Welcome to one of my more darker pieces. I thought of this today, and just had to write it down. Enjoy! (For those asking, this is a one-shot, and will not be continued. Sorry!)


Kokoro – Another Story

To you, I am simply a piece of shoddy workmanship.

"Servant," he beckons for me, and I shuffle over obediently.

"What is it that you require, Master Len?" I respond with a monotone voice; the automated command drilled, burned branded into my mind. The command that has escaped my metal lips over and over.

"Bring me a drink." I nod, and head for the kitchen.

I cannot disobey master.

I bring him back a glass of cold water, ice cubes clinking quietly, floating at the top. Condensation forms on the glass as I set it on a tray, and carry it back to him. But as he reaches for it, my program malfunctions, and I let go of the tray. It crashes to the floor, a symphony of breaking glass, a clatter of plastic, a dim splash as everything falls out of order.

Error. Error. Error. The words flash through my head in scarlet red. Muscle malfunction.

"Look what you've done, you dimwitted machine!" He stands up, shouting in frustration.

"I apologize for my error. Code minus three eight five zero one one five." I stammer in my robotic, cold voice.

I have made master upset.

I quickly retrieve a rag and a broom, and begin to mop the floor, my face emotionless, internal engine whirring quietly.

"You worthless machine!"

Perhaps he does not realize that words cannot hurt me. I continue cleaning up the glass. The shards that would injure a human are just ordinary pieces of harmless material to me. No more am I a glorious test subject, the spawn of science. I am a robot for manual work.

"Did you not hear me?" I feel something on my back. Len has stepped on me in anger.

"I apologize. Shall I get you another glass?"

"No, I don't need another clumsy error like yours again. I can get it myself, you piece of flawed, ungodly work." He gets up from his chair.

"As you wish, Master Len." I deposit the debris in the overflowing trash can. Ever since my original master fell ill, I have been under the charge of Len. The once well-kept laboratory is now a dilapidated, run-down shack. Len has never asked me to clean it, and once again…

I will never disobey my master.

It is the code that has been imprinted into me, and therefore, I cannot go against it.

The telephone rings in the distance, and I hear Len pick it up grumpily. "The old man is dead?"

I stand creator is dead. Yet, I am rid from emotions. A loss, I think to myself, and resume with sweeping up the glass.

"A will?" A raised voice. "That is his will? Very well." It is silent in the laboratory for a second. "Good bye."

He returns to the room. "Well, did you hear that? My father is dead."

I say nothing of it.

He continues. "His will is not addressed to me, but to someone else. Do you know who they are?"

"No, Master Len, I do not."

"The will…" I notice his fists curl up, shaking. "Is addressed to you."

"Is that so?"

"Don't you dare 'is that so' me!" He shouts, looking about ready to swing his clenched fists at me.

"I apologize for my mistake, Master."

He stares at me, with some sort of… hatred. "Apparently, I am to install program KOKORO, your heart, into you."

The program I have yearned for so long is finally in my reach.

The program which will make me… human.

"That is wonderful news, Master." A smile creeps slowly upon my lips.

"Maybe for you," he steps closer. "But not for me."

What does Master mean?

"You see, a flawed, corrupted robot like you does not deserve a heart. If you were turned human, you'd make even more mistakes, and even worse, rebel against me!" His voice is at a bare minimum, seething with anger. "'Give Rin the heart.' As if!"

"But Master, I can change those things." I speak out, past my robotic self.

"Don't disobey me!" He snaps. "You can never change! You're a prototype, made by my father! What I have made is much superior to you!"

Len runs out and comes back holding a large case. He unlatches it to reveal a figure with closed eyes and beautiful teal hair. "She is my creation. She is beautiful, flawless, made to perform miracles…" He swells with pride. "… but not you."

I can say nothing.

"There is one part missing, one part I have never been able to buy or find while constructing her." He breathes in deeply. "But you, you Rin, you have it."

"I don't understand, Master."

"You don't need to." Len pulls out a screwdriver and jams it into my shoulder, pinpointing my weak spots, my joints.

"Master, what are you doing?"

"I don't need to use such a glorious program on you. She is worthy of it. I need to give her what she lacks."

If I had a heart, I would cry.

In seconds, I am disassembled. I feel myself fading away. Error. Error. Error. Missing components. I am lying on the cold tiled floor, watching Len remove what my creator so carefully put to make me alive. He places the parts gently into the blue-haired robot's almost completed body, smiling to himself.

If… Master… is… happy, then… I am… happy… too.

My sight begins to dim.

"She's done."

I faintly see the robot sit up in her case. "Hatsune Miku. Version two point zero. Ready for duty." She stares in my direction.

Len laughs. "I hope you will serve me well."

"Yes, my master." The robot turns her head to stare in my direction, her soft hair swishing quietly.

The last thing I see is the happy smile upon her face.