**Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid, nor any of these characters. Or this storyline. I don't own a lot of this story so don't sue me.**
Chapter 1: A Legend
On any other day, the shrill metallic ringing of the school bell would signal the end of class. But for Kaito Shion, it was like hearing a death sentence. "Now remember, everyone, tomorrow is the cultural festival! I expect to see you all working very hard to make our school look good!" Gakupo-sensei's voice rang out over the clatter of shifting chairs and zipping rucksacks.
Kaito groaned, banging his head down on his desk for further dramatic effect. Every year, he got put into a group with Miku and Rin for a booth at the festival. And if you get put with Miku and Rin, it means you stay at school the night before the festival to set everything up. Last year he hadn't made it home until three in the morning, and the year before that he hadn't made it home at all. Looking back on these unsavory memories, he squeezed his eyes shut and kept his head down on his desk, hoping that Miku was sick, or tired, or had just disappeared altogether.
As if on cue, the sound of Miku's laughter came bubbling into the empty classroom. It was as if someone had sunk a lead weight to the bottom of Kaito's stomach. "Ka-san! You can't be asleep, we have work to do!" She laughed gaily, nudging his shoulder. Internally wincing at his nickname, he sat up slowly, using his beloved scarf to cover the bottom half of his face. "Can't we just do something simple and go home early this year, Miku-chan? You and Rin keep us here practically all night.. It's so tiring…" He faked a yawn for emphasis. Miku shook her head, her pigtails swaying back and forth like twin snakes. "Absolutely not! We have to make the school look great, and we have to have the best cultural exhibit of all! Now come on, we're in Class 2-A this year!" She tugged at his sleeve insistently.
Kaito slung his bag over his shoulder, standing up and letting himself be pulled along by the shorter girl. He resigned his gaze to her hand, staring fixedly at the cyan nail polish as she led him to the aforementioned classroom. Aside from Miku and Rin, he recognized Luka Megurine from class 4-B and Len Kagamine, Rin's brother, both with equally bored expressions. Looks like he wasn't the only one who didn't want to be here. "Okay, everyone!" Rin clapped her hands, standing at the front of the classroom. "We need to get to work if we're going to make our exhibit for tomorrow look good! This year, we're making…" She stepped back and held up a piece of chalk, scribbling on the black board as Miku rolled her tongue for a drumroll. "... a haunted house!" She finished with a flourish. Luka's eyes lit up, but Len and Kaito groaned. "Do we have to do something so childish, onee-chan?" Len piped up, crossing his arms. "A manga cafe was one thing, but a haunted house? That's baby stuff!"
Rin glared at her brother, putting the chalk back down. "Says the tough guy who cried the last time we told scary stories around the campfire!" That little comment shut Len up, his cheeks warming to a vivid red as he heard Luka giggling behind him. "F-forget it."
"Enough bickering, you two!" Miku interjected, pointing at the board. "We have some serious work to do, and I know you guys can do it! We have about two hours until our dinner run, so I want to see some serious progress before then! Shigoto ni torikakaru!" With that, the others got to work, and Kaito, slumping his shoulders, decided to follow.
"Do you guys want to hear a scary story?" Rin's voice cut immediately through the quiet chatter of the room. Len, who had been playfully scaring Luka with a paper mache shrunken head, paused and glanced over at his sister. "Is now really a good time for that, onee-chan? You said we should be working…" Luka hesitated before saying quietly, "I wouldn't mind hearing a scary story.. It sounds fun." "Good!" Rin chirped, gesturing for Miku to turn off the lights as she sat down cross-legged on the floor. Kaito looked up from the desk he was sitting at, pausing mid-chew through his mouthful of noodles. Miku waved him over. "Come on, Ka-san! We need a break!" Kaito raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and swallowed his food before strolling over to sit with the group. Rin's expression settled into a mischievous smile as she eyed her audience. "Hope you're all sitting comfortably.. now then…"
"Back in the 1950s, there was an orphanage in the forest outside of town. The children that lived in the orphanage had no surviving relatives, and no one ever bothered to adopt them because there were strange rumors that circulated around that place… People would sometimes hear screams at night, and they said the doctors that worked in the orphanage were crazy. It was around that time that the head doctor at the orphanage, Hideki Sohta, released a study on immortality. He believed that there was a chemical in the frontal lobe that, once ingested, could render one immortal and unable to die of hunger, injury, poison, or even old age. There was only one problem… The chemical was only available in the brains of children."
"People considered Sohta to be a madman, and no one took his suggestions seriously. In his anger, Sohta wanted to show them that he was right about the elixir. He vowed to show them all. One by one, children in the orphanage began to disappear. Everyone assumed they were being adopted and thought nothing of it. But when there were no more children in the orphanage, whispers and questions started circulating around Dr Sohta. After a few months, the police decided to investigate the disappearances of the children. Sure enough, there were never any adoption papers found, and no one knew what had happened to the missing children. Soon after, Sohta was arrested for the kidnapping of all the kids in the orphanage, and judging by his execution, he never invented the elixir. He died just as easily as any other human."
"While most considered that to be the end of the story, there's still some speculation regarding what happened to the children themselves. People say you can hear their laughter when you're walking through the forest. Some think this is the work of ghosts… But others speculate… What if the doctors weren't the ones who ingested the elixir?"
Kaito found himself shivering a little as Rin finished her story. He looked over at Len, whose face was pale and clammy with fear. Rin grinned with satisfaction as she looked over the now-blanched faces of her audience. Miku gulped nervously before standing up, brushing off her skirt. "W-we should probably get back to work…" She was cut off by Luka, gazing at Rin with wide eyes. "I-is that true, Rin..?" The blonde nodded, standing up as well and straightening her hairbow. "Just as true as I'm standing here! They put that Sohta guy on trial and everything." Luka thought about this for several moments, furrowing her brow. "What if… we went to that orphanage? Just to see what was there… see if the urban legend was true?" Kaito looked at her, startled. "W-We can't do that! The place is probably condemned, or demolished, o-or something... " He trailed off, nervously tugging at his scarf. Rin tilted her head thoughtfully. "I don't think so. The news did a report on the building just last week. It's being kept as a historical landmark." "Oh…" Kaito nodded, his face burning with embarrassment.
"Okay, back to work, everyone!" Miku clapped her hands, her cheerful smile returning. "It's almost 10 pm, we're getting close to finishing up!" As she and Rin continued working, Luka shyly walked away from Len and over to Kaito. "What do you think, Shion-senpai..? Should we try going to that orphanage? It sounds creepy, but kinda fun…" She tucked a strand of her pink hair behind her ear, a slight smile crossing her lips. Kaito stammered a little, embarrassed at being referred to as 'senpai'. "It does sound fun, doesn't it? What do you think, Len?" The blonde glanced up from the spread he was painting. raising an eyebrow. "What, the old orphanage? I guess that sounds like fun.. Kind of childish, though." He shrugged, going back to what he was doing and gesturing for Luka to come help him. As she walked back to the desk, Kaito stood there thoughtfully, wrapping his scarf tighter around his face for comfort. "The old orphanage, huh..?"
End of Chapter 1
Thank you for reading! This is my first fanfic, I really hope it goes well. Rate and review if you like, but I just want you guys to enjoy the story. See you in Chapter 2!