Disclaimer: I do not own Vocaloid, UTAU or any of the characters written about in this story.
Warning: This story is rated Mature for violence, sexual themes and language. If you are offended easily by these subjects, it is recommended you do not continue reading.
"I'd rather have barley than rice..."
Staring down at the solid red tray of mashed potatoes sitting in front of her, Ruko Yokune knew that arguing over her meals wasn't going to change them. After all, when you are admitted to the hospital, the choice of food should be the least important thing in your mind. For now, though, Ruko was attempting to make it the most important thing.
Food, food, food. She tried to think of nothing but food. What food was she going to eat when she got home? What snacks did they need to get? Did the others manage to find and devour her secret stash while she wasn't looking? All of these questions buzzed in her mind, despite their seemingly needed existence. It was better this way, she thought, thinking of food and such. It kept her mind off of...
It kept her mind off.
Heaving a large amount of air into her chest, the VIPPERloid sucked in a long breath before reaching down and taking the fork out of the mound of plain, bland potatoes before digging into the white, flaky meal and stuffing it into her mouth. She was starving, but hadn't had the stomach needed to start choking down food until today. Whether or not this would come back to haunt her later, she didn't know and, frankly, didn't care to know.
Her mind wandered for a moment to when she would be able to leave this place. It was sure to be any day now, she thought. But the thought of leaving haunted her, because she shouldn't have to be leaving alone. Someone else should be with her, right? Yes, someone else should be...
"Ruko!"
Those thoughts were quickly done away with as the door banged open and a girl with pink hair styled into drill-like shapes came rushing into the room, making a dash for her friend without a second thought.
"You're okay! You're okay!" She cried, running to the bedside and throwing her arms around the bedridden girl with so much force that she nearly knocked the mashed potatoes into her lap. From the door came others stepping inside, not quite as brave as the girl before them. A tall male who looked much like the girl, pink hair and all, walked inside sternly, fiddling with his long ponytail.
After that, a steady stream of friends and distant relatives walked inside together. A girl with pink hair, in a maid's dress. One with purple hair and beret. A butler with long, black hair. An ambiguous young man. A girl with bunny-eared headphones. And finally, a rather tall male with a streak of red in his hair, much like the streak of blue Ruko had dyed into her own.
Surrounding the bed were her friends, however many shapes and sizes they came in. They all looked upon her with worry. This person whom was one of their closest friends now seemed foreign and unknown to them. A strange figure dressed in nothing but a white hospital gown, the blankets pulled tightly around her. Protectively.
"Teto, let go of her." The pink-haired male ordered, reaching and placing his hand gently on her shoulder. Teto looked to him for a moment, confused. Shouldn't they be happy that Ruko was back with them?
"But Ted..." She started, pouting childishly before letting Ruko free of the death grip and stepping away from the bed. It was then that she noticed how Ruko's body had tensed up suddenly. Had she done that? She hadn't meant to frighten her...
"...All of you. Back up."
Exchanging glances with one another, the nervous group quickly took one, two, three steps away from the bed. Their eyes hardly left her as they did so, and this only seemed to irk her further, but she said nothing. Taking the tray of half-eaten potatoes, Ruko set it onto the table beside her bed before grabbing the blankets and pulling them up higher around her, until only her neck and her face were visible above the pale green sheets. She didn't like how many of them had come in at once, even if they hadn't meant any harm.
"...That's better." Her voice was cold and solid. Like stone, even.
For a long moment after that, silence seemed to reign supreme over the room as everyone attempted to pluck up enough courage to speak. It seemed like an eternity before finally, the man in the butler suit took a very small step forward and spoke in a young but regal voice. "We have been worried sick over this entire thing...But, we are very glad that you are safe."
"Y-Yes!" Interrupted the girl in the maid suit, "We did everything we could!"
Looking from one to the other, Ruko briefly felt as though she might snicker. She could remember when those two had never wished to work together, and yet here they were, virtually everywhere together. Yes, it almost made her want to laugh, but nothing came out. Her face was still a stoney expression.
More silence.
Teto curled up into her brother's figure, uncertain of what to say. He looked nearly as clueless as her in all but expression. He wanted to be strong and to be there for everyone, but it was hard when they hardly knew where the bombs in this minefield of conversation had been placed.
The boy with the platform shoes and the red streak in his hair stepped close to the bed, closer than any of the others dared. His face was filled with worry and questioning. Carefully, so as not to cause a commotion, he made his way to the very side of the bed, before kneeling down on one leg, then finally sitting on both his knees so as to make himself level with Ruko.
He stared at her with intent to ask questions, and she stared back with the intent not to answer questions.
"Ruko...What happened...?
"Nothing happened." She answered without hesitation. As though such a response had been planned out ahead of time.
He furrowed his brow at her, gripping onto the bedsheets. "No, something did happen! The police came and told us you were taken!'
"I wasn't taken, Rook.."
"You were! And Taya was too!"
No.
Without warning, Ruko threw her blanket off of her and pushed Rook off of the bed as hard as she could. He fell backwards in his awkward position, and his high platform shoes only gained him the advantage of twisting his ankle when he tried to stop himself until he rested, in pain, on the cold floor.
"Rook! A-Are you alright!"
Momo, the maid girl, knelt down to him and quickly assisted in lifting his head off of the unforgiving tile. He didn't want to be helped though, he wanted to keep talking to Ruko, to his sister.
"I'm fine Momo, let me go!" He pushed her gently away from himself before sitting up, looking to Ruko who was now breathing hard and looking ready to push him back down again if he tried to go near her again. He didn't care if she pushed him down a thousand times, he wanted to know what had happened. Rook was her confident, her other half. He could feel things the others knew nothing of. He knew more of what had happened than he might let on, even.
"Ruko-" He stood with a distinct wobble, his left ankle aching and his back stiff and in pain. Rook started back towards the bed a second time before he found himself being restrained by Defoko and Luna on either side of him. "Let me go! I want to talk to her! Ruko, please! Ruko! Ruko!"
"Ruko! Ruko!"
She shut her eyes and tried to block out the sound of her brother yelling and flailing as he was dragged forcibly out of the room before anyone could get hurt. He sounded too much like someone he wasn't, and too close to someone she recognized.
Maybe later, regret would fill her after realizing what she'd done, but for now, Ruko felt satisfied to have made him go away. He'd mentioned that name. That name she didn't want to hear for now. That time she would rather forget.
The remaining visitors exited her room quickly and quietly, without a 'goodbye' or a 'see you later'. Serves them fine, she thought, pulling herself deep beneath the blankets of the bed and closing her eyes.
She didn't want to talk, she wanted to sleep.
"Ruko!"
To sleep and forget.
"And Taya was too!"
In the safety and warmth of the white room and the white bed and the white blankets, nothing was wrong.
"Nothing happened."