it just kind of turned out that way, so I can't really help that. You know, I'm also not one to write chapter stories . . . but here we are! Anyway, thanks a bunch for checking out my story! Drop a review or something if you liked it! Annnnnd, I'll be back at the next update. See you on the flip side! Buh-bye!