Every Little Thing

Miki and Kiyoteru barely managed to escape the hell known as Vocaloid House. Not two weeks after settling into their new home, Miki finds a lost little girl in the park. How can a little girl with her own painful memories help these two come to terms with their own pasts?

Pairings: Minor KiyoteruxMiki, minor OliverxMiku, hinted/mentioned others

Rating: K+

Genres: Family, hurt/comfort

Characters: Yuki K., Kiyoteru H., SF-A2 Miki

Warnings: mentions of suicide, bullying, major character death. Other warnings will be added at the beginning of each chapter when needed.


Well, we're finally here. The sequel that's been long overdue for a while. I cranked out a few chapters yesterday and decided that I was far enough ahead to post this.

Keep in mind that future chapters will be longer and that this chapter is at least six months old, so the quality of the writing might be better later on. I'll let the reader be the judge of that, though.

If anyone has any pairings or characters they might want to see in this or issues from the last story they want addressed, I will comply to the best of my ability.

If you have not read The Meaning of My Existence and have clicked on this story: I would suggest reading that first, though it isn't necessary.


SF-A2 Miki was not a confident girl. On the contrary, she had been adapted to think that she was the epitome of all things pathetic and horrible in the world. This was not to say this was true. In reality, Miki was a calm, quiet girl with a heart made more of silver and gold than lead and iron. She was pretty and had a chirpy voice that made her seem all the more adorable. She was not pathetic. She was not horrible. And she was not perfect. Then again, neither is anyone else, so this goes without saying.

The reason Miki thought if herself so poorly was because of her years spent in Vocaloid House. While she was made to look a certain age (around twenty or so), she was, in reality, about four years old. She had been created four years ago, a little before her companion and match Kiyoteru. Those four years had been the worst of her entire life. She had not been a popular Vocaloid. She might as well have been an UTAUloid for all the respect she got.

See, Vocaloid House was a very complicated place. All Vocaloids and UTAUloids (save for the few who were brave enough to run like hell and find a new place to live) lived there. It used to be peaceful, Miki had been told. But that was before she had been built. Before, every android (for that is what UTAUloids and Vocaloids were) had been equal. But somewhere along the way, that system had broken. Nearly everyone blamed this invisible break on Hatsune Miku, the blue-haired diva, the most popular and well-known Vocaloid. A few Utauloids who had been made before Miki informed the red-head that not long ago, Miku had been friends with many of them. The reason behind her sudden change of heart was unknown (and Miki didn't care to know), but everyone hoped that, someday, everything could go back to how it had been before.

Miki didn't think sticking around and waiting would be the best option. So she and Kiyoteru and left; together, of course. For one to leave without the other would be far too painful to bear. As companions, Miki and Kiyoteru had literally been made for each other. This was not a romantic thing. It could be but more often than not, android companions were the closest of friends. They could rely on each other no matter what. They would always be together. If they weren't, it would hurt. Not physically. It would be as though the android in question was living without their legs or arms. Part of them would simply be missing. This is the best way to explain it.

So Miki and Kiyoteru disappeared. Where to, they had no idea. No one did. They were completely off the radar.

The two spent a total of five days homeless. This isn't quite so horrible for an android. They don't need to eat or drink or sleep. The only thing they lacked was a proper place to charge. Darting into a library every other day and hooking yourself up to an outlet would be suspicious, as well as expensive. So after those five days, Miki managed to find them both a job and a place to live.

The job wasn't so bad. They were bartenders at a local bar. They slept in the apartment above it. The owner didn't much care about the little business. He was a rich fellow with a habit of abandoning his plans halfway through. The bar would eventually become one of those ideas. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're still at the part where they finally found a place to stay.

The job was decent. The apartment, a two bedroom, one bath, was a bit on the small side, but it didn't matter much as they had nothing to bring into it. Their lives were now as empty as their living room.

It took a while to settle in. Waking up early in the morning was strange for Miki. So was being hit on every other hour, but Kiyoteru and Miki (who were both built quite attractively) got used to this. As long as they were safe and far away from Vocaloid House, Miki was content.

Of course, four years of psychological damage doesn't disappear so easily. They both had a rough road ahead. But they had years ahead of them; years to be happy and to get better. The prospect that Miki could make something useful of herself kept her going longer than she ever thought possible.

One week and two days after they settled into their new apartment, Miki found herself walking home in the cold weather just after the sky had finally gone dark. This wasn't something she enjoyed very much, but she thought their apartment could do with a few things. Namely, books and DVDs. They had already managed to procure a small television from a garage sale and Miki knew Kiyoteru was beginning to get bored of rereading the same book over and over again. The man was a genius, even for an android. He could read a book in no more than an hour. Usually, Miki could spend between six days and six months on a book. She wasn't much of a reader.

Nevertheless, she thought Kiyoteru would appreciate the gesture. He was so quiet Miki rarely knew what went on his head, but she knew this was something he'd like.

Smiling to herself, Miki drew the bag closer to her chest and walked quietly past the park. Her shoes made a loud clunking sound against the pavement in the near silence and Miki was glad for the chance to be alone.

This was before she heard the chain of the swing clang loudly.

With a quiet yelp, she spun to look at the swing set, which she hadn't paid any attention o before. On one of the swings sat a little girl with raven hair pulled back into two little pigtails at the base of her skull. She wore warm clothes, though on her feet sat a pair of boots that were clearly too small. Her feet scuffed at the ground and her eyes kept to lap. Her hands, which were bare, looked red and cold. She hadn't noticed Miki, or, if she had, she just didn't care.

"Don't you know what time it is?" Miki asked after a bit of an internal struggle. The girl looked up swiftly then relaxed when she saw the small red-head who spoke to her.

Miki didn't know a single thing about children. She lived with androids who had been designed as teenagers and young adults and acted accordingly (unless you happened to be Teto Kasane, who had a class all of her own). She hoped she hadn't sounded cruel or mean, but honestly. Why was this child out here?

"I lost track," the girl replied. "What time is it?"

"Almost eight thirty," Miki replied. "Where are you parents?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't know."

"How long have you been here?" Miki demanded quizzically.

"A few hours," the girl told her. "I don't know."

"Do you know where you live?" Miki asked, coming a bit closer to the girl. She nodded in response. "I can help you get home if you want-"

"I don't," the girl interjected. "I can stay here."

Miki blinked. She was sure that no one else would ever simply let a child sleep in a park. Who knew what might happen to her? In this weather, she might freeze!

"Why don't you come home with me?" Miki offered. "In the morning, we can talk about this."

The girl agreed with a simple nod and slid from her swing to take Miki's hand.

Miki didn't think this would be a good thing to do. Wasn't this technically kidnapping? But she looked so cold. And Miki could tell the girl clearly didn't want to go home, wherever home might be. It was scary to think that everyday horrors existed outside Vocaloid House, but this little girl who couldn't be guilty of anything more than stealing an extra cookie had clearly seen a few. Miki didn't want to jump to conclusions, but maybe it would be better for the girl if she didn't get back home.

Besides, it was for the night. Just for the night. Tomorrow, she'd think of a better solution.


Review if that's your thing! If not, I'll see you next chapter, which will be posted on Saturday.