brontide, a vocaloid fanfic

title: brontide

summary: they thought they would get married, grow old together. GakuLuka.

pairing: Gakupo x Luka. Miku x Len, although quite minor.

warnings/rating: T for swearing.

Thunder is rumbling in the distance, that day.

I hate summer storms, Luka thinks as she looks at the sky above, gray and cloudy. The air is hot and stuffy, wrapping its sweaty fingers around her neck and squeezing with vengeance. Clumsier than usual this particular day, she's spilled coffee on her favorite dress and it's no longer snow-colored in the hazy summer rays.

Nothing's going to cheer her up now, she realizes grumpily. Not even a special sushi night. And she loves sushi. Maybe she should call Miku anyway - the teal-haired woman was never too busy for a late-night shopping trip. Luka smiled slightly. What a bizarre sight it would be - boxes of sushi and raw octopus and tuna and leek piled high on a shopping cart. Just add a pinch of Meiko and her sake there, and it would the perfect stress reliever.

Luka pulled out her phone, ready to dial Miku's number. Yes, they'd have a girls' night together and -

Purple?

The one word streaks through her mind and she freezes. Slowly, nervously, thinking oh god it can't be him, Luka turns around.

Oh yes, it's him all right; purple hair tied back, purple eyes round and childish - fit for a blockhead such as him! -, even carrying that stupid antique sword on his back, and she nearly -

Should she?

No.

Luka starts walking again.

No, not again.

This isn't one of Miku's stupid chick flicks.

[*]

"Luka?"

The sixteen-year-old girl scowled. "What do you want, you eggplant freak?"

"I-I..." Gakupo gulped and thrust a bouquet of pink roses in Luka's face. "Luka, will you go out with me?"

Watching through the keyhole, Miku and Gumi giggled silently at how quickly Luka's face flushed tomato-red, fists clenching. Gakupo shuffled uncomfortably, terrified, nervous.

Then -

"Of course I will!"

Gakupo cried out as Luka threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his torso. Her impact took them off their feet and into the bookcase behind them, knocking books over and making a big racket in general. The bouquet scattered roses.

"L-Luka? Are you - "

Luka was crying, trying vainly to wipe away the tears as fast as they came. Gakupo looked a little stunned, but pulled her into an embrace with one hand, the other patting her head awkwardly.

Luka leaned against his chest and sniffled.

"You freaking idiot, of course I'll go out with you. Why did you take so long?"

[*]

Lightning is flashing in the distance, that day.

I wish it was winter, thinks Gakupo, blinking sweat out of his eyes. He's kept his hair long since he was a little second-grader, so eager to start his kendo lessons at long last. The purple-haired man of twenty-two feels the weight of his ponytail pressing against his back, all salt and hair, and wonders if it's better to just shear the damn thing off.

Or maybe not. It is his trademark after all, along with his ever-present sword and and equally ever-present eggplants. He'd taken personal insult when the new guy in his kendo club - Yuuma, was it? Or Roro? He still doesn't know - took to carrying around his katana as well. It had taken both his sister and the new pinkie's sister to tear them apart, but once they had, the duel had ended quite pleasantly in the vegetarian restaurant down the street. Gumi would only eat carrots, after all.

Good times.

Just as he's seriously considering calling his sister to see if she can manage to cut his hair without damaging his jugular veins, he sees her out of he corner of his eye.

Gakupo has always thought that girl extraordinarily pretty.

But here, now -

His mind goes blank, just like back then.

Six years ago, was it?

An angel, he'd thought. Long pink hair pushed back with a hairband, blue eyes - a temper like no other and a disturbing obsession with raw fish. He'd loved her, the strange Luka, still did -

Or did he?

Gakupo steps forward, trips over his own feet, then starts to run.

[*]

"Oi, samurai boy!"

Gakupo sighed and smiled. He turned around to see Luka bounding towards him, pink hair streaming behind her. From the school gates, Miku went on tip-toe to whisper something into Len's ear. The boy laughed and flashed a thumbs-up towards Gakupo.

"Luka," he responded. "Lovely as every, m'fair lady."

His girlfriend blushed slightly and thrust a carefully-wrapped packed lunch at him. "Don't open before lunchtime, and don't throw it away!"

"I shall drive them away with my sword," vowed Gakupo and goofily offered her a peck on the cheek. Luka giggled and laughed and ran back into the school, fluttering practically.

Kaito slumped into the seat next to Gakupo at lunch and moaned about ice cream and how Kaiko had no sympathy for her onii-san, while the purple-haired boy carefully unclasped his sword, laid it down next to him, and opened the packed lunch. Inside was a quite creative lunch, of fried rice with vegetables, eggplant salad, and heart-shaped tuna sausages.

"How is it?" Kaito thumped his head agains the table in self-pity.

Gakupo chewed carefully. "Very good. Tastes like love."

"Oh, just go get married."

[*]

Not a chick flicks. None of that romantic crap. It's a mantra Luka mutters to herself as she walks gamely on, convincing herself that there's totally no one there. Yes, there isn't. Now, wasn't she going to phone Miku? Yes, and Meiko too...

A strong hand grabs her arm, whirling the woman round. Luka's just a moment away from screaming when Gakupo smiles in her face.

He hasn't changed one bit.

Luka punches him in the gut before either of them can say anything.

"What was that for, Luka?" Gakupo chokes out, clutching his stomach. Yes, she's always been strong, too. "Have I wronged you in any way?"

Luka can't even start to count the numbers of ways his statement is wrong, but she cracks a grin. "Self-defense."

"But it's been years since I saw you! No greeting?"

The purple-haired man is treated with a stony glare. Luka crosses her arms. "Do you deserve it?"

"Sorry."

The woman pauses. "For what?"

Gakupo shuffles his feet, running his fingers down his trusted katana's hilt. "You know. I was young. And it was quite an inappropriate way to treat my lovely lady."

Luka steps back.

"Anyway..." Gakupo's eyes flick down. He absentmindedly combs through the tangles in his ponytail, a surprisingly feminine trait that he's kept over the years. "Do you have time today?"

Luka takes a sharp intake of breath.

Then silence.

[*]

"Luka?" Miku's voice rose and rose, reaching far beyond the decibels normal humans should be able to do. "Luka! Luka-lu, you okay? Luka! Answer me!"

There was silence at the other side of the phone. The teal-haired girl clutched at the edges of his skirt, speed-walking around her teal-princess room as she anxiously waited for her friend to pick up. She ended up doing an impromptu dance routine with song, calling Luka's name over and over, stomping and hopping around her room with barely contained worry.

"Luka?"

A sniffle. "G-gaku - he called and - "

Mikuo burst through the door. "Miku, where's my - "

Miku flew past him, grabbing her wallet and coat. "I'm going over to Luka's, Mikuo! Fuck dinner!"

The teal-haired boy stood there fore a moment, shivering in his bare feet. Then he sighed and trudged into the kitchen, where he poured a bowl of cereal for himself and slowly went through it, checking his Facebook alerts.

"Gakupo, you idiot," he muttered. Said idiot grinned at him from his computer screen, standing proudly in front of what he described as his new school.

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Mikuo Hastune - you son of a bitch. you didn't tell Megurine, did you?

[*]

Luka swallows. She's got a cold, that's all it is.

"Gakupo - "

So many clever barbed words she can say. But Luka's throat closes up even more - hell, she doesn't love him anymore, she doesn't doesn't doesn't.

He looks at her earnestly, so earnestly -

Luka makes a sort of strangled cough and walks away, leaving Gakupo in the wavering summer day. He clenches his fists, yells after her.

[*]

"You know, Luka, I still love you!"

Water runs down the woman's face.

"I..."

Her lips tremble.

"Don't."

[*]

It starts to rain, buckets upon buckets of ice-cold water from the heavens. It covers all, blocks it out, leaves everyone in their own little world of rain and thoughts.

And silently, silently, they let it slip away.

I love GakuLuka so much. so naturally, I have to write them broken. hope you enjoyed! and hope it wasn't too cheesy/fluffy/overly melodramatic. also - what do you think? does Luka still 'love' Gakupo? xDDD

and oh yes, Luka's a very brave cook. eggplant salad and tuna sausage.

+ and oh yes, Mikuo wanted to know where Miku hid his socks.

I love reviews. drop me one, even if it's just a ':)' or a 'good!' or a 'WTF!'.