**Nice to see you again, readers! This is my second Vocaloid fanfic (based on The Spider and the Kitsune-Like Lion) and is just as creepy as my first one! If you're disturbed by horror, gore, violence, et cetera, I'd turn back now. This fanfic is rated M for a reason. I don't own Vocaloid, any of the characters, or the song this is based on. Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 1

The rough crash of splintering wood jerked Gumi from her sleep. She bolted upright with a choked gasp, the sheets of her futon tugged aside in her fervor to get up. She blinked a few times, unsure if the noises she had heard were no more than the traces of a dream that had dissipated upon waking, and looked around her room with bleary eyes. This sweltering summer of Edo Period Japan had proved itself to be more humid and hot than any other; this made itself apparent as Gumi looked down at her futon. Her sheets and sleeping robe were soaked with sweat. She let out a small sound of disgust as she got up, letting the night air chill her moist skin and kicking her sheets messily back into place.

Her drowsy stupor was interrupted by another soft crunch of wood from the other side of the hall. The realization that she really had heard the first crash shook her awake, and she pulled her white sleeping robes closer as she took a cautious step out of her room. "Okaa-san? Outu-san?" She called out quietly, her brow furrowing with worry. There wasn't any noise from her parents' room. As her bare feet padded down the open-air hallway, she noticed dark stains spread across the smooth wooden floor. 'Water..?' She leant down, touching one of the small puddles. Her finger came back up a dark, thick red. "B-blood?" Her voice quivered slightly as she rubbed the liquid between her thumb and forefinger.

Gumi stood back up, nary a squeak coming from the floorboards. Outu-san had paid the most skilled craftsmen to lay the wood, and as a result it was sanded and lacquered smoother than river stones. She continued to walk to her parents' room, her pace quickening slightly as she tried to think of what could be the matter. The stains in the wood were growing steadily in size, until she rounded a corner of the hall… and stopped cold in her tracks.

The sliding door to her parents' room was completely destroyed, splinters of wood and shreds of rice paper strewn about across the hallway floor. The remains of the door that hung loosely from its frame were stained with dark blood. She gulped, clutching her robe to her chest as she took another step forward, looking into the room itself. Both of her parents' futons were a mess, blankets ripped and stained, and she felt a sinking feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach as she recognized her mother's best yukata in tatters on the floor. The moonlight had given the scene an uncomfortably peaceful ambience; the blood that was pooled and soaking into the wooden floors shimmered in the eerie mother-of-pearl light.

Putting her hand to her mouth, Gumi took a step back. She could feel sour bile rising in her throat, and she squeezed her eyes shut before turning away. The smell was clotting her nostrils, making her head spin with disgust. "N-no…" She muttered quietly, leaning against the wall a few feet away from the doorway. Her mind was a hot mess of questions and confusion. What had happened? Who had broken in? Where were her parents? She felt sick.

Taking a deep breath, Gumi stepped away from the wall and walked back to her room to put on a pair of sandals. She drew her sleeping robe closer, the air feeling inexplicably frigid. There were bits of sudden snow all over her flesh. "I need to go for help," She said to no one. "There has to be someone who can help me…" She put her hand on the smooth wooden surface of her door, her fingertips lightly brushing the rice paper stretched tightly between each slat, before pausing. "Miku-chan," she breathed, her eyes lighting up. The Hatsune family had been close to hers for years and they didn't even live too far away; they'd know what to do, she knew it!

The night's sudden chill forgotten, she whipped open the door and dashed out into the summer night.

"Miku-chan! Miku!" She shouted, rapping on the gate outside of the Hatsune mansion. The Hatsunes were a very prosperous family; Miku-chan's father, Hatsune Kiguru-san, worked as a diplomat for the emperor. Gumi's father worked for the emperor as well, but he wasn't ranked as highly as Hatsune-san.

Gumi's thoughts were interrupted by the scraping of wood against stone as one of the servants opened the door. The man looked haggard, with a thin face and dark circles under his eyes. "Hai?" He asked, his reedy voice sounding thin enough to be blown away by the wind. "U-Um…" Gumi stuttered, "I-I'm Megpoid Gumi… I need to speak to Hatsune-sama. It's urgent." The servant bowed slightly and shuffled back from the gate. "Wakarimashta."

Walking quickly to the main door, Gumi drew her sleeping robe closer as she stepped inside. The first thing that she thought upon stepping inside the main room was how unusual the temperature seemed. It was far too cold for a summer this hot. The second thing she noticed was that all the lanterns inside were lit. It was the dead of night, and she had just arrived- why would all the lights be on?

"Guu-chan?" A voice cut through the silently cold room, causing the green-haired girl to jump as she whirled around at the sound of her familiar childhood nickname. She let out a small sigh of relief at the sight of Miku, her robes drawn tightly around her as well. "What's going on..? Why are you here so late at night?"

"Oh, it's terrible, Miku-chan!" The girl exclaimed, running forward and clutching her friend's sleeves. "My parents… My parents are missing! And their room is in ruins! Th-there's blood on the wall and all the sheets were ripped, and, and the sliding door was-" Miku's hand covered her mouth. "Slow down, Guu-chan. Do you know where your parents are?" Gumi shook her head limply, removing Miku's hand. "Please let me speak to your father, Miku-chan! I'm sure he'll know what to do…"

"You should get some rest." Miku answered calmly. "I'm sure your parents are fine." Gumi shook her head, looking at her friend incredulously. "What's the matter with you, Miku-chan? You have to help me! Please!" She was shushed by a slender, pale finger covering her lips. "I said, rest. Your parents are fine." The teal-haired girl smiled, setting Gumi more at ease. She took a deep breath. "O-okay. Can I talk to your father..? He might know what happened to my parents… He could at least tell me where they might be."

"Of course!" Taking her friend by the arm gently, Miku led her to the foot of the stairs. "Outo-san knows what he's doing, he'll be able to find out what happened. I am sorry to hear about your mother's yukata being ripped, though. It was her prettiest one." Gumi laughed softly, sighing with relief. "Y-yeah, it was-" Wait. Her pace stuttered to a stop, her blood running cold. "I… I never told you about the yukata, Miku-chan." Miku paused, her smile disappearing. She stood there for a moment, holding eye contact with her friend, before sighing and turning away. "I'm sorry, Outo-san. I made a mistake." Gumi stood there for a moment, bewildered, before a man's voice echoed from the shadows. "That's quite alright, Miku. You did your best. Outo-san will take care of it from here."

Gumi whirled around, prepared to run down the stairs. A sudden shadow blocked her path down the dark stairwell, and Hatsune-sama's horrifyingly wide grin filled her vision. Before she could run, something heavy and solid collided with the back of her head, and she had just enough time to register his hands reaching for her neck before everything sank into blackness.

End of Chapter 1

**Thank you for reading! The spooky stuff has begun. I'll try to update this one as often as I can; it's gonna be about 6 or 7 chapters long. Hope you all liked it, and I'll see you again in the next chapter!**