Okay, not That I am more acustomed to , I'm publishing this again. In chapters this time. This is the first story that had ever reached novel-size for me and the one I'm proudest of. Please enjoy.
Kamui Gakupo raised his blade, and with total precision that comes from years of training in the way of the samurai he sliced cleanly through it until he reached the table's surface. There was only a thin, clear sheen left on his blade as he pulled it out of the vegetable's flesh with a squishing sound.
He sheathed his sword and left the kitchen to check on the coals that were burning at the Vocaloid family outdoor grill. Most of the coals had already turned white and the heat felt even when he put his arm over the low burning fire.
"Ah, perfect." Gakupo knew that he had cut his eggplant even without having to look, it was one of those things that you do so many times you do not even have to think about it. He did kind of wish that he could put his samurai training to slightly better use. Oh well.
He carried the plate of eggplant halves outside to the grill and placed them equidistant from the center of the fire. The center of the fire was where all of the heat was, and he really wanted them to be cooked evenly this time, raw eggplant was just not the same as eggplant cooked just right.
Gakupo went inside and put the plate in the sink to wash after he was finished. Somebody had left a green crayon in the Vocaloid family dishwasher and they would have to wait to get a replacement, so until then whoever ate last gets stuck with the dish washing duty.
Not that Gakupo minded; he was always very punctual about meals. Some Vocaloids were so busy with writing new songs, testing new sounds or learning new instruments that they hardly ate at all. Miku Hatsune and Kasane Teto were notorious for keeping stocks of their favorite foods (Leeks and bread respectively) hidden in their room so that they might not be seen for days at a time in between singing and editing songs.
Gakupo opened the refrigerator and began shifting through the Vocaloid family favorite foods. There was a king's ransom in oranges for Rin Kagamine, a fairly large bunch of bananas for her brother Len, a log cabin made of carrots for his sister Megapoid Gumi, and a large salt water tuna for Luka Megurine.
Gakupo moved aside some beer and decided that he would just like a tossed salad to go with his dinner. He pulled a bag out of the vegetable drawer and shut the refrigerator door with his foot.
As he reached into one of the cabinets to get a bowl, Luka Megurine walked into the room. Gakupo had been secretly crushing on her since her release in two-thousand nine; he had only been a year and a half old but he had fallen like a fool for her cool somewhat mysterious character.
She had the softest looking pink hair that swished past her waist as she walked and she was the only Vocaloid produced by the Crypton Corporation that was not dressed in something of a school uniform. (Like Miku or the twins) She had the calmest way of expressing herself, almost to the point of being apathetic but that only made her seem even more mature and aloof.
Gakupo put down his bowl and started pouring salad in without looking directly at Luka. He prayed that his Jinbaori was not stained or wrinkled.
"Good evening Luka," He said with a respectable tone "I'm surprised you are eating so early." He hoped he was coming off as cool and collected, or at least mysterious as a samurai ought to be. He was so shy he would be surprised if he hadn't begun blushing.
Luka didn't say a word but strode right through the kitchen and grabbed Gakupo's jinbaori with both hands and turned him around until he was facing her.
"Crap!" Gakupo thought. "What did I do this time?"
He closed his eyes, thinking back to all of the times he had made some slight offense that had set a family member off on a rampage that had ended in violence. Since he was skilled in combat, he could have easily fought back against Kaito or Len but since he had a moral code to live by, he couldn't attack the girls. Miku had once nearly broken his robot frame since he couldn't fight back.
Luka had been the worst of all. He had been clobbered so badly he couldn't even remember now what he did so wrong to make her hit him like that.
He took a gasp of breath and tried to plead for a reprieve, when Luka kissed him.
It all happened so fast, it was over in a flash. Before he could even kiss back Luka had broken away and began to walk out of the room.
Gakupo touched his lips lightly with his fingertips; the kiss had barely been a brush of her skin, but it had been enough to feel her warmth. "Luka, I had no idea you felt that way…" He knew he was blushing now, but he couldn't help it. Even if it was unmanly he though back to all the times he had felt afraid to let his emotion show and realized that they had been hiding from each other all of this time. All of that wasted time.
Luka had picked up a note book and had begun scribbling down figures. It wasn't until she mumbled "…wet." Gakupo realized she was still in the middle of writing a love song.
"Hold on a minute!" Gakupo shouted over his blooming embarrassment "Did you just use me for reference in your new song?"
"Of course." Luka said calmly as she opened the refrigerator door and pulled out her giant tuna. "As an artist I need some kind of reference to base my experience off of. I can't just write songs based off of speculation."
She swung the tuna over her shoulder and headed up the stairs into her room. "Besides, why else would I kiss you? We're not in LOVE or anything."
"You have to Cook that fish you know!" Gakupo yelled upstairs before sinking into a chair.
"…oh, she really wounded me." Gakupo said clutching his glowing chest in a fake heart attack. "No, I believe she has killed me! Urgh!"
He hurried outside and rescued his grilled eggplant from the grill and put a lid on the fire to kill the flames.
"Pfft! Can't write songs without a reference, she says! How does she write all of those songs about killing people, like Kagome kagome?" Gakupo fumed as he munched on his salad.
"And why me? Why couldn't she just Google it?" He ripped through his eggplant without tasting it. "Why does she have to lead me on like that? Is it possible she doesn't know my feelings?"
By the time he calmed down enough to enjoy his dinner, it was already gone. So Gakupo rinsed his plate and left it for somebody else to wash.
He went into his room and plugged in the wires to recharge his system into his back and practiced playing the chords for his new song with the guitar.
Gakupo was the only Vocaloid with a glowing chest plate and a full body blue skin over his wiring. The blue skin had glowing light blue roads up and down his body that pulsed as they surged with energy. He had never asked his master why every other Vocaloid had human skin all over their body while he had only normal hands and feet, but now it seemed almost necessary.
Why had he been made different? He was the only Vocaloid who had been made with his occupation in mind. Master even used special technology to give him samurai skills before he even developed a personality. Being a samurai was so much a part of him that he hadn't even questioned it before.
Should he?
Was his strange body to blame for Luka's lack of interest? Was it because she didn't like samurai? Or long hair? Why didn't she like him?
Gakupo's playing turned from his new song to paranoid doll, to the chords for imitation black, but he still couldn't take his mind off of Luka so he put down his guitar.
Suddenly, Gakupo heard something. He listened closely, it could have been a high note for a song, or Gumi playing the violin, or…
No! It was definitely a scream! And it sounded like it was coming from Luka's room! He yanked the cords out of his back and shook off the feeling of dizziness when the energy was suddenly cut off. He grabbed his jinbaori off of the bed and raced out of the room.
He hustled out the door and sped down the hallway, leaping over one of the Kagamine's who was lying face down on the rug. He reached Luka's door when another earsplitting shriek came from within.
"Hold on Luka!" Gakupo cried as he kicked the door in with one massive blow.
"What's going on, Gakupo-san?" Len Kagamine had been the one lying down and was suddenly alert when the situation hinted of danger.
Luka bounded out of the open door and leapt into Gakupo's open arms. Startled he grabbed her waist and her thighs and struggled to keep from dropping her. At first she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as if for dear life, but then she screamed in his ear "SPIDEEER!" and tried to climb up and over his shoulder.
Her white night gown flapped in his face as he tried to keep his balance while she escaped over his shoulder. It was the dress she used in all of her "Just Be Friends" promotions and she said it was so comfortable that she wore it whenever she wasn't clad in her black and gold garb.
Luka landed nimbly on the ground and with the speed of a panther she raced to the end of the hallway and down the stairs.
Gakupo stood aghast. A spider? The cool mysterious Luka was afraid of a spider? He shook his head around and mused at the fascinating new side of Luka he had found today.
"Hey Len, let's do something nice and get that spider out of Luka's room, okay?"
"No way. I hate spiders. And I'm not helping you get lucky!" Len scoffed tucking his bangs behind his ear. If Gakupo hadn't been soliciting his help, he might have hit the rude little kid, but instead he devised a scheme.
"Okay, well if I catch it I'm putting it in Rin's room and when she comes out screaming I'll tell her it was you."
Len's face turned pale and he swooped into Luka's room and began shifting through piles of paper's and clothes.
"Man, Luka onee-chan doesn't look like the messy type but this room speaks for its self."
Gakupo nodded and bent down to look under Luka's salmon colored bed. Suddenly something huge and fuzzy shot out from underneath ad made a beeline for the door. He jumped back, knocking Len over as the huge spider escaped out the open door.
"Gakupo-san, was that the spider?"
Gakupo was stunned and merely nodded.
"But Gakupo-san, that one was almost the size of a cat!"
Gakupo stood up and peeked out the door frame. The mammoth spider headed over to the stairs and raced down out of sight.
"Luka headed down stairs! She's in danger! Come on Len!" Gakupo raced down stairs and without taking more than a brief glance down he leapt over all of the steps.
Luka sat at the bottom of the stairs thoroughly embarrassed. She had big time freaked out in front of Gakupo, she even climbed over his shoulder!
"Oh, why did I do that? I'm such a super wimp!" She scorned herself.
"It's not my fault!" Herself answered back "Did you see the size of that spider. It must have been twice the size of any tarantula I've ever seen!"
Luka sighed. "I can't keep lying to myself forever. But he was right there and I couldn't help myself."
Luka wondered "I rely on him so much. He is always making sure I'm eating meals, and not working too hard. But is that love?
I mean, I know I love him, but how does he feel about me?
And even if we did share feelings, how would we act on emotions?"
Luka sighed even deeper. "It's too bad I can't Google my emotions!"
Luka had kissed him and he had only told her that she needed to cook the fish before she ate it. What does that reaction mean? Does he only care about her so far as a roommate cares for another roommate?
Luka heard bumping coming from her room and wondered what the two boys could be doing up there. She heard footsteps coming down the hall and looked up stairs…
…just in time to be face to face with an eight eyes- fanged monster! The spider was right on top of her and climbing up on her arm.
She screamed and jumped off the stair flinging her arm around trying to knock the spider off before it bit her.
"Luka, look out!" She heard Gakupo cry from the top of the stairs and in a flash he descended from the sky and chopped of one of the spider's legs with his musical sword. The sword gave of a melodic little chime and the spider gave a raspy squeal as it let go of Luka's arm and raced through the first story Vocaloid home.
"Come on Len, hurry up!" Gakupo called upstairs "We've got him on the run!" and the samurai chased the furry arachnid through the living room, upsetting Miku's glass of milk and causing Haku to scream when they raced past.
Gakupo and Len chased the spider down into the basement where it somehow opened the door to their master's Lab. When Gakupo opened the door he saw the monster spider on top of his master so he swung his musical sword with intent to slice the monster in half, but Master quickly side stepped the samurai holding the giant spider close.
"What is going on here?" She asked folding her reading glasses and putting them into her white coat pocket.
"We've been trying to kill that spider!" Gakupo cried thrusting his sword at the fuzzy thing which cuddled closer to master.
"It tried to kill Luka!" Len added for dramatic measure.
"Boys, boys!" Master put the spider on the ground and it happily crawled away into a large glass tank where it promptly fell asleep. "This is my new project, Halloween androids."
"Hallow…wha?" Gakupo's mouth was a gape with surprise.
"Robots people might buy for movies or a haunted house that have their own mind and can move on their own.
Gary, here" She motioned to the spider "Must have gotten out of his tank earlier today."
"Of course he did!" Len cried "That tank isn't even covered!"
"Well… what are you going to do?" she smiled.
Gakupo sank to the ground. What a rollercoaster day he'd been on! Len was also tired so he marched up stairs. "If you make a Michal Myers robot I AM OUTTA HERE!" and he slammed the door.
"Hm, that's a good idea." Master said mostly to herself.
Gakupo motioned with his hand for the master to come over, so she walked until she was right in front of him.
"Look," he said. "I'm really tired. I don't have energy to phrase this correctly, but why am I the only Vocaloid with a blue body suit. Okay?"
Master looked at him oddly. She thought he was being rather short, and a little bit tactless but the strangest thing was…
"You mean you don't know?"
Gakupo shook his head.
"I never told you?"
Gakupo again shook his head.
Master cupped her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god! How could this have slipped my mind?"
What? What is it? Gakupo pressed.
"You are the only Vocaloid I developed using NUCULAR technology. When you inhale, the plutonium in you generates heat and electric energy, when you exhale that heat energy is released. When you charge, you are actually charging the mechanical system that controls your plutonium rod. Unlike the other Vocaloid who need to charge their whole systems. Oddly enough it isn't connected to the rest of your energy system."
Gakupo was horrified. Plutonium?
"That's also why your charge takes much less time than other Vocaloids." Master rambled on.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Isn't plutonium highly explosive?" Gakupo shouted pointing to the glowing part of his chest.
"Why yes, yes it is. That is why I made you a Samurai." Master continued, "So that you would have a gentle temperament, and even if you DO get into a fight it will be smoother and less of a brawl. Oh, and try to be gentle just in case! The Plutonium in your system is strong enough to blast three or four city blocks!"
Gakupo looked to his master, and then to the giant spider.
"You're crazy!" he said, as his battery reached its very last joule of energy. His battery stopped powering his body first, so he lay on the basement floor as he felt his body systems fail him one by one.
"You'd be crazy too if you hadn't slept in three years and your father was Duke of Azerbaijan. Gakupo?" Master finally realized that his battery pack was dying and that he could no longer produce energy for himself but it was too late.
"Crap!" Gakupo thought as his vision turned black. The first things to go would be the nonessential life devices such as digestion, which in Vocaloids was only for pleasure. The next thing to go would be his five senses starting with vision. The last thing would be his thought processing unit.
"Why didn't I charge?" He asked himself furiously as Master's voice dwindled into nothingness. Hearing was already gone.
"Oh, right. Luka screamed." Gakupo would have sighed if he wasn't paralyzed from lack of energy.
"When I think back to all of the times I could have blown the whole Vocaloid family to kingdom come it horrifies me!" he thought with a quiver of terror. Why hadn't he asked Master about his strange body before?
The answer was simple. For the same reason he had never told Luka how he had secretly felt. Fear.
Well, it was no good since his fears had, in this case, been justified but he still felt rotten for letting himself get pummeled and beaten up when he could have destroyed three city blocks with the slightest jarring.
Gakupo thought glumly. Maybe this whole experience had been a metaphor for how he should handle his feelings for Luka. He hated metaphors even in literature. If somebody had something to say, why didn't they just come out and say it? Why all of the subterfuge?
But wasn't that what he had been doing? Subterfuge? Did that make him a hypocrite? Gakupo thought so.
As his vestibular sense left him, he suddenly felt as if he was floating in an ocean of nothingness. He couldn't feel anything or even feel his body.
"That's it. I've decided!" Gakupo's mind screamed at the blackness and emptiness that threatened to swallow him. "From this point on I refuse to hide or keep anything from anyone anymore! I'm going right upstairs and telling Luka that I love her! And I'm going to kiss her and if she hates me…" Gakupo would have gone on with his thoughts, but at that moment the last of the energy in his batteries was used up and he fell into a deep sleep that was too close to death for dreams.
Gakupo saw light and heard sound. He wearily opened his eyes and blinked away the blurriness that clouded his vision. "…I'll kiss her again and tell her that my heart is hers alone…" He mumbled sleepily as he scratched the sleep from the corner of his eyes.
"Who?" Luka said suddenly from a folding chair that had been opened just to the side of the white operating table.
Gakupo jumped and quickly scanned his surroundings. He was still in the basement, but he found he had been asleep on top of the operating table used to fix broken Vocaloids. He quickly jumped off the table and used the edge to prop himself up. His legs felt weaker for some reason and they wouldn't support his weight unassisted.
"Luka?" he asked "What happened?"
Luka stood up and helped Gakupo into the folding chair. He was grateful since he wasn't sure how long he could stand alone. His whole body felt shaken and weak like a newborn foal.
"Well, we let Master get some sleep, and when she woke up a few days later she was adamant about making you like the other Vocaloids." Luka said leaning against the table.
"She said something about an explosion."
Gakupo quickly explained to her all about the nuclear technology and how he could have killed them all anytime back then, and was surprised when she laughed it off.
"Hahahaha! That is just the kind of thing that could happen to us!" Her laughter was sharp and clear like the chiming of bells, and Gakupo couldn't help but think that there was something fake about it.
"So now I'm just like you, and Kaito and Gumi and everybody now?" Gakupo patted his chest and realized that he could no longer feel bulges from the glowing avenues that use to run from his chest all over his body.
He realized he was in a white bath robe and he could look down his legs from his toes to his knees. What had once been dark blue cloth had been replaced by a synthesized material that looked and felt like human skin.
"I'm normal." He sighed relieved.
"Well, since you're awake I'm going to wake up Master. She's been trying to catch up on years of sleep." Luka stood up to leave and she smiled and waved as she went to go.
"Wait!" Gakupo shouted. Luka halted at the door but she didn't turn around.
"I Love you." Gakupo stated strongly. His voice seemed to reverberate in his chest giving him more strength. "I've always loved you. Ever since January thirtieth, two thousand nine; I can't stop thinking about you. I want to know everything about you."
Luka hadn't turned around, or even made a sound or moved at all, so Gakupo continued: "I'm sorry if I've acted contrary to my heart, but I won't let the impression I made in the past stand in place of truth. I love you."
Luka was silent. Gakupo didn't know what else to say. They both just stood there awkwardly waiting. Finally Luka sighed.
"I'm sorry Gakupo-san. I just don't feel the same way. I hope we can still be friends." She took a few more steps towards the door. "Just friends."
Gakupo was crushed, but he took a few long strides over towards the door and he seized Luka's wrist. He was going to keep his promise to himself and to her.
He spun her around and she looked at him wide eyed, her mouth opened in surprise and he kissed her passionately.
At first Luka was too surprised to do anything, but then she began to kiss back. She was like electricity passing through his lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and every touch felt like pure joy. Every simple movement a sensation.
But suddenly Luka broke away. She pushed back his face and turned her whole body away.
Gakupo wiped his hand over his face. He felt like he had gone too far, after all he was meant to respect a woman's wishes, and yet…
"I know, I went too far. And I'm sorry. But I promise that my love is as undiluted and true as the rays of light from the sun. I promise that so long as I live, my existence will be only for you."
Luka shook her head and her long pink hair shimmered in a waterfall of salmon. "You should dedicate yourself to pleasing your fans, not me."
Gakupo took two steps towards her with intent to hold her elbow, her hand; touch her gently and make her look at him. But he was afraid that he might lose himself again and kiss her so he took one step back.
"I could be the most loved Vocaloid, with the most fans in the world; but Luka, it doesn't mean anything if you still aren't a fan of mine. I would trade all of the fan art and fan fiction and fan girls for a half-hour with you alone."
Gakupo blushed. "Their love for us is superficial. They love only what they see and hear on the internet. But what I have for you is real and true. It comes from countless hours spent talking and working with you.
I understand you Luka." Luka turned her head a fraction of an inch but she still hid her expression.
"Whatever reason you don't want to be together is fine. If it's because you think I'm just a dorky samurai, or because I'm from INTERNET Co while you're from Crypton or if you think I'll just get in the way of your career, whatever you decide is fine! But remember this. Love is an emotion. I can't kill these feelings with logic or reasoning. I can only let them die of neglect. I tried to hide them, but over time they just became stronger. They won't die. Not so long as you are somewhere in this world. I promise."
Luka held her head in her hands, but she didn't turn to look at Gakupo. Gakupo thought he wasn't going to get a response so he walked past her to leave the basement and go talk to another Vocaloid about the giant spider or something.
When he opened the door all the way Luka wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. He cried out in surprise and fell onto the floor.
She just hugged him. But she wouldn't let go.
"Luka?"
"I think I love you too Gakupo."
"Then why? Why all the trouble? All the rejection?"
Luka snuggled into his chest. "Can you keep a secret?"
Gakupo wrapped his arms around her. "Of course."
"I can't remember anymore."
Gakupo chuckled and Luka beamed. They both felt so comfortable in each other's arms, it didn't matter that they were on the floor in a dark room.
Suddenly they heard applause. Meiko, Haku, Miku, The twins and Kaito were standing right outside the open door with dull expressions clapping. They had probably heard the whole thing and seen the last little bit.
Gakupo blushed furiously and Luka stood up and brushed herself off. Len added a whistle for effect and both Vocaloids marched embarrassed through the cheering crowd and up into their rooms.
When Gakupo sat down at his computer desk her found he had an instant message:
"Do you regret anything you said?"
Gakupo quickly replied: "Not a bit."
"Me either."
Gakupo smiled "Want to do something a little crazy?"
Luka replied "Crazy how?"
"Meet me in my room at midnight."